The Life and Times of a Navy Husband

In my last post I wrote that I was considering applying for and potentially leasing an apartment in a building I’d never visited. I was so lovestruck by the idea of living in the Ghent neighborhood in Norfolk and by the idea of a nice new shiny building, that I was very close to throwing caution to the wind.

In the end, good sense prevailed. Sean and I took a road trip down to Norfolk and barged in on some friends in order to check out the situation. Turns out, the building I was so excited about would have killed us with various fees and, more than likely,rent increases. In addition to the already high rent, there would have been a monthly pet fee, a monthly fee to use the bike locker in the parking garage, and a monthly rent for a storage space. Oh, and they meter each unit’s water usage, so we’d have had a water bill to pay. (The lovely young lady showing me around tried to sell this by saying, “That way, you only pay for what you use. Most buildings just charge everyone a uniform amount and include it in the rent.”)

I was saved, in the end, by an old friend who’d decided to rent his home rather than try to sell it in a down market. It’s a completely different situation from what we thought we wanted: a strictly residential neighborhood as opposed to an “urban” setting; a first-time landlord as opposed to a professional management company; oh, and it’ll be a step up in square footage, as opposed to a step down.

All in all, we’re really excited and relieved to have this part of the move taken care of. The trip would have been an unqualified success if not for some bad luck the day we left town, but that’s another story.