I know I'm posting a lot - but I need to catch up!

Moving onto more recent events!

I've posted a few times about wanting to move from our current apartment - hopefully into a small house that has a backyard for Ripley. Well, at last I believe we've found a place. I really don't want to jinx it by posting about it but at the same time I'm so excited and anxious about it that I just can't keep it in! In fact, I had a hard time going to sleep last night and then woke up around 1am and could not fall asleep as I just kept thinking about it.

I had Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) off and we drove to this housing complex that is one freeway exit north of our current freeway exit. This is one exit closer to my work - which sucks because if we needed to get closer to anyone's work it would better to be Paul's - and the complex is about a mile and a half away from the freeway. The area if full of homes built in the late eighties, but the neighborhood is well kept and seems to be full of working families which is a big plus in my book. I got the tip from a co-worker who lives near by and remembers that there were a lot of house that were both for sale and for rent in the area. Driving through we found three homes and called on all three. The first was already taken - but the lease wasn't signed just yet. The second I left a message but haven't heard back and the third I was able to talk to someone at the property management firm.

House

The house was being rented for about a hundred dollars less than our current apartment, has two bedrooms and one bathroom, a two car garage with washer & dryer hookups (but not supplied - also the refrigerator is not being supplied), new carpet & paint throughout, wood laminate (instead of tile or linoleum) in the kitchen, bathroom & entry way and also a great sized backyard. Square footage is not huge, but I'm actually pretty happy because I'm sick of cleaning so much space when its only the two of us. The bathroom is a good size with a new tub and the place on a whole looks very well kept and clean. The community is cute too, and has a pool that we'd have access to. A landscaper is not included - not surprising - but the front yard is very well kept that I think it'll be easy to keep it looking so nice.

As soon as they told me the rent, I asked if we could see it and also offered to bring any paperwork that might speed up the leasing process. They said we could view it that afternoon and so met them around 5:30 (originally 5pm, but the person meeting us was told the wrong location by the office). Though, because it was after dark and there wasn't a lot of built in lighting, we couldn't see everything. But in my opinion, I felt like we'd seen enough (all of the interior and the size of the backyard) - and it was exactly what we were looking for. I spoke honestly with the leasing agent about my concerns with my credit, as the last time I filled out lease paperwork it was rejected due to our "risk" level. Once she heard my credit rating and I showed her my pay stubs she said that there would be no problem (as long as I was telling the truth) and felt confident that we'd get the place. She was really helpful too and told us that if we really wanted the place we should fill out the application tonight, swing by a grocery store and pickup a money order for the application fee, and drop it in the door so that it could be processed first thing in the morning. It was time consuming (we were sitting the the McDonalds across the street from the leasing office until about 8pm filling out the forms) but worth it because I really want this place.

So. That's it. I really want to rent this house, I'm feeling the same kind of excitement I'm sure a new homeowner would be feeling! I was thinking all night about where I wanted to put our furniture and how cute the baby's room would look and how happy Ripley would be with a backyard to run around in. We even found out that since Paul's parents are consolidating most of their home furnishings with his grandparents, they have an extra refrigerator, washer & dryer for us to use! It seems to be all working out so well - I'm just keeping my fingers crossed. Hopefully, by the start of the new year we'll be in a home we can be proud of :)