It is a bad, rude, wicked world

We are apartment hunting.  We have steps, lots of steps. Steps in the house, steps up to the street, steps to the parking pad, steps down to the back of the house.  STEPS! We have bad knees and bad feet.  We have aging hips.  These do not go with steps. So a need to move.

I have been on Craigslist every day, several times a day for weeks.  I send emails asking to view, no response.  I call managers, listing agents, and owners, the majority don't respond.  Rude, Miss Manners would have something to say about them. 

The pictures in the listing will be lovely, then you google the address. When you zoom in, you can see the bars on the windows and doors. Tough neighborhoods.  Not an area a nice chicken hearted senior citizen would last in.  I would have to give the kids on the corner my lunch money.

I did get quick responses back from a few listings.  Nice area, square footage I want, in our price range.  The emails would tell me the owner was working overseas in England, Germany, Ireland, South Africa for the next 5 years.  They had moved and accidentally brought the keys with them.  If I would send them 3 months rent, the security deposit, my social security number, and a picture; they would send me the keys and the apartment was mine.  Well, you just know Marty and I couldn't get the money in the mail fast enough. The sad truth is people are falling for this scam.  I have received emails back more than once with the very same message.

Some of the listings are so funny. Sidebar:  Oakland is on the San Francisco Bay.  Most view homes are up in the hills.  We call the water views South Bay, North Bay, Golden Gate View.  Downtown Oakland has some lovely apartments, that start at 500 square feet and are very expensive, say starting at $2200 a month.   Downtown Oakland is in the flats, not up in the hills.  So there is a listing that says 

$925  2 br 2 ba, Italian palace   1250 square feet   Intercoastal views. Gorgeous pictures were posted of every room.  It then gave a street address.

Too cheap for the size and area. The pictures for sure came from Architectural Digest. That street listed, no way you could see the Bay from there. Guess what, we don't use the term intercoastal here, that is more Florida, South Carolina, or Georgia.  It did make me laugh out loud.

I will continue to search for a new home.