Found an Apartment

I've been busy with lots of blogworthy things (blogworthy in my opinion anyway). The problem is that I've been too busy to blog about them so I'll sum up in a few brief posts and follow up in more detail if and when I have time.

The biggest news is that we found a place to live. We ended up applying for the place I mentioned in the last post, just a one-minute walk from where Tomomi and I work and where the kids go to school. We were approved and it looks like we'll be moving on March 5. The reason we chose that day is that according to Japanese superstition (not sure if it's astrology or something Buddhist) it's a very unlucky day, and since no one else wants to move that day, the movers offered us a 30% discount. Ain't it grand to be a Christian?

We almost had a showstopper when the realtor/property manager told us about the screening process. The way that particular company typically does things is that the prospective tenants have to apply for a credit card, then if they are approved for the credit card, they are deemed worthy to rent. Sounds simple enough but then rent has to be paid with that credit card and a 1% fee is assessed each and every month! I hate being taken advantage of and can be pretty stubborn so I told the realtor (quite strongly) that we weren't interested in paying 1% of our rent perpetually for a one-time credit check. A one-time fee for a one-time service is okay but every month?! He said he would talk with his boss and get back to us. This was a Saturday evening. An hour or two later he called with news that we were approved and that we wouldn't need the credit card. I asked him how we could have been approved so quickly and on a weekend. Evidently anyone who isn't on a blacklist is automatically approved. Sheesh -- I'm glad we aren't paying over a thousand bucks a year for that!

Anyway, now that househunting is over it's nice to have our weekends back.