30 January, 2008 – Fun with Flats

Today was a very successful day.  I met with Victoria from the Shoreditch branch of Foxtons Estate Lettings today.  If you are looking for a flat in London, I can not praise her enough and you should ring her immediately.

In New York, I was pretty much a Craigslister, though my most recent apartment there was brokered by Fate herself.  Now that I’m in London and am not familiar with the areas (unless they’d let me bunk in the Tower), or going rates or what heaters look like or how not to accidentally turn off someone’s refrigerator, I knew I would be utilizing the services of an estate agent.  Thank goodness I did.  It seems here you can actually negotiate the rent.  I know, I know everything is negotiable – but I’d like to see a potential tenant trying to get a Williamsburg 2-bed at a cut rate or a Garden duplex in Park Slope for anything less than first and last born and security arm and leg*.

We went to see five flats in just the cutest mini ever**.  The Foxtons cars are detailed to look like they are wearing horse silks so as to, according to their website, “capture the vibrancy of horse racing and reflect the energy we bring to today’s fast moving property market”.  I don’t know about all that, but do know they are adorable. 

I hadn’t viewed any of the properties we visited before on their website, as I thought they’d be very out of my price range, and they technically are – except for the power of negotiation.

 The flat I’ve made an offer on was the fourth we visited.  It’s in an area called Bethnal Green, on a road called – how great is this -  Twig Folly Close (which brings to my mind the site of some epic Ent battle, that didn’t work out all that well for the dear Ents).  This place is a dream.  I don’t know where to begin, ok, the kitchen.  The kitchen is a real, honest-to-goodness kitchen, no “modern open plan” malarkey here.   It is lined with oak-stained cabinetry, some of which hide a fridge/freezer (mind you – a fridge, let alone fridge/freezer is not a given in a London apartment; really), a dishwasher and a good sized washer/dryer – (there is not enough time in all the rest of the world’s allottment for me to type all the ps and es I would need to accurately reflect my inner yippee).  There is plenty of room to add additional shelving or baker’s racks if needed.  The bedroom overlooks the canal, has a massive mirrored closet, and when I viewed it, fit a king-sized bed, dresser and baby’s crib with ease.   The hallway has two deep, double-doored closets.  Yup – two more darlings.  The bathroom includes not just a shower stall (with excellent water pressure), but a separate deep, soaking tub.  The living room is bigger than- or at least has the same square footage as - my last apartment.  In addition to your typical sofa/love seat/table combo, there is an audacious 8-person dining room table.  Room for an 8-person dining room table.  Yes, this is the flat of my dreams.

 Oh – and the landlord lived for a time in Williamsburg, Brooklyn - when he was one of the architects brought over to help with post-9/11 rebuilding.  How cool – and random – is that?

I’ll know today whether my offer is accepted.  It’s a fair one, so hopefully I’ll have good news to share with you.  Wish me luck – no really – send it along post haste.  This is, when you think about, really all of our future flat – with the visiting and all – so don’t do it for me – do it for yourselves (and me too ).

*If any of you are not actually looking for a place to live, and are up for a bit of cheek, would you mind trying to negotiate rent on an NYC apartment down a couple hundred a month – oh and ask for appliance upgrades – and maybe a dining set.  Then please send me a transcript and a photo diary of the landlord’s sure to be confused, incredulous and/or infuriated expressions.  It’s sure to be some good, clean family fun.

 **And only once did I try to get in on the wrong side of the car.  Not too shabby.