Too Good To Be True

I am writing this the same day as the last two but felt we need to separate these events.  We met with the owner of the apartment and the first thing we (well they) did was discuss what changes needed to be made.  I mentioned that we wanted the wooden tub taken away, the heated floor mat taken away (the last residents were Korean and apparently they like to sit on the floor), we wanted the sofa’s changed to something with color and we wanted the netting taken off the balcony so we could enjoy the view.  Yes, they would take away the tub, No, they would not take away the floor mat (we decided it was OK because the floor was ceramic and we may want to use it to warm the place up for the winter) No, they wouldn’t change the sofas and No, the netting was for safety (although the majority of apartments didn’t have them).  The sofas are white leather with wooden detailing on the side, sitting on a white ceramic wall with white walls and pale yellow curtains as a background.  We said OK…you have no idea how hard it has been to talk to people and try to explain what you want, I don’t know if I said OK because I was tired of not having people understand me or tired of the frustration of not getting Joanna and Re-alta to get why needed to see other places or the fact that we were soooooo ready to be done with house hunting.  We spent almost two hours listening to who knows what as they negotiate the contract.  All the while I sat there looking at the furniture thinking I don’t know if throw pillows and blankets are going to cut it for me, and wondering what they were saying about the place we would live for the next year or so.  We left and came back to the hotel room and after some discussion (the first time we have had a chance to sit and talk about everything) we decided we needed to see other apartments in the same complex, with different furniture and curtains and maybe one that didn’t have a safety net that obstructs our view. 

The last thing I wanted to do was deal with Re-alta (who never seemed happy to show us around) and Joanna (who really never understood questions or concerns we had).  I know we are in a foreign country and that we should get used to things being frustrating…but this is the first home Adam and I choose together…it won’t just be our temporary apartment…it will be our home for our stay in China.  We needed to feel at home there.  We have been living in-between lives for a long time, not being able to use our wedding gifts and not being able to get things for my house or his house that would make either feel like our house because we were getting ready to move to China and thought it would be silly to get things that just needed to be stored.

Adam talked to friends at work that will see if they can help us find other apartment in the same complex.  Cree is also going to hold the contract until we ask them to sign it.
Two days later we were at dinner with people who knew Huizhou well and they knew people at the complex that were paying almost half of what our contract was for.  They told us that it sounded like the re-alta was working with his friends who were all going to cash in on our naiveté.  I am so glad I listened to my gut!  We will find a different realtor and take someone from Cree with us to make sure there isn’t anything shady going on.  Who knows we may end up with that apartment and new furniture or we may end up with a better place in the same complex (we saw the apartment on the 5^th floor of 26 in the 17^th building…so I am confident there is something else available).