Finding a Place to Call Home
Will came to Honolulu a couple of weeks ago in hopes of finding us a place to live, so that we would be able to arrive on June 24th and have a place to call home. Our list of requirements was pretty long and narrowed down our options quite a bit: two bedrooms, in one of two highly sought after neighborhoods, furnished, and accepts two cats. These requirements, along with low inventory, a competitive rental market, and limited area due to constraints of the geography meant slim pickings and no luck. Will toured a couple of places, but we were always the next couple behind another couple who looked at it right before Will, or the cats were OK so long as none of the neighbors knew. Yikes! This was getting stressful. It's the middle of June, we have to move out of our current apartment by July 8th, we're supposed to move to Hawai'i, but we have no place to live! Will came back to California, and we set a trip for June 24th to find a place to live. We'd have to go for a week, then come back to California, finish packing things up, then head back across the Pacific. It's not the best option, but it had to be done. And hopefully this time we would find a place to call home.
The morning of June 24th finally came and Will and I set on our way to Honolulu. With apartment apps on my phone, websites bookmarked, and a couple of appointments in the works, things were looking up. We arrived in Honolulu, checked in to the hotel, and left for our first appointment. We met the rental agent, and from the moment we walked in the elevator it was all downhill. The building was in disrepair, the apartment itself was small, hot, in disrepair, needed many more furnishings, and should have been marketed as a one bedroom plus den, not two! After this disappointing showing, and everything else fizzling apart, the situation appeared glum. We had a week, but with an inventory like this, would we find something?
As I'm looking through Criagslist I see a vague add for a place that sounded familiar. Two bedroom house in Kaimuki, furnished, Diamond Head view, and listed the address. I turned to Will and asked if he thought this might be the lady he talked to weeks ago, who had just rented out her condo, but mentioned she was in the process of renovating some homes that would be rented fully furnished. "Let's go drive by it," I said. Will obliged. At this point, what did we have to lose? We got to the house and couldn't tell much, but that there was still some construction happening. "Call her," I said, "Tell her we're here!" Again Will obliged. The landlady was nearby and on her way home. She'd meet us there in twenty minutes. So we drove around the neighborhood a little and made our way back. The landlady brought us inside the two bedroom cottage, as well as the others just so we could see them (the others are four and five bedrooms, too much for us!). There were a few little decorative touches that needed to be finished. The new couch she ordered wasn't going to arrive until Friday, but we could move in tomorrow if we wanted; all we would need were our toothbrushes! Will and I had a nice talk with the landlady and agreed that we would call her the next morning to let her know.
After the promising showing Will and I went to have diner at Tiki's, a restaurant recommended to us by the lady who owns the house. There we went through the pro and con list of the cottage (the con list being very short!). We thought about if it was too soon to make a decision. Would we find something better in the next week? Probably not. What if we don't take this place? We may have to live in a hotel when we come back! And after a not so long discussion, we decided this would be our home! After dinner we went back to the hotel and Will called the landlady to tell her we'd decided to rent the cottage. She mentioned to Will that two hours after we walked through a friend of a friend called, saying her daughter would take the place without even seeing it. Thank goodness she waited to hear from us first!
So, the next morning we went over to the cottage and signed the papers. The rest of the day was spent finalizing logistics, checking out of the hotel, and moving our bags over to our new home!
We now had the best case scenario working out for us: We found a place to live on our first day. Now we have a week to settle in and get things ready for when we move permanently in a couple weeks. Safeway and Target, watch out, we're comin'!
And here are some pictures of our beautiful Kaimuki Cottage. We just love living here! There are spectacular views out of every single window; Palolo Valley to the North, Diamond Head to the South, Waikiki to the Southwest, and a few peekaboo ocean views! Unfortunately my camera does not capture them well. You will just have to come visit us and see them for yourself! There is still some work being done outside, so it's a little messy. Once the landscaping work gets finished up I'll put up some outdoor photos, too.
Now the only thing that is missing (or rather the things that are missing) are the cats! We're so excited to bring them home!
The morning of June 24th finally came and Will and I set on our way to Honolulu. With apartment apps on my phone, websites bookmarked, and a couple of appointments in the works, things were looking up. We arrived in Honolulu, checked in to the hotel, and left for our first appointment. We met the rental agent, and from the moment we walked in the elevator it was all downhill. The building was in disrepair, the apartment itself was small, hot, in disrepair, needed many more furnishings, and should have been marketed as a one bedroom plus den, not two! After this disappointing showing, and everything else fizzling apart, the situation appeared glum. We had a week, but with an inventory like this, would we find something?
As I'm looking through Criagslist I see a vague add for a place that sounded familiar. Two bedroom house in Kaimuki, furnished, Diamond Head view, and listed the address. I turned to Will and asked if he thought this might be the lady he talked to weeks ago, who had just rented out her condo, but mentioned she was in the process of renovating some homes that would be rented fully furnished. "Let's go drive by it," I said. Will obliged. At this point, what did we have to lose? We got to the house and couldn't tell much, but that there was still some construction happening. "Call her," I said, "Tell her we're here!" Again Will obliged. The landlady was nearby and on her way home. She'd meet us there in twenty minutes. So we drove around the neighborhood a little and made our way back. The landlady brought us inside the two bedroom cottage, as well as the others just so we could see them (the others are four and five bedrooms, too much for us!). There were a few little decorative touches that needed to be finished. The new couch she ordered wasn't going to arrive until Friday, but we could move in tomorrow if we wanted; all we would need were our toothbrushes! Will and I had a nice talk with the landlady and agreed that we would call her the next morning to let her know.
After the promising showing Will and I went to have diner at Tiki's, a restaurant recommended to us by the lady who owns the house. There we went through the pro and con list of the cottage (the con list being very short!). We thought about if it was too soon to make a decision. Would we find something better in the next week? Probably not. What if we don't take this place? We may have to live in a hotel when we come back! And after a not so long discussion, we decided this would be our home! After dinner we went back to the hotel and Will called the landlady to tell her we'd decided to rent the cottage. She mentioned to Will that two hours after we walked through a friend of a friend called, saying her daughter would take the place without even seeing it. Thank goodness she waited to hear from us first!
So, the next morning we went over to the cottage and signed the papers. The rest of the day was spent finalizing logistics, checking out of the hotel, and moving our bags over to our new home!
We now had the best case scenario working out for us: We found a place to live on our first day. Now we have a week to settle in and get things ready for when we move permanently in a couple weeks. Safeway and Target, watch out, we're comin'!
And here are some pictures of our beautiful Kaimuki Cottage. We just love living here! There are spectacular views out of every single window; Palolo Valley to the North, Diamond Head to the South, Waikiki to the Southwest, and a few peekaboo ocean views! Unfortunately my camera does not capture them well. You will just have to come visit us and see them for yourself! There is still some work being done outside, so it's a little messy. Once the landscaping work gets finished up I'll put up some outdoor photos, too.
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| The dining room table featuring Humphrey the elephant! |
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| I'm in love with my beautiful kitchen! |
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| Our room |
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| Guest room |
Now the only thing that is missing (or rather the things that are missing) are the cats! We're so excited to bring them home!
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