Yesterday I had been thinking heavily on a lot. It was a bad time to have the apartment on my mind, but it is something I need to address. I wanted something beforehand so it wouldn’t be a worry now, but things moved a little quicker than anticipated. Initially, we were going to do the basement apartment on July 1. That would have been perfect, but it fell through. After that, I took it as a sign to hold off. I had a short list of researched and Barkley-approved houses and apartments in my bookmarks. Houses typically have one-year leases at a minimum, not as flexible terms, and not in a gated community (at least one we could afford). Everything has moved so fast, I haven’t had much time to do anything with the rollercoaster we’ve been on since the “call” came in.
On a whim, when they did the bronchoscopy the other day, I took off to tour one apartment, the top one on my list. It checked every box: a nice neighborhood, gated, first-floor unit, easy access, two bedrooms, pet-friendly, and the price was within reason (the short-term prices are another story), with short-term availability. The only caveat was that it wasn’t super close to the hospital, but that wasn’t going to happen because those rent for $3k a month and up! However, it was close to Beverly, our Nashville heart friend, not five houses away, but still close. So distance was a wash. At only 6 miles away from Vandy, it’s no more than 20 minutes even in traffic. The property and unit exceeded my expectations. The grounds are pretty, with rolling hills, trees, and green grass. Those are all scarce in Brackettville! It had a porch and a store room (I need a place for all my box hoarding), a washer and dryer in the apartment (I won’t scare neighbors looking like a hobo when I do laundry), tall ceilings (I won’t hit my hands on the ceiling or head on fans), a dog park down the hill (Tanks gonna get his butt sniffing on), huge vanity (for all of Amanda’s junk and some of mine), two walkin closets (for Amanda’s infinite clothing and all she’ll buy when she starts feeling “shopping” good), close to shopping, restaurants, and movie theater (Lord help our bank account) and walking trails (maybe I’ll loose this extra fluff with Tank as my exercise coach), to list a few of the extras. I felt good about it when I toured online, and surely felt good after I self-toured in person, even if I had to do it solo.
I toured a sister property they had mentioned when I scheduled online. I assumed it was close to the apartment, but it was not. Maybe a long-distance sister who married a guy from the hood, and they compromised and found a place across town that felt halfway between the burbs and the hood! I didn’t like it the minute I got close to the property. Not a bad neighborhood, but just looking at cars, it seemed a mix of hood and burbs for sure. A step up for some, a step down for others, a step on the way up for those getting started. It was cheaper, but what I’d found, below a particular mark, it was either ghetto or the worst apartment in a nice neighborhood. Our Houston apartment was similar, but I knew the neighborhoods there and could make a better decision there.
When looking at other furnished apartments/houses, I found that the prices were right, but being furnished was somewhat of a hassle at the same time. I was able to rearrange the furniture in the hotel room after the first transplant to make it work and fit in recliners. Who wants to spend days on end in any hotel chair? The same is true for furnished apartments and houses. What’s best about them is that utilities are included and month-to-month availability. We made the Houston apartment a home with all our belongings and everything yall helped us with from our Amazon wish list. So, I just really preferred to use our furniture, and we’d still need some of our things, so I’d have to FaceTime to sort things out, which seems like it’d be disastrous. So, I settled for an unfurnished apartment.
The Preserve at Brentwood it was; the choice was made. The next question was how long a lease. I also had a few questions to ask. I still hadn’t spoken with a human; everything was done virtually via text or online. I sent a text that I needed to speak with a human and was interested in leasing. I needed to know if I could wait to pay the pet fee until we brought Tank up, that was fine. There was a $10 locker fee. I wanted to know if I had to pay for that; all carriers only deliver to lockers, not apartments, which is weird but okay. Could I apply and move in later. I could, but it would only go out as far as the 9th, and it went up $10 a month for every day you waited; what a scam. Was there a lease buyout, or was I committed to the entire lease? There was a two-month buyout with a 30-day notice. Lastly, if we needed to exceed the lease, what was the monthly cost? That depended on the market at the time, but the current 3-month price was almost $5,000 a month, so I didn’t want to get one with a term that we might need to exceed.
Questions answered, it was time to make a decision. I needed a sounding board, so I called Brittany, Amanda’s bestie. She’s pretty much like my sister, and early on, we even had a spat or two like we were siblings! I knew her and we were friends before I knew Amanda, back in the olden days in high school when we’d pass notes instead of texting! She’s business-minded and really good to bounce things off of. When she answered, I said I needed a sounding board and wasn’t going to talk about Amanda much, cause I didn’t want to cry! We discussed it, and I felt more comfortable and had a clearer idea of what I should do. A one-year lease, over $500 a month cheaper than a 6-month lease, and $3k a month cheaper than the 3-month lease. My head was hurting after crunching all the numbers. We then talked about Amanda and both cried, her in the aisles of Walmart!
I text a prayer request to all my prayer warriors, briefly explaining the apartment situation. I got prayers and some advice on what they thought. My close friend confidant and pastor, YJ, was, of course, at the top of that list. To this day, he and my parents are the only ones I talk to on the phone regularly during times like this; everyone else via text. YJ’s response text sat unread for a while because I was busy, and then I was praying. I specifically prayed for confirmation that the place and a one-year lease were the right choice. I finished the prayer, noticed his text, and opened it. He said: ‘1)You’ve always been good about searching things out. God has given you the ability to pursue things and search them out.’ Researched fully, check ‘2) Ask other wise men according to Proverbs.’ Sounding board from wise counsel, check. 3) Start at the beginning of a book in the Bible, maybe Psalms or Proverbs, and go verse by verse slowly. God will give you peace about the decision.’ I’ve been in Psalms a lot over the last few days, and I felt at peace about it. His last line was, ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not to your own understanding, in all thy ways acknowledge him, He shall make your paths straight.’ Proverbs, if I’m not mistaken. Can you say confirmation? I applied for a one-year lease right after that. I signed for Amanda and now have to figure out a way to get a face scan for identity verification! I’ll need to provide financial documentation for final approval, hoping there are no issues with my recent lower income due to being off work. Prayers, there won’t be any issues.
Sorry, I was just going to tell you that I applied for an apartment and ended up taking you all the way through my thought process, making an entire post out of it!
Response
Sounds wonderful! We are so glad that box is checked off ❤️?