OK. Here's the plan. For those of you faithful readers, I'm going to give you an opportunity to help me choose an apartment in St. Louis. I'll give as much info as I can from my tours, and you guys will be able to vote for the apartment of your choice. If I can get some pictures scanned, I will let you guys see those too before the end.
This isn't exactly Apartment #1, but it is at the same time. I should have had a tour of the "Reserve at Forest Park" yesterday, but no one showed up. Then, I found out I was sitting in front of the wrong building - I guess the person I spoke to on the phone had given me the wrong address, or I'd written it down wrong or something. Long story short, that'll probably be next week.
So, Apartment #1 was the Central West End apartment about a mile or so from the hospital towards University City to the northwest. An owner, my neighbor below (if I'd take that apartment), and the realtor were all there when I arrived. I couldn't ask for a better neighborhood -- all residential, very quiet, nice houses set off from the busy street by a grassy area and a small alley. It seemed almost suburban but of course is right downtown... which you notice as soon as you get onto Kingshighway (aka the busy street) only about a block away. Standard stove, fridge, small dishwasher in the open kitchen with white and black tile on the wall behind the stove. Track lighting above, which looked very modern, gave it a nice touch. Opposite the kitchen is the living/dining room, I'd guess probably 12 x 12, with basically solid windows all the way around. The woodburning fireplace was here, with its back to the stove in the kitchen. The fireplace was framed with painted (unfortunately) wood, and it has about a one-foot margin with faux-marble (maybe real marble, but I doubt it). The bathroom was small, but fairly nice. The tub was marble in color but no, not marble the stone (ha ha, nice advertising realtor). On the other hand, the bathroom was nice-looking and big enough for one person, I think. Opposite it was the bedroom, which had enough closet space (I wasn't worried-- I don't really use that much). The bedroom itself I'd say was 10 x 10, a little small if I wanted to have any sort of desk/office in there. When I was leaving, I noticed that the entryway of the apartment is a nice size, probably 9x9. I guess I could fit a small office space in there if need be.
Other pluses: at least one nice neighbor, who's lived there for 3 years now, the owner seemed like a really nice guy too. Free parking, which is worth a lot in a city where $40-50/mo is the norm for off-street parking. Central air/heat. Great view from the apt, too. Two beautifully landscaped back yards, I'm in a perfect position to spy on the neighbors! Yes! (What?)
On the downside, it sounds like the owner is slow to get things repaired. The apartment actually hadn't been cleaned before I arrived. The walls had been repainted, though. The kitchen cupboards had peeling paint. The carpet was stained quite a bit from the previous owners. Of course, it doesn't help that I'm used to my cousin's apartment, where everything (even light fixtures) are fixed/replaced immediately if they break. Also, the deposit is a full month's rent ($600), which is at least 1/3 more than any other I've seen other places. Most are $300-450.
Plan: I'm going to call the realtor to make sure that the repairs get done before I pay the deposit. I'm going to tour the apartment one more time before I send in the deposit, if I decide to take it after seeing the others.
So, stay tuned Monday for my continuing saga of finding an apartment in St. Louis. I go to "Quadrangle Housing" then, which is owned by Wash U. I guess I'm going to see several apartments that are all a wee bit cheaper, about $550-565/mo.
