Chapter 910:
So my general manager and chief financial officers sent me to look at a place today. She could not attend the walk through and initial meeting but she wanted me to get over there to do so as soon as possible.
I met this widow at the end of the long driveway. The two story craftsman house was indeed very nice, large and looked sturdy and in great shape, but was not what I would describe as modern. This was likely a very affluent neighborhood back in the day and while these homes were very well made and valuable they were now full of retirees almost ready to downsize or young couples with the kind of money one would need to buy a large starter home. The house had a big enclosed front porch and lots of symmetrical windows. The place was covered with brick and a few small areas of colored stucco that blended well together offering a lot of curb appeal in an old school way. The long driveway led to a garage in the back of the house that looked too wide to only be a two stall.
The widow looked to be perhaps 65, younger than I expected her to be. Her hair was reddish brown with a little grey and she wore oversized dark colored glasses. She shook my hand, introduced herself and said the apartment, formerly occupied by her parents, had been sitting empty for a number of years but had been recently cleaned and was move in ready. Around 3 years ago she had a few minor cosmetic updates performed and some new and like-new furniture delivered and set up in preparations for a renter that never materialized. No one met her standards or she just changed her mind on having someone else live inside her home. Recent circumstances had pushed her into offering the place up for rent once again. She explained that she lost her husband 5 years ago and had adapted to living on her own, money did not seem to be a concern, but she was having some physical troubles with her feet and ankle that kept her from mowing, removing snow, changing light bulbs, cleaning gutters, and the like. She wanted a renter who would do those things and other maintenance chores in exchange for reduced rent. She also made it sound like a troubled world and some recent area commotions that brought flashing red and blue lights were weighing on her mind. Having someone around alert and capable would provide deterrence to would-be thieves and help her sleep better at night.
The backside of the house featured two entrances. On the side opposite the driveway was a nice newer wooden deck with a set of wood and glass French doors that likely lead into the kitchen or dining room. Near the driveway on the ground level was a painted metal door that contained a window and had an awning over top of it. That door opened into a small entry room with a few tall windows, a green plant in the corner and a wooden bench under one of the windows. On the house side of the room you had the choice between two staircases. The one on the right was open and went downstairs; the set on the left went up only a few steps and stopped at a solid wooden door that I could see had two deadbolts, one facing each side, like the doors that adjoin two hotel rooms. She directed me to go down.
The stair case opened up on the left side about half way to the basement apartment and had a large egress window to the right just at the bottom of the steps. Straight ahead there was a wide padded bench with a built in shoe rack below and coat rack above. The area under the stairs had been finished into open random-sized cubes of storage. The largest cube even had an outlet in it. The living room had a big sectional, additional plants, a book shelf and a newer big screen television. On the other end of the living room was the entrance to a fair sized slightly outdated kitchen with a small dining room table. There was plenty of room in the kitchen for a big cabinet or some heavy duty shelves. In between the living room and kitchen an oddly placed storage closet that stuck out between the two spaces. It had a gas fireplace installed on the living room side. There was also pantry closet to the right of the kitchen entrance. Elongated windows on both the living room and the kitchen let in a lot more light than you would expect being underground. To the right of the kitchen and that closet was an open hallway that led first to a laundry room with a new washer & dryer. The next room down was a very nice bathroom that must have been part of the somewhat recent remodel she spoke about. It had black fixtures and grey tiles on the floor. A door opposite the bathroom opened to the other 35% or so of the basement where the furnace, hot water heater, water filtration system, farm sink, circuit break, and other utility items existed. That room also had ample storage space with a chest freezer, a refrigerator, some built in wood shelves and another stair case that went up into the main house. That explained the second set of two sided matching deadbolts. There were two more doors in the hallway, one past the bathroom and one at the end. The first was a linen closet that was full of shelving on one side and open on the other. The second led into a nice large bedroom that also featured an egress window. The bedroom had a big closet, an “Olympic queen” size bed and a small computer desk. The whole place was much larger, nicer and more modern than the outside of the house made me expect to find.
After a thorough tour of the apartment, we walked outside to the garage which was also quite large. There was one long double door for vehicles with a single walk in door to the left of it. The walk in door put you in a nice sized workshop area with a bare wood stair case that went up into a large storage space with dormer windows, that space was mostly empty sans a few random boxes. Back down in the garage, one of the parking slots was available for the renter to park inside and the other space was occupied by her sporty blue Subaru Crosstrek. She informed me that her renter could use all the storage space in the garage they wanted to and commented that she didn’t use the shop at all but it had plenty of tools to do maintenance with. I could see a push mower, trimmer, leaf blower, snow thrower and other yard tools in that area as well. Not to mention the most organized group of extension cords I had ever seen. To the left of the workshop, outside of the garage, there were a couple uncovered parking spaces and a covered pad for a boat or small camper. My mind immediately envisioned a couple grills, smokers and some patio furniture sitting there.
The widow invited me up a few stairs and onto the raised deck on the backside of the house where we sat and talked. She interviewed me for compatibility and was happy to hear about my military service. Her husband was a US Army bean counter turned certified public accountant. She asked about the lady who set up this meeting and my current employment situation. I think it surprised her that I didn’t work a normal weekday job and had the resources to just buy my own place but chose not to due to our budding relationship. Additional subjects of discussion included noise levels, privacy concerns, cannabis & drug use, criminal history, and my credit score. My responses must have been the right ones because she nodded a lot in agreement. I talked to her about her task & chore expectations, asked more about the area and advised that owning & possessing guns was part of my package. She made it sound like guns didn’t bother her in the least, in fact she commented that her husband had a number of guns, was a hunter, and my being armed would help her with her security concerns. After a while she said she thought I would be a good fit but she needed to take down my info and do a “background check” on me, no doubt using some online service which only scratched the surface of public records. As I scribbled out my personal info on a generic housing application she advised that she would want a $2,500 deposit plus first and last month’s rent. Then asked if I felt $1,250 a month plus tasks and chores was fair, adding that she would cover utilities and internet. I said it sounded like too small of an amount for her to be charging. $1,500 a month barely gets you a tiny studio apartment without any storage where you have to park outside in this part of the city. She said she compared prices online and was being generous when she factored in the work her renter would be doing.
I walked back out to my car and texted a few pictures of the apartment to the lady and thanked her for finding this place. I told her I thought it would work well for now and more importantly would plant me a whole lot closer to her, like 15 minutes of light traffic away. She said “That’s exactly why I spent so much time scouring the internet for the perfect place.” I know I have said it before, but it’s kind of nice having someone to help out that way. And now I wait for approval or another opportunity to present itself.
This guy. The lady just called and said that she found the "perfect place" for me but I have to go there tomorrow morning to see it. It's an in-law suite in a big house occupied by a single woman who lost her husband a few years ago. She is looking for a renter who can also help with chores and other tasks. Sounds like it's pretty big and fully furnished. Better yet she has also has a big garage with an empty stall so Charlene won't get cold in the winter. The lady seemed excited and set up the earliest appointment she could before telling me where to be and when to be there.
