Markus’ Blog

This is starting to get lame. Here we are, trying to look at temporary accommodation for August and September, and it doesn’t seem to want to work out.

On Wednesday, we had an appointment at 6pm to see a condo one block east of Beatty, between Georgia and Dunsmuir (in those new high rises above Costco). The guy owning it asked us to call him when we were on our way. We did, but it turned out that (a) his phone went to voice mail and (b) that his voice mail was full. So, we couldn’t get in touch with him, nor could we leave him a message. His buzzer went to the same, full mail box, as well. The guy didn’t show up either, even though we had already agreed to meet there at 6pm (it hadn’t been an issue getting a hold of him earlier in the day). Eventually we left and went for dinner. Thankfully, there was at least yummy sushi to be had after this experience, otherwise I would have trekked from Burnaby to Downtown for no reason whatsoever.

The second installment of this story happened this morning. Another appointment, originally set up for 1pm, but then moved to 10am for our convenience. 977 Mainland. We got there five minutes early, waited for the owner. Nobody showed up. We phoned the owner. It went straight to voice mail. No ringing. At least the mail box was not full and we could leave a message. Not that that did us any good. 20 minutes and a second message later, we left. Can you say déjà vu?

And the “best” thing of all: guy #1 did not reply to the e-mail sent to him after the fact, and guy #2 did not phone back despite having received two voice mails and clearly being aware that he stood us up.

What is it with people?! Obviously, they are not very eager to rent out their places. And these things go between $2000 and $2500/month! What really pisses me off, though, is that there’s probably enough demand, that they don’t have to take appointments seriously. They can afford to be asses. If they manage to remember every 5th appointment they make and actually show up, it probably results in a signed deal, which is good enough for them and that’s all they care about.

It’s been almost a week — yes, I am slow updating the blog — since we got the good news from our real estate agent. Our first buyer (see previous post) removed her conditions, which means that our place is now officially SOLD!!!!. That is Cool Stuff^TM, because it’s one less thing for us to worry about. Yay! She even wants some of our old furniture, which we wanted to get rid of anyway, so that’s an added bonus.

Now we have to find a temporary place (likely Downtown) for us and the Kitteh. We’ll look at one apartment tomorrow and at another one on Saturday. Should be exciting times. Luckily, even though we are moving twice, we only have to pack and unpack once. So we won’t have to repeat the nastiest part of moving two times in a row.

The new owner of our condo wants to take possession on August 9, so we are planning on renting our temporary place at the beginning of August and move some time between August 1 and August 9.

We’ll be there till the end of September. We get our house on September 26, which means that we’ll be moving in, most likely, between September 27 and September 30.

…means exciting times. But also stressful and anxious times. Currently, we are going through the latter. It’s also a bit like playing poker. With a lot of money.

We got another offer today and just put in a counter. Unlike the first offer (the seller just walked away in the end before even an inspection was conducted), this time asking price and offer are quite far apart (and our asking price is already lower). Our realtor is confident, though, that there is room on the buyer’s side to better their offer. We’re sure hoping so.

Now it’s the waiting game. And that’s the most stressful part. Sitting there, waiting, not being able to do anything anymore. Just hoping.

Another showing is scheduled for tomorrow. We’ll see how that goes.

I didn’t mean to post another weather related rant, but this fact deserves mentioning. Yellowknife in the North West Territories (Canada’s “Great White North”) is actually warmer and sunnier than Vancouver, BC.

Vancouver
Current Conditions: Light Rain, 11 °C
Observed at: Vancouver Int’l Airport
Date: 10:00 AM PDT Monday 9 June 2008

Yellowknife
Current Conditions: Partly Cloudy, 16 °C
Observed at: Yellowknife Airport
Date: 11:00 AM MDT Monday 9 June 2008

Two weeks ago, when we got home from our vacation, I thought summer (or late spring at the very least) had finally arrived. Particularly, since it was so hot the weekend we got back.

Fortunately it cooled off a bit soon thereafter, because that weekend was a little too “warm” for my liking. However, it’s been gradually getting worse and worse ever since. There were a few nice, sunny, warm days, but now it’s back to daily highs of 12°C and rain. — And it’s supposed to stay like that for the whole week.

To be fair, the weather last weekend was good, and it doesn’t look too bad for the next one, either.

Today

Day: Showers. High 15. UV index 3 or moderate.
Night: Cloudy with 60 percent chance of showers. Becoming windy overnight. Low 11.

 

Wednesday

Cloudy with 40 percent chance of showers in the morning. Clearing in the afternoon. Windy. High 18.

 

Thursday

Showers. Low 10. High 14.

 

Friday

Cloudy with 70 percent chance of showers. Low 11. High 14.

 

Saturday

A mix of sun and cloud with 30 percent chance of showers. Low 12. High 16.

 

However, I can’t help but wonder: when, just when will it turn nice for more than a day or two in a row? The weather we are having right now is suitable for October or February, not June.

And no, I am not asking for 35°C heat or anything even close to that.