Pet Peeves in the Housing Search (Arlington, Alexandria: real estate, apartment, rental)

[seiketsu]

I'm looking for a new place to live. I would love to be in Old Town Alexandria since I spend so much time there, but I'm also exploring other neighborhoods that would allow me to rent a townhouse and still stay within budget.

After much perusal of ads, I've come to one conclusion: People suck. Especially people who try to make their crappy little shoeboxes sound like Trump Towers.

For example, it's almost impossible to search listings on Craigslist to focus on one area. Why? Because even if a rental is in Dale City, the listing will say something like "minutes from Old Town/Arlington/DC!!!!!!!" And "close to Metro" seems to apply to anything within a 30-minute drive to the end of the line.

And then there are the creative descriptions. It's not "luxury" if the appliances are from 1980 and the bathtub is so shallow that filling it to the brim wouldn't cover my navel. It's not "2br" if that second "bedroom" is a 6' x 8' nook without a door. My favorite from today was "separate dining room." Uh...that would imply a...separate room for a table. It was an open floor plan. The only thing separating the dining room from the living room was the entrance to the bedroom.

I don't even bother with ads that don't have pictures.

What are your pet peeves in the hunt for housing?

[VRE332]

I hate when I go into a house and find the trash has not been taken out, and there is crust around everything in the kitchen. I see that and walk out or puke

[lindy112]

"Walking distance to the Metro" - as my husband says, everything's walking distance if you have enough time!

[Yankeesfan]

That last time I had to look for a rental was 1981 but it was the same then. No internet so my primary source was newspaper classifieds. After the first weekend out I learned to go look at the place before calling because so many of them were dreadful on the outside that I would not even consider going inside.

[JakilaTheHun]

I've often joked that every craphole in the US is now labeled a "luxury apartment" complex.

If I started listing my pet peeves about searching for housing in the DC metro area, the entire Internet would explode!!!!

One thing that did annoy was the deep, deep suburbanites that swore up and down that it wasn't a bad commute from their place. Even had one guy in Petersville, MD (look it up on Google Maps) trying to rent out a room in his small, crappy house for $700/month. Plus, he also stated he'd appreciate it if I were to help him make the payments on his jetski.

He swore up and down that Falls Church was a mere 30 minute commute from Petersville, MD. 55 miles, with significant portions down I-270 and I-495 South through Bethesda and Tyson's Corner --- but it would only take 30 minutes. Uh, yeah.

I've said enough. Don't want to make the Internet explode with my other 12,034,936 pet peeves

[horseplayer]

Icemaker broken, leaks from the upstairs bathroom(s), noisy dogs.....

[Alanboy395]

One of my favorites is "Fairfax County School System." Never mind that area is zoned for the lowest-scoring schools in Fairfax County.

[car54]

There's many versions of "Realtorspeak"...or "glossaries" of real estate terms.

I don't have time to look right now....this one is just so-so:

Breaking Down Real Estate AdSpeak - Funny Definitions for Real Estate Jargon

[JfromReston]

Real Estate agents who drive you 5 miles out of your way to by-pass the bad part of town when showing you a house in a slightly better part of town.

[Workin_Hard]

Way back when, I called about a place in "South Alexandria" as I hadn't yet heard of that locale. Turns out it was in Woodbridge. Another listed a "private den" which turned out to be a 4' bumped area off of the living room.

Now I live in an "Executive Community" ... plumbing trucks and all!