Wednesday, September 1, 2010

To Move or Not to Move?

Okay people, I need some help. Here's the deal. The apartment above us has been vacant for quite some time. Several months ago the landlords did a bunch of work on it and offered it to us for an $300 more than we're paying for our apartment, even though he had rented it for $600 more to the last tenant. Recession, yadda yadda. We took a look and we couldn't justify (read: afford) spending more than we were already paying, so we respectfully declined.

Fast forward to present day. I called the landlord to ask about a few things. We need radiator covers and our bathroom needs some serious attention (new floor, bathtub and showerhead). He offered the upstairs apartment again, saying it would do him a favor because then they could come in and overhaul our apartment once it was vacant like they did with the upstairs unit. To sweeten the deal, he came down with the price again, so that we would only pay an extra $150 each month over what we pay now.

Here are the pros and cons:

PROS

1. Brand new bathroom floor and fixtures
2. Extra cabinet space in the kitchen
3. Great view (above other buildings, not looking into someone's living room)
4. Large storage hallway outside of unit (storage is a BIG issue for us)
5. Ceiling fans
6. Bedroom has a free-standing wardrobe that we don't have (no closet in bedrooms)

CONS

1. No bathtub (stand up shower) for bathing baby
2. Same layout, same ridiculously small kitchen and bathroom
4. More money
5. MOVING
6. An extra set of stairs (total 3 flights)

Another thing to consider...we have no idea where we'll be after March 2011. Maybe here, maybe elsewhere in the U.S., maybe Canada. So it's possible that we'll be moving away in 7 months.

HELP!

3 comments:

  1. Moving is a royal pain. A super royal pain. Especially if the unit is the same layout without extra square feet, I don't know that the pros outweigh the cons, especially considering you'd have to get your services canceled then reconnected, etc.

    If your landlord comes down in price to what you are paying now, then I'd say it would be worth it.... otherwise, probably not so much. I guess that way you'll see how much of a favor you'd actually be doing him. :)

    That's my two cents!

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  2. The only thing that would be stopping me is the lack of bathtub... that's pretty inconvenient for child bathing. Otherwise, the rest sounds like a pretty sweet deal!

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  3. Thanks for the advice ladies! Amy, I hadn't thought of switching the utilities over. And June, the bathtub thing really is a problem. Verdit: No Move! I feel better already. :)

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