Somehow I've been appointed secretary. Actually, this always happens.

[defibrillate]

The apartment hunt continues. Because I'm 'the responsible one' I've been put in charge. The upside to this is that if I don't like a place I won't even give my sister or mum a chance to suggest it - I just won't schedule us an appointment to see it. The downside is, despite that, I still have to schedule all the appointments. Not fun, guys.

We might just end up moving into the place I really wanted, which would be great because it's brand new and has fucking nice amenities. I'm big on perks. Thing is, though, I've found 10 or so pre-1950's buildings downtown with super cheap rent. $795-995, and they're not bad. The architecture is pretty cool looking and most of them have been remodeled. I know these are the ones my sister will prefer, and truth be told, I'm fine with them... What it comes down to, I guess, is whichever company can schedule a tour and have paperwork waiting the fastest. The latest I can afford to be moved by is 9/9, so... Yeah. Not a ton of time. Get your shit together and call me, realtors.

Comments

[vanilla_cupcake]

Good luck! I hope you get to move to the apartment you want. ♥

[defibrillate]

Thanks! It seems like way more work than it should be >_<

[novel_machinist]

Good luck! At least you guys seem to have a lot of income to work with so it's just a matter of going where you want to go!

[defibrillate]

Does it seem that way? We really don't... ^^; Right now what we have to work with is my mother's income, which is about $1,000/month. My stepdad makes good money but he has never given us anything (he's an abusive, controlling bastard). Actually he's the reason we're leaving in a hurry, things have gotten really bad. The problem is that we can barely afford any place out here. I'm not sure what rent's like where you live, but in this area the average price of a 1br apartment is somewhere between $1200 and $1500.

My stepdad did cough up tuition money for this quarter when he realized we were really set on leaving as some sort of pathetic attempt to make up for the things he's said and done recently, but it's the first time he's EVER paid for anything for me.

[novel_machinist]

It's a good rule of thumb to never put more into your home than 1/4th your monthly income. If utilities are included then it's easier to spend more.

I assumed with the price range you were mentioning that there was a lot more income. Insurance, Food, Utilities, Transportation costs are usually more than 500 a month for households. And that doesn't include credit/loan debts.

[defibrillate]

Yes, I know. And most places won't even allow you to move in unless you can prove you make 2.5x the rent. But we don't have a choice. I'm not being melodramatic, I'm serious. We tried to move into a shelter but the closest one is so far away from my mother's work she'd be forced to give up her job, which would screw us over pretty badly. We tried to get into YWCA housing, but their rent isn't much cheaper than anywhere else, the units are tiny, and the only housing available is also so far away from my mom's work that we can't manage it. Low-income housing in King County is scarce and has very strict policies on credit and on housing students, so we've had no luck there either. What's left is to find the cheapest rent we can, get our application approved by means of a guarantor, ask my mom's church to help us pay the deposit, and apply for food stamps. My sister and I will get jobs as soon as we know where we'll be living, but until then - given that we both have full classloads this quarter - it wouldn't be too smart to commit to being in a certain city for work if we may end up living far enough away that it becomes a problem.

Look, I know you mean well, but... Financing this situation is such a huge source of stress - because I do know what it will take - that it's sort of tough for me to talk about it.

[novel_machinist]

Well if you need help or just someone to bitch at, let me know. I hope you find something soon.

[defibrillate]

Thanks.