I recently wrote about my good fortune when selling my home a couple years ago. I put it on the market on a Friday and had accepted a solid offer by the following Monday. No lengthy sales process with endless open houses or running around to get things in order for a last-minute showing.
That was the good news.
The bad news was that the new owner was in the process of an international move and needed to take possession in about 3 weeks. I had been expecting an 8-9 month sales process – and my new property wouldn’t be move-in ready for at least 6 months…
So, I was left with the unenviable task of finding a short-term rental location willing to take on a renter with 3 dogs – FAST. Because my needs were so specific – immediate occupancy, less than a year lease and open to accepting pets – the options available to me were limited and I was very grateful to find a nice location for a reasonable price that could accommodate those needs.
I did, however, make a couple of major mistakes in the process – and ended up pretty miserable for several months because of it. If you are considering downsizing from a home to a smaller rental property – do an honest appraisal of your belongings BEFORE moving day. I thought I had done this because I had diligently cleaned, organized, threw out and gave away unwanted belongings until I thought I had streamlined my material possessions to the bare minimum.
I was wrong.
Let me stress, I am not a pack rat by any stretch of the imagination. I prefer a simple design style without a lot of clutter or knick-nacky items. Still, I somehow completely underestimated how much stuff I had accumulated until the movers arrived with a very large truck – and still needed to make two trips. I ended up spending twice what I had been quoted for moving – and still had to rent my a uHaul truck to transport remaining items.
Even worse, I had way too much stuff to fit in my new location. After all, I was moving from a 3-bedroom house with a 2-car garage, separate office space and full basement into a 2-bedroom townhouse with no basement, no office space and a single car garage. Because I hadn’t moved in nearly a decade and things were so much more spread out in my former home, I miscalculated how much ‘stuff’ I had. The new apartment and garage looked like storage units when the movers left and I literally had to clear a path between boxes stacked higher than my head to get through the apartment.
Tomorrow, I will share how I was able to get that mess (somewhat) under control – and what I would do (much) differently next time to save a lot of time, frustration and money.
Til Then,
P.S. If you are about to start apartment hunting yourself, be sure to take a look at our new article, Money-Saving Apartment Hunting Tips in the Real Estate Guide.
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