Thursday 18 July 2013

Err, come again?


I'm on the hunt for a flat again. Two weeks ago, my landlord informed me that he wants to move into my flat. At first I was a bit in shock, because with a few other things going on in my life at the moment, I really didn't have moving on my radar. It's probably the Universe delivering, because haven't spent that super cold winter in my flat, had me wishing for a different place and I remember saying that I really want to move out in summer. There you have it, Stella, I thought to myself. Even if this wasn't on my own account. I love hunting for flats and viewing them; packing all my stuff and moving out, I hate. And don't get me started on the 1000 screws that hold the vivarium together! But it needs to be done--no way around it. This time, I feel that flat hunting is particularly difficult: it seems the scams on Gumtree are dominating what once was a great site to find a new place to live. I've found both my flats on there in the past and never had bad experiences.


Okay, I stumbled over some scam beforehand, but I'm switched on and sniffed it out immediately. I wonder if it really works; are people really that naive? Then again if it wouldn't work, those scam ads would become less, not more, wouldn't they? How low can you be as a person to rip off others by using their hope to find a nice place with good value? Pretty shoddy if you ask me.
Not really shoddy, but very cheesy was what I've experienced recently. I went to see a flat and the landlord was lovely. I mean in a 'I have a really nice landlord' kind of way. The flat was in quite a bit of a state, which I pointed out to him: I think the people who'll live there over the winter will need wellies when entering the flat, and a big wallet to pay for heating. Nevertheless, the landlord seemed laid back; I like it when they leave me alone and fix things when I tell them they need fixing.
To cut a long story short: I didn't get the flat, I guess he sensed that I wasn't as interested and let it to someone else within an hour. He then sent me an e-mail, informing me about it, but said it would be nice to stay in touch. I thought it was a little odd, but since he has more flats, I thought maybe he meant in case I hadn't found anything, and one of his  flats would become vacant.
Then he said he's around Finsbury Park a lot and if I fancied a drink I should give him a call.
What a peculiar thing to do. I then checked out his (empty) Facebook page, which he mentioned in the other e-mail an his profile picture of a topless man made me laugh. This guy is seriously on the prowl, methinks.
No, man, I just want a flat.