I have got to learn to stop making predictions. In the previous post I opened by quoting the last paragraph of my serialized book God Can Wait. I closed with the following words; “Stay tuned, it promises to be an interesting spring here at the Cafe.”
I should be careful what I wish for.
Editor’s note: As you remember from the previous episode (Piriformis), Charles has been having some difficulty maneuvering about recently. I am posting the text of his current episode while he is immobile. I hope he will be back soon to add photos. —Ken
As I write this, I am sequestered in the home of a good friend in Hamilton, Ontario as the third major winter storm since the beginning of the month swirls all about us. You can’t even drive or walk out of the little cul-de-sac where this townhouse is located without the high winds propelling you down the icy streets and sidewalks every which direction but the one you wanted to go in.
Did I mention this is April, four weeks into Spring?
Back in early March, when Jon was first offered a power engineering position at a leading Ontario university, we thought he would have a starting date in early May, right after his final on campus semester in Sudbury concluded in April. That gave me a little over a month to travel down to Hamilton to find us a place to live.
I immediately hit all the Hamilton area home rental websites and was about to start setting up appointments for the following week when we got news, following a communications snafu, that Jon wouldn’t begin his new job until June 1.
No problem I thought as there were many properties available in our price range and with most, if not all, of the features we wanted. This meant I could wait until April to travel down to Hamilton and find us a place, with the added bonus of having the entire month of May to relocate.
I knew, of course, many of these properties would no longer be on the market; however, I reasoned there would be new listings to choose from.
A Completely Unreasonable Supposition
I reached Hamilton in early April, at which time I discovered nearly 30% of the rental listings I had seen the month before were gone. Less than a quarter of that number of new listings had replaced them.
By the time I arrived, Jon and I had already decided we wanted to live in the city’s southwestern quarter. It was close to where he would be working, featured a lovely commercial district with pubs, cafes, and, most important of all, the city’s premier donut shop. There was only one listing within our budget in the entire district.
It was a large, nearly 1,400 sq. ft., two-bedroom condominium-turned-rental on the top floor of a stately old Victorian mansion. There was a gas fireplace in the main room, the kitchen had a full suite of stainless steel appliancesand ample counter space over lots of roomy cabinets, an updated modern bathroom with dual vanity, and. best of all, ensuite washer and dryer.
Additionally, there was a room-sized balcony overlooking the park across the way. The space could accommodate (and the owner would permit) a propane gas BBQ grill. Best of all, the entire unit was $200 below our maximum budget.
The condo/apartment had been listed by a local realtor on Sunday April 8. I saw the listing the following Monday and immediately called the listing agent. My call went directly to voice mail. I gave my name, phone number, and a message stating I would like to see the apartment.
That was Monday morning, by about nine that evening I had yet to hear back from anyone. I went back to the ad and using the email contact form sent a written request to see the flat.
Tuesday morning I received the following response to my inquiry.
Hello Charles,
Thank you for your interest in …
I received your voice message today and apologize for the delayed reply. I have been in back to back appointments today. I will not have access to the condo unit for a few days as I am waiting for the owner to have a new set of keys made. The keys currently in my possession are not opening the door. They must have been cut wrong. Are you available on Thursday during the day to see this property? I am also available on Friday afternoon.
Sincerely,
Sharon
While it struck me as odd that a realtor didn’t have working keys for one of their listed properties it didn’t seem beyond probability. I wrote back saying Thursday would be fine, even though it meant waiting another two days. I concluded by saying the morning would be best for me.
On Wednesday, just before noon, I received another email from Sharon.
Would tomorrow at 4:00 be a good time for you to look at the condo? I can try to arrange something for the morning, but I’m supposed to be in Oakville to meet a client. I might be able to meet you there at 10:00.
Another delay but there wasn’t much I could do about it if I didn’t want to be rushed through viewing the flat. I wrote back to Sharon saying that I would see her the following day at 4:00.
Even as Sharon and I were bouncing emails off of one another trying to set a date and time to see that spacious condo I was still reviewing other listings. I adopted a plan of driving by prospective properties before requesting a showing, which proved to be a good idea as nearly a half-dozen of them turned out to be significantly less appealing than their listings would lead you to believe.
On Wednesday returning from checking out a couple of properties that turned out to be much closer to the rail yards and mills than I cared to live, I found myself not far from the neighborhood I was to meet Sharon at the following day. Why not drive by I thought.
The exterior of the old mansion was lovely. Equally as impressive was the neighborhood surrounding it. It was calm and peaceful and, even though the skies were grey and the trees still bare, the stately old homes from one of the city’s earliest neighborhoods exuded grace and charm.
Finally Thursday arrived, late that morning I drove through a couple of neighborhoods I had yet to consider, did some banking, and, one hour before my meeting with Sharon, pulled into a golden arches for some lunch.
While standing in line to order my Quarter Pounder my iPhone rang; it was Sharon. One hour before our scheduled meeting to tour what appeared to be the best value per dollar living space, I had yet found Sharon canceled our appointment.
“I’m sorry,” she said, “last night the owner accepted an offer sight unseen from a doctor in Vancouver. I told her I had someone here in town waiting to see her condo but she said she was very happy with the offer from Vancouver.”
I said I would gladly counter offer. Sharon declined saying her client wouldn’t be interested. Who ever heard of a landlord who wouldn’t listen to, much less refuse to take, a higher offer?
After throwing her client under the bus, Sharon did everything but pat me on the back and say better luck next time.
In an instant, my mind found a pattern in our communications. Sharon had been stalling me all week long.
Not only is it nearly impossible to believe a realtor wouldn’t have a working set of keys, it’s even more difficult to believe they would put out a lock box with a bad set of keys, which really ticks off other realtors attempting to show the property.
During my earlier walk-around of the old Victorian, I saw two lock boxes attached to one of the balusters at the entrance of the building. To top everything off, I later discovered that second lock box was for another unit in the build Sharon also listed. She never told be about that either.
It has been four days since being blown off by Sharon and the lovely 3rd floor 2 bedroom flat in a charming old Victorian mansion is still listed for rent on The Canadian Real Estate Association’s website.
In that same time I’ve viewed a condo that was just too small for Jon and I and had another property leased out from underneath me before I could even see it. Meanwhile the 3rd severe winter storm of the Spring of 2018 has left the streets and roads extremely hazardous, and the owner of the apartment I was supposed to see Monday evening called and canceled because of the bad driving conditions.
Back to the web ads.
Edited by
Kenneth Larsen
TheStorytellerCafe is updated every Tuesday at noon Eastern and 9:00 a.m. Pacific time. If you’re enjoying our tales of life in The Great White North please use the social media buttons to help spread the word and don’t forget to checkout the products and services offered by our sponsors.
Support For The Storyteller Cafe
The Storyteller Cafe is supported by modest ad revenue and the generosity of readers like you.
Please “like” and “share” TheStorytellerCafe.com with your friends and family on social media and anytime you get together, it can make for some scintillating conversations.
Additionally, your direct financial support is greatly appreciated. To support the kind of storytelling we offer click the button below to our PayPal account. Your contributions, in any amount, are welcome.
Thank you once again for your continued support of TheStorytellerCafe.com. We’re looking forward to sharing many more stories with you in the near future.
