in when no one else would, and they’d kept us together. I remembered being told there were good chances we’d be separated. Too many families had only wanted one child or a younger child. I would’ve been easier to adopt than my brother, as I’d still been baby-cute and well-behaved, where Mat had understood our parents had died and they wouldn’t be coming back. If we had other blood relatives, none of them had cared enough to even meet us.
The entry to the apartment complex would stir a lot of memories every time I stepped through the doors, but after a moment of thought, I decided I appreciated the reminders of everything I’d gained and lost over the years.
“I’ll show you the lobby floor first, which has some amenities for guests. After we take the tour, we’ll meet with the representative. I don’t know who we’ll get. Sometimes, the owner decides he wants to meet the tenants at the viewing, and since this one isn’t quite ready for habitation, we might see him today.” Margaret gestured to the far wall, which had a bank of elevators. “You can’t see them well from here, but there’s a doorway back there.”
She waved at the security guards, who gave her a nod and a smile.
“Do you come here a lot?”
“With surprising frequency. The condominiums are in high demand, and when they sell faster than my clients can buy, they often ask to see the apartments because they like the building. Because Jacob treats the apartments with as much care as he treats the condos, he will make arrangements to have a prospective future owner rent from him until there’s an opening at one of his buildings. He just bought another complex not far from here that he’s fixing up to be half apartments and half condos. If he follows this model, he’ll put in an office complex below the units. That’ll take work on the zoning, but he runs a tight operation and rarely has issues with the rental board. That’s a good thing for you. He does raise rent yearly, but his increases are reasonable. He doesn’t want to lose good tenants. He’ll do the max increases for tenants who break his rules, though.”
“Sensible landlords exist?”
My real estate agent laughed. “Shockingly, yes. So, the lobby floor has a few interesting offerings you might like. First, if you’ve notified the front desk you’re having a guest coming to visit you, security will let them into the lounge, where they can grab a drink, watch television, or just enjoy the fireplace. Not all apartments or condominiums have fireplaces, so residents will come and enjoy the fire, especially in the middle of winter.”
“There are apartments with fireplaces here?”
“I don’t know if the unit we’re visiting today has a fireplace, but some of them do, yes. It costs an extra two hundred a month for the fireplace, as the extra rent goes to specifically maintaining your fireplace. You also get a supply of wood or slow-burning logs as a part of the rent. If you go the slow-burning log route, you’ll get enough to burn one log a day as part of your rent.”
“No kidding?”
“No kidding. He buys them at a major discount and distributes them to residents, as he finds it allows him to control the amount burned. He’ll even help provide and store the wood, as he is very picky about what sort of firewood comes into the building. He does a lot of work to keep pests out of the building. He even will have security come and remove spiders. He has them taken outside or to other places spiders are encouraged to live rather than in the units.”
Unable to help myself, I laughed. “My rent will include spider removal?”
“He hates killing innocent wildlife, even spiders. Jacob’s a weird one, but he’s a good man.”
“It sounds like it. Just hit me with the damage. What is the rent going to cost me a month?”
“I was pitched $6,202.02, but it’s negotiable due to the damage in the unit. He usually charges a little higher for the units, but it’s a reasonable rate for what you’re getting. He’s all about making the rent worth the bill. Don’t get me wrong, he’ll be making a tidy profit off you, but he prefers when his tenants feel they’re somewhat getting their money’s worth. Jacob likes the number two, and he makes sure it’s present at least once in every number he’s involved with. I’ve seen him lower