Adventures in Househunting

So we've been in the early stages of moving lately; looking for a new place, getting rid of the things we don't need etc. This process has illuminated for me a pretty considerable failure in our society. Its a big reason we're leaving our current home and the prevailing reason we haven't lined up a new place yet. The problem is essentially one of expectation and demand. The leasing agency is running a business, I have demand for a home.

Now I understand how this comes about, one party is looking to earn a consistent profit and over time increase revenue; the other party is typically in various states of anxiety for need of a place to live. This puts nearly all the leverage in the hands of the party seeking profit. The tricksy aspect in our case is that we aren't in any rush (which would usually mean buying a home which is a different beast altogether), meaning that relatively normal behaviors and manipulative techniques, while still used, are ineffective.

About a week ago the family and I were at a walkthrough at a prospective place; nice, relatively large, pretty solid kitchen, everything we were looking for. The only real problem with the place was the fact that the kitchen was floored with unglued, shitty linoleum. I mentioned that I spend a lot of time in the kitchen and asked if that was a possible fix. It was not. That's not really a problem in itself but the fact that his reaction was essentially surprise at being called out was troubling. we were still pretty alright with the place though so we applied.

He got back to us a couple of days later more than a bit zealous to sign the lease. Which again not a problem in itself, we asked for a copy of the lease so we could take a look at it as a household and make sure everything was amenable. This is where the deal broke. At this point the landlord got huffy and started talking about all the other people who wanted the place. He said he'd email me the lease but to get back to him as soon as possible. So I waited while he sent me the lease and talked to Brian and my wife about his overall attitude, the lot of us becoming less enthusiastic by the minute. I received the lease and started poking through it only to immediately get a call from the landlord.

Did I get the lease? There are just, like, sooo many people on hold for the location, waiting with baited breath to see if we'll snatch it up. We really need to get this lease signed as soon as possible. Yes, yes, thank you. I read through the (blank) lease he's sent me and thought some more about how he'd treated us as prospective clients. I never heard the words "just sign the fucking lease" but that was very much the gist of our communication thus far. After a few about two hours later he called again once more insisting that we get the lease signed because of all the other frothy-mouthed applicants. So I told him that we weren't interested. His response was almost comic. He blustered for a second and then repeated his claims about just, so, so many applicants. Then he hung up.

I realize that's a bit long-winded and I could just be oversensitive, but why would I want to rent from someone so blatantly manipulative and pushy? Why would anyone? I don't know. It bugged me and now I'm sharing it with you. For whatever that's worth.