In mid-February, we decided to walk away from a brand new condo in DC that we had been trying to close on for the last two years. If this sounds dramatic, I should add that the whole transaction fell apart the day that we were scheduled the close. Read that story here. After making the tough to decision to walk away, we had another decision to make. Where do we go now?
Our disastrous walkthrough happened on a Friday. Instead of spending the weekend celebrating the purchase of our condo, we spent the weekend scrambling to figure out where we were going to live. Moving supplies were on the way and our lease was up in two weeks. After years of answers questions about how to find a great rental in DC, it was time to put my tips and tricks to the test. Here is how we found our new apartment in just 48 hours.
Look in your building first
If you live in a large building, this is a great place to start. Large buildings have been hit especially hard by the pandemic. I have heard awesome stories about people scoring better units for less in their current buildings. Also because of the pandemic, moving within our building felt safer and easier. On Friday afternoon I sent an urgent email to our leasing office. They knew that we had plans to buy and that we were moving out in two weeks. I explained what had happened and that we needed to move somewhere fast. Both my husband and I had been working from home from our one bedroom apartment for a year and we just couldn’t make it work any longer. Not to mention, we had already started packing.
I basically said, “We need a two bedroom and can move on Monday. What’s the best deal you can give us?”
The leasing office immediately got back to us. We had an appointment in the morning to look at other units in the building. I can’t tell you what a relief it was to get something scheduled so quickly. We have always loved the staff at our building and this was just another reminder of the great service.
Use Urgency to Your Advantage
I know many people like to start apartment hunting early but the faster you can move in, the better the deal you can get. I think our ability to move quickly, plus the impact of Covid-19, really influenced the prices we were seeing.
First thing Saturday morning, we saw two two bedroom units that were double the size of our one bedroom and only $500 more than what we were currently paying.
The two units we saw were great and definitely had the space we needed. However, we weren’t particularly excited about either unit. One did have a slight view of the Monument from one room. But after everything we had just gone through we were feeling pretty defeated and wanted a space that felt special. I reminded the leasing agent that we could move ASAP and asked if there were any other units that could work for us.
The leasing agent then showed us a corner unit. Finding good light in an apartment building can be a struggle so corner units come with a premium. As soon and we saw light streaming in from two directions, we were sold. In addition, the unit was more than double the size of our one bedroom and still within our budget thanks to all of the generous incentives the building was offering.
Know the Competition
Before formally committing, I knew I had to study the competition. Our neighborhood is full of new apartment buildings that are all competing for business. I wanted to be sure that the price we were given aligned with the prices we could get elsewhere. I started looking at nearby buildings and finding apartments that mirrored ours in terms of location (corner,) square footage, finishes and amenities. Based on my research we probably could have saved a little more by moving to a neighboring building but the stress and cost of moving outside of our current building didn’t seem worth it.
Making the Move
After weighing all of our options, we decided to move forward with the two bedroom unit in our building.
Moving inside the building was a breeze. Our building gave us the option to move over the course of a few days. We used LendaBox for our move. The stackable crates and dollies made the entire process so much easier. We had movers come for a few hours to move our big items but we did the rest ourselves.
Even though this isn’t the home we thought we would be in right now, it is one we are excited about it. Paying a little extra for a corner unit gave us the space and light that we were desperately craving. This will be home for the next year and then who knows!
