DANGLING THE CARROT

Just as I was about to pay the deposit for the house, the new landlord had to dangle a tempting carrot. He let me know that another house he owns a mere half mile away will be vacant in March and I might want to consider this option due to the larger bedrooms.

This is a house he remodeled last year and one I had my eye on when I looked to move before I found the house I am renting now. The timing was off back then and thus I was not able to rent it. Now, however, the option was once again before me and I had yet another decision to make which was not easy even though the second house is over 400 square feet larger for the same price.

I spent the entire day going through the descriptions, looking at the photos on the listings, and drawing up a list of pros and cons of both places. I asked my children their opinion. I asked Mario his opinion. I even got in touch with the current tenant of the second house who graciously let me walk through the house with my three children.

Photographs do not tell the entire story. As I walked through the second house, I realised that the larger bedrooms do make a significant difference. The yard is smaller though and there are two floors as opposed to it being a single story house. Both houses are devoid of carpets, which I very much prefer. The first house is artsy with an open floor plan. The second has a 'big house feel' as I wrote on my list.

At first, the children begged me to take the smaller house with the huge backyard. That is, until I picked them up and let them take a look through the windows.

'That's the size of a closet' exclaimed my older daughter. And I realised after looking at the room once again that there was no possible way to fit two twin beds, a dresser, and a nightstand - the basics of a bedroom. One bed would fit and perhaps if I pushed both together they might fit but it would be a challenge given that one bed was a daybed with only one open side.

If I tried, we could make it work somehow. The other option was to have one child sleep in the formal dining room but with the carrot the landlord now dangled in front of me, the need for compromise was removed. A larger house for the same price seems a better choice though I like both. But I have to remember that getting attached to a rental is not wise as this is not our 'forever house'. One day we will buy a house of our own where we can be more selective in everything.