A short sharp dose of reality never did anyone any harm at all!
I went to see a nice flat on Saturday, target area, 2 beds and fully furnished meaning minimal layout to move in, which would have been just the ticket........... BUT
I should have known things weren't going to go well when the key was put in the front door and I stood there aghast as the door was blatantly as secure as a prison made out of paper.
Inside, the layout was good but sadly that's where it pretty much ended for me, countering the large lounge, master bedroom and neat little kitchen, was the dirty walls, chipped paint, the insecure front door, a mass of wiring hanging out of the junction box in the hallway and the undeniable fact that it hadn't seen anything remotely close to a duster or any kind of cleaning agents - and all this for the princely sum of £800.
Well you know me I don't do asking prices on anything these days so I immediately offered them £720 on the grounds all this work needed doing which was refused out of hand - I had a quick think and thought, ok £750 is my absolute max and the agent seemed more accommodating with that figure.
I have a friends in high places so I made a quick call to have the crime checked out in the area (well specifically the block).
A day or so passed and I heard nothing from the Agent so I called the office and unfortunately got to speak to smarmy little shit who wanted to challenge my offering on the flat.
"Well the landlord wants more towards the asking price"
I told him £750 was the max it was worth and that I could rent cheaper and better in town, where everything is 2 mins walk rather then 15 minutes walk where the flat was. To my utter amazement, the example of property I gave him, he came back with, "oh but it's not the nicest of areas, I don't like it" I sat there and thought, is this bloke for real? It's the best area within 2 mins walk of town??? No chavs, no "social" tenants.
We concluded the call that he would reiterate my offer to the landlord and get back to me, it's Thursday today, the property is still on right move and I've heard nothing, this turned out to be blessing in disguise.
I had a call from my Friend on Tuesday and without beating about the bush he said, don't touch it with a barge poll, it would appear the police are regularly being called to the block.
Apart from this quite major issue and the poor condition of the flat, which I would have been willing to sort out myself for an agreed reduction on the rent, I am a little disappointed - It was less then 5 mins from Watford's biggest open spaces, Cassiobury Park - and I had my heart set on early morning runs in the park on the weekends - I agree not the best basis to make a decision on where to live, but that coupled with it being 10 mins from Vicarage Road, 10 mins from Town (shops and pubs!) I thought it was ideal for me.
But, every cloud has a silver lining and I've got another new plan - with the Boxing Day/January sales coming up I've decided to spend Christmas at home (oh god! Kim Wilde and Mel Smith Rocking around the Christmas tree - blasting out the hi fi at 8 am Christmas Morning!! ) and hit the sales early and get everything I need to deck out an unfurnished flat, there are more of these properties on the market then there are furnished and I really didn't want to go in to my savings which are working so hard for me at the moment, but after totaling up Novembers overtime return, I'm totally convinced I can afford some decent gear all financed by one months overtime - and incase your wondering, I got utterly battered in November work wise a standard working month is 150 hours, my overtime returned was 32 hours at double time and 21 hours time and a half.
With a month like November it's pretty easy to see why I'm at home this week (or the latter part of) I got in to work on Tuesday to things falling down around my ears again and for me to go from calm to ballistic in 2.5 seconds is a clear indicator of me being pretty tired, but with so many jobs that need doing between now and Monday there is not too much time for slobbing about, Tyres and flat viewing today, car needs its first MOT and new brake shoes tomorrow, and I need to get Christmas shopping started AND get some prices of all the stuff I need to buy Boxing day and the January sales, all I want to do is go to bed and I've only been up an hour!