It has been a long week but we signed the lease agreement yesterday afternoon and already have the keys! Finding the place has not been a walk in the park and I guess that the 3 times 3 hours long relocation tours we had last week have paid.
After having visited several houses last weekend (thanks to the list provided by Yvonne, our relo guru), we had our eyes on only 2 properties. Once located in Studio City, close to Sunset and West Hollywood and spitting distance from the office.
The only issue: The estate agent sounded really dodgy, wanted a double deposit as we are foreigners here and wanted it in cash on the following day. Adding to this that the guy sounded totally paranoid and high on drugs, decision was made to put this one on the back-burner…
Second property, at the bottom of the hills of Montrose. Sarah first felt that this was a bit remote, but as she walked around the house last weekend, she met with a dear, soon followed by 3 of his friends… This turned into a major selling point to us… Adding to this that the city center of Montrose, 2 minutes away from the house, is fantastic. Small town feeling, loads of mums and babies with a farmers market every Sunday.
As they say here: A “Fantastic community!”. Sarah went back on Monday with Yvonne to see the inside of the house and decision was immediately made: This was the place to rent! 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, double garage and top kitchen! So after a week of various discussions with banks, credit unions and other nice people, we signed the lease yesterday afternoon.
The landlord seems extremely nice, agreed to minor changes to the lease (pays for water and gardner) and gave us the keys 2 weeks earlier than expected! We then spent some time in the place, taking picture, walking to the communal pool (2 minutes walk, if that), meeting with our new neighbors and finally having a last drive through the town center…
Oh, I forgot to add that before signing the lease, we spent an hour in Montrose, bumping into Rosanna Arquette (shooting a TV show), having a bite and simply musing around. I already love the place. Especially after we found HUGE Cheese and Wine delicatessen!!!
