HollyKing's Journal

I haven't wanted to post much about the new place until we knew for sure. hollyqueen and I signed the lease paperwork and have the key. Our new address is effective December 1st but we won't be moving most of our stuff until the 19th. Guess we won't have time to put up a tree this year.

We aren't moving far. Our new digs are in Madrona. We're renting a newly renovated basement and the other person living above us is the landlord and homeowner. So she is going to take care of the place and not be destructive. Also, I love the fact that she's a lawyer who works with youth. Did I mention she has blue/green hair?

Oh, it's 1/3rd of a mile from some cafes and Verite Coffee. Less than that to King Creole BBQ. Can't walk to the grocery store, but I'm ok with that.

hollyqueen and I met with the owner of the condo we're renting. I wanted to dislike her because of the hassle of moving, but after meeting her she is a nice lady and I understand why she's selling it. They're slapping a $40K assessment on each unit to pay for improvements to the outside. That means the owner would be paying about $1100 in fees each month. That's almost what we pay in rent each month so she's losing money each month by renting to us. I still hate moving but I would sell in that position too.

The good news is that due to Seattle regulations the earliest we would have to move is August 31st and that's if she had a buyer lined up and ready to close tomorrow. So we know we have until the end of August and the owner agreed to give us 45 days from the sale to move. Also, the new owner might be looking for an investment property and would love to have solid renters in place and willing to stay.

So between now and August 31st I'm going to go through my stuff again and cull it out. That way I've got time and not making choices under last minute pressure.

Anyone want a love seat? How about an exercise bike? Free if you come take them away.

Saturday we were supposed to sign the paperwork and get the keys to our new apartment. It didn’t happen because the crew that was supposed to clean and paint didn’t, but I did get to see the apartment for myself. I like it. I like it a lot. hollyqueen has excellent taste! (She married me, didn’t she?)

The new plan is to go on Friday during lunch to sign the paperwork, walk through the place and note the problems and get the keys. There are several small things that need to be fixed. Things like a broken faceplate on an outlet and a sliding closet door that’s out of it’s track. The manager also agreed to swap the hinges on the refrigerator door. Some genius left them on the left so you can’t stand in front of the fridge while you open the door.

I’ll take some pictures and post them on Friday. I didn’t want to capture the orange wall and thank goodness I never saw the huge nose on the wall. There is a usable deck and I have permission to use a gas grill. We have a reserved parking space in the underground garage. The dining room has a garden window, so I’m going to try my hand and growing some herbs.

There are a lot of stores and services that are only a short walk away. Places like Philadelphia Fevre and Island Video. The Broadway Sunday Farmers Market is about a mile away. The City People’s Garden Store is less than a mile away.

The more I think about this place the more I like it. I’m still not fond of the process of moving but that’s a detail I’m willing to handle to live in a good place.

hollyqueen and I just returned from giving our application, first months rent and deposit on a place in Madrona. There is one person ahead of us on the list and we should know in a couple of days if we got the place or not. I hope we do. It has every feature we wanted and is in a neighborhood like where I grew up. Not to mention how close it would bring us to most of our friends. (And farther away from a few but you can't win them all.)

Now to keep obsessing over it until we find out...