[Jessdienst]

Looking for the perfect house to rent is a difficult experience. Lining up the homes to view and having a list of criteria is important, but being on the same page with your partner is crucial. Both parties must have agreed upon terms with the understanding of compromise. Criteria and terms such as, how much you’re willing to pay every month, minimum bedrooms necessary, updates to the home, garage, and location to start. For my husband and myself the house in Granby, CT, known from here on as ‘the house’, was as close to a perfect fit as we would come to find. Rental properties in Granby, Connecticut are hard to come by; expensive and small for what you end up paying in rent.

The house was listed at 2,100 sq./ft. making it an adequate size for our family of three plus a dog. Originally, they were asking $2,100 a month for the home, which was still within our budget, however after reviewing the home we felt that they were asking too much and offered $1950 with the addition of the owner paying for winter snow removal. The driveway was long and would be very tedious to shovel and as we did not own a snow plow we felt it was reasonable to ask. In the notice, they indicated a single small animal would be welcomed into the home. Our Goldendoodle is medium to large in size and thus we needed approval for him, which was accepted with zero pet fees required.

The house location with proximity to central town activities, such as grocery shopping, some restaurants and community amenities was a good beginning indicator that this may be a good fit. The commute for my husband was only fifteen minutes, compared to the forty-five to over an hour commute from our previous home, it was a dream come true. The local shopping center was merely five minutes from the end of the drive-way and our daughters school, if she walked, would only take ten minutes and two to drive. The area surrounding the house was stunning. The streets were lined with trees so tall the branches met, making a terrific shaded walkway. The downside to all the trees presented itself after dark, when not even the stars could light your way.

The town of Granby is known to be a peaceful and safe community. The lot where the home is built, is located directly across from a church. We did notice that the city commuter bus had a parking lot attached to the church and the bus stop was located directly in front. Another odd note is the lack of sidewalks in this town. The cars seem to drive fast around these streets, so bike rides may be something we have to forgo.

The yard was one of our top three requirements for a home; it had to be fenced in for our dog to be able to spread his legs and run. We were expecting to deal with lawn care, however the house sat on two acres, all of which needed to be mowed and flowerbeds weeded. There were three large oak trees within the fence and additional four outside of the fence. Already we could see that the leaves would add up in the fall requiring a lot of clean up, all of which equaled time. Aesthetically the house was very plain on the outside, although people from the area liked the historical look it had to it. I found it to look akin to a brown barn, however, the red front door was a nice pop of color.

Considering we have two vehicles and the winter could be very harsh, having a two-car garage available was a catch. Many older homes do not have a garage to store vehicles, and with the amount of snow that can pile up, it can be hazardous. Above the garage was an attic, perfect for storage. Having an area to store our boxes and seasonal items was a great bonus to the home, so when we learned that there was a large unfinished basement it was a pleasant surprise that we would have more than enough room to accommodate our stored belongings.

Inside of the home was a mixture of old and new. They had recently renovated the kitchen with updated appliance and large new cabinetry with adequate storage space. The lack of pantry space could be easily overlooked by the number of cupboards. The flooring, however, had been sanded and sealed revealing a shine original to the home. The house, most certainly had character. An incredibly large fireplace centered the home connecting the kitchen and the living room by turning a corner. The exposed brick led up the stairs to the second floor landing clear up to the ceiling, creating a magnificent featured wall in every room.

The main floor boasted of a full bathroom, enclosed office space as well as the laundry, kitchen, living room and dining area combined. Although there were six windows in the large living and dining room, the room appeared dark. This may have been an effect of the darker, off-white wall color in addition to the dark trim and fireplace. The lack of a ceiling light was also an interesting fact. We would need to buy at least two floor lamps to adequately light this area in the evening. There were plenty of electrical outlets in the room, and we learned that some of the light switches were directly connected to certain outlets making them perfect to connect to a lamp.

Upstairs there were three bedrooms and one full bathroom. Although a master bathroom was high on our priority list, the lack of available homes to rent made our list significantly smaller. Two bedrooms were larger than the third making it an easy choice of which room would be the guest room, and possible nursery in the future. One of the two larger bedrooms had more space but smaller closets. Knowing we had larger furniture it made the most plausible choice for a master.

Although the house was older and had many dated features, we recognized that the home was well maintained and overlooked closely. The furnace, in the basement, was newer and the oil tank, which is what the home heater would run off, was in newer condition. Although there was not forced air conditioning, the trees provided sufficient shade which would help cool the house in the summer. Another interesting fact was the house also sported an attic fan, which after research revealed that in hotter months when the fan was turned on and the windows opened, it would pull the cooler air from outside and blow the warmer air out.

Overall, we are very pleased with this home. Despite the negatives, including the high rental fee, lack of air conditioning, low lighting in living areas, and lack of master bathroom, this house seems to fit much of our most necessary criteria. The largest push of this home is the lack of rental properties in the area and our immediate need to find a place to live. This home isn’t perfect, but we can manage with what it offers.

[JayCT]

I am glad that you found a home rental that works for you. Single family home rentals are not all that common here and can be pricey. That said I do not think $1,950 per month is a lot for a 2,100 square foot home since apartments can rent for that much per square foot. I do find it odd that you would question there being few sidewalks in Granby. It is generally a rural town so no one would or should expect to find sidewalks there. If sidewalks were important to you, you should have considered a more suburban town like West Hartford. Good luck with living in Granby. It is a beautiful town that I am sure you will like. Jay