公寓 is a Chinese-specific word for apartment that I didn't even know. Japanese and Koreans just go ahead and use the English, sounds like "apato." I was a nomad throughout my 20's and pretty much all of my adult life, living on people's couches, sharing a room with people, AirBnB, law school dormitory, hostels, my old room in my parents' house, you name it, I've tried it. Only on a few occasions have I actually settled down and had to get an apartment, which apparently isn't the easy thing in big cities nowadays like L.A. ( I heard it's even harder in foreign places like Tokyo, where they can reject any one for any reason!)
For the record, I'm not a fan of apartment hunting. I get that where one lives is a big deal in one's life and shouldn't be taken lightly, but it's become too commercialized, reminds me of purchasing a car. You schedule an appointment from the internet to go visit an apartment unit, you arrive at the "leasing office" where you're greeted by the friendly "leasing consultant" (apartment salesperson, kinda like a car salesperson) and have to fill in one's information and show ID before you test drive the car, er, I mean, get to see the apartment units. They ask you your price range first to narrow down the options, and then away you go on a test drive! While I do admit it's nice to look around a new building and get a sense of how one would live in the building, so is driving a new car! It's always going to feel nice at least for me to go through a shiny new building with new things, but that's just the exterior, and doesn't go through the rent, extra fees, etc., etc. that go along with living in a building like that. The swimming pool, the outdoor barbecue, the roof view, the 24/7 exercise room, all those are like nice add-on features on a car to make the prospective buyer feel right at home. There's a reason why apartments show you around first, to sell the product.
The sitting down after the tour is over, is really where the real negotiation comes in. The leasing consultant will offer the different rooms that he or she "has." Have I mentioned that I really dislike when places take ownership of their food like that particular waiter/seller is granting to you out of that nicety of their heart? No, it's not "your apartment" or "I have milk," it's the owner of the building, or the company, or the restaurant. Taking ownership of the product doesn't make me want to buy the product anymore, and is a turn-off really, just like when a cashier calls me "boss." I'm a "sir," thank you very much. Anyway, there are good times and bad times to rent an apartment apparently, and one's timing has to be correct. Seems like March and April are when apartments give out the good deals, cuz people don't typically move in during those times, those are like the "dead times" probably related to the school schedule or something, but I've had good experience getting good deals. There's a catchy new thing called a 24-hour "look and book" deal where the seller offers extra goodies in addition to the deals if the customer buys within 24 hours of seeing the place, basically as a way to capitalize on the glowing warm-and-fuzzy feeling after seeing the place and wanting to move in, with the benefit being they lock in the rate quickly without you gong to other places and shopping around for better deals. Great business strategy, actually, to put the onus on the customer and make them feel like a good deal is getting away (Time Sale!) and put an artificial deadline on their decision.
Personally, while I do like looking at new houses, new buildings, etc., I'm not really picky about where I live. (I understand those who are though, you have to spend like half your time in your home, even if you don't count sleeping!) As long as bed and other accessories are available, I'm all set. Sometimes, despite getting a bunch of tempting deals at other places and liking new areas and new amenities, home is where the heart is and staying at one's own home is the best.
Plus, finding a new place is easy compared to: MOVING. Moving is tough!
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
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