Apartment #2

I have only this post for you today and again, no photos because the apartment another open house with many people walking around and the owners were there and very watchful of everyone, and since it wasn't something I'd want to rent I felt no need to ask for photos. I'm so, so sorry! I thought this flat was empty so I figured I could march right in and photograph it but that was not the case.

But I have the floor plan (above) but that's it. It was 1,149 Euros with NM and the current tenants told Thorsten that heat is around 250 - 300 Euros per month because it's an older heating system, so 1400 Euros ($2,020 USD) in the winter plus electric, TV, phone, internet etc. I don't know, I personally don't think it was worth the money even if it is 135 square meters. And just so you know, I'm willing to pay this for rent for a simple reason. We both work from home and need separate offices and both offices are tax deductions so I can justify the expense of a larger apartment for this reason. If we both worked outside of the home, I'd be looking for something smaller. Okay, this place was on the 3rd floor, which in America we'd call this the 4th. The building is from 1908 and was massive inside, the stairwell was so huge I couldn't believe it, like a museum! The entry door to the flat was ornate and lovely, original. When you walked in there was an entryway and a long hall and to the left, a MASSIVE kitchen. So far so good! But an immediate "problem" that I noticed was that most rooms only had skylights. No actual windows, well a few, so your view of the world was pretty much limited to the sky. I think I'd go crazy living that way. And in each room as least one of the walls was on a slant so you lost square footage. I didn't understand this because usually if an apartment is a top floor apartment with slanted ceilings the Realtor tells you up front that it's a "Dachgeschoß" or "attic". In that case, I wouldn't have bothered to look at it because I could never live in a home where all rooms had skylights. This was a huge turn off. But the wood floors were original hardwood and gorgeous. The balcony overlooking the forest was very large. The current owners were non-smokers. It was relatively large. And it had all these old doors and old handles on them and just tons of character so I felt a bit disappointed that it had only skylights for the most part. So this apartment is a no. :*( Afterwards, we had another appointment with a Realtor to view Apartment #3, and this time it was not going to be an open house but a private appointment. Yay! Or so we thought. We went to the right address and waited. And waited. And waited. In the snow, freezing, my boots now soaked to my socks. The Realtor never came and did not bother to call us on our handy (cell phone). We waited for over 30 minutes and with tails tucked between our legs and heads hung low, we walked home feeling a bit let down. My husband told me that if it doesn't happen it's not happening for a reason. I believe this too. He tells me there is always London, he loves England and would love to move there. He even mentioned Hamburg as an option. I advised him we should be practical and continue our search. We grabbed a late lunch because we were both starving and walked home in the snow, throwing snowballs at signs and houses, laughing and making jokes because really, what can you do but laugh when all you want to do is stomp your feet and pout? This week I will continue to watch the papers and websites and see what results. And of course, I'll keep you tuned in as the hunt continues! I'm determined despite the less-than-ideal real estate market here. When it should happen, it will happen. And one thing I'm determined to add to my search: NO VIEWING ANYTHING unless I've first seen photos of it online. Period. No matter how much the Realtor talks it up. How is your weekend? Anyone else have some apartment search stories to relate? Or are you also looking for a place and if so, where?