Finding a Home

Finding a home in a place that you know little about is intrinsically difficult. To add even greater difficulty, try signing a year's lease on a home that you've never even seen in person.

Pictures on the internet can say some about an apartment or a house, but how can you be sure of the actual condition of the home, the safety of the neighborhood or the demeanor of the landlord? It all makes for a very stressful time in finding a place to live.

That being said, I think I've found somewhere. I have a hard time trusting people of whom I've meet through the internet and have only spoken to on the phone. Can you trust apartment management companies more than an individual renting their home? I don't know. Furthermore, you are giving these people your personal information - all the stuff required for a perfect case of identity theft- to process a credit check and application for the lease. Scary stuff with someone whom I've never met. Luckily, I think I've found a happy compromise that I'm willing to take a risk on. For those that know me, I'm not the biggest risk taker. I'm very information based and I don't do anything until I've researched and found as much information about whatever it is I'm considering. In the case of a place to live, this would mean on-site inspecting it up-and-down until I'm satisfied that everything is fine.

The house that I am in serious consideration for renting is owned by a realtor in San Diego and everything will go through her. Great. Someone I can trust. Why? Well, of course, I looked her up with multiple realtor associations and business bureaus in California and she is a real person. Sometimes you just have to take a risk. Signing a lease 'sight unseen' carries its risk. I have to deal with it. To minimize the risk, I've researched the crime data for that area (high car theft - unavoidable in Phoenix), the deed information on file with the county, as well as area businesses. In all, I finally feel comfortable.

It was a tough decision between this house for a years lease or a 6 month lease in an apartment in Ahwatukee, another area of Phoenix. The apartment location would have likely been better for J to commute to and only a 5-10 minute drive for work for me, however this is a empty statement because we don't know where she will be working. A six month lease would have been nice so we could escape our lease if we arrived to find conditions less than ideal. A six month lease would also mean moving again after six months and everyone knows that moving is a pain in the arse. The plus side of the house is that its right next to the freeway even though it is in a less centralized location. An even bigger plus is that it has a garage. Yes, the joy of a two car garage. And, of course, no neighbors sharing walls so there isn't an issue with that. In all, if the house lives up to the photos, we will be happy. And the rent is cheap enough that maybe we'll be able to buy a home this time next year; a home that we can view with our our eyes!