Moving Out is Hard to Do

Moving out is officially hard to do.

This is probably obvious to the majority of you, but I was blissfully unaware. I haven't lived with my own parents in a while, but I've been living with my boyfriend's parents (and obviously in a dorm in France). My boyfriend and I decided to move out this semester a long time ago. We were originally going to move out last fall but when I found out I was accepted to study abroad there was no point since I wasn't going to sign a year lease and stick my boyfriend with paying the rent on his own for the six months I was gone. So we decided to wait until this fall to finally make it happen. We could have moved out ourselves but we decided to take on a roommate. He's a friend I've known since I was a sophomore in high school (seven years ago. I'm getting old.) and the decision was mainly because I feel a lot better having two guys in the house. The likelihood of me being home alone is a lot smaller and we have someone to share utilities. Plus, if I learned anything in France it's the more people you live with the merrier!

To a certain extent, obviously.

So we had some basic requirements. Ant and I found a great apartment for the two of us that was only $800 a month, so when moving with our roommate we still wanted to keep the cost below $400 each, otherwise there was no point to having a roommate since we'd be paying the same amount in rent. We were wanting two rooms for the two of us so we'd have space for all our stuff and also because I'm a person who needs to be alone sometimes. With a roommate, we were looking for a three bedroom with at least two bathrooms under $1,200 per month and halfway between our school and our roommate's work.

Needless to say it took a while to find a good place. $1,200 for a three bedroom in Orlando basically gets you a roach-infested shack in the ghetto. We finally found this great condo in a perfect location at $995, but it took us weeks to get an appointment to look at the inside. We saw it in August and it wasn't available until the tenants moved out September 1. Then the property manager was out of town until the 5th. I'm working three jobs on top of my classes this semester, so between that and the jobs/school schedule of my boyfriend and our roommate it was impossible to find a time we could all go. Finally, the roommate and I went to look at it on Sunday, September 9, and I took pictures for my boyfriend.

We applied for it the next day and just found out we're approved by the realtor/owner. We still have to apply with the HOA of the condos which apparently takes a while, so we'll see. We also have to wait for the property manager to repaint and redo the floors in the kitchen and foyer, so we won't be living there for a few weeks.

Also, ridiculously, we each have to have a parent cosign. That's three cosigners on our lease. I realize that none of us has a rental history, but it seems a little ridiculous. Such a headache. And we can't even get in to show my boyfriend the unit or take measurements because of the work going on.

I'll be glad when this is over. You're probably glad this ramble-y, depressing post is over.