Adventures of a Non-Binary Author – Needing a Roof Over Our Heads
The clock is ticking. We need to find somewhere to rent before our buyer’s mortgage offer runs out. Which means we need to have found a place yesterday. Or at least that’s how it feels. The rental market is a very different place to five years ago. You can’t just walk into a property and say I’ll take it. You have to fill out an application of interest, and hope yours is chosen from the overflowing pile. There are so many looking for somewhere to live. And luck is just not on our side.
We look on every platform. Put out as many feelers as we can. The situation is stressful and disheartening, but the two of us, we’re determined. And, above all else, we have each other. That’s something worth remembering. But we don’t just have each other. Since moving to Devon to live with me, my partner has made plenty of friends. One of those has a promising lead. The situation and location aren’t the most ideal. But on paper we can see the possibility working. We still need to see it of course. And there’s time to fit in a few more viewings before we do. The opportunities are slim, but there is hope.
As the week wears on, the opportunities dwindle away one by one. By Friday evening, with the deadline creeping ever closer, there are only two options left to view. The friend’s promising lead, and a sudden new contender. The new contender is up first. It’s nice enough. Self-contained. Just enough room for the important things. But we will need to send some stuff to live with family until we purchase our forever home. We put in our application before going to view the promising lead. No matter what happens next, we need a place this weekend or we will lose the sale. And our fate is in someone else’s hands.
The promising lead is more spacious than expected. At least for the space that would be ours. The landlord is friendly, and understanding of our situation. The rooms are ours if we want them. We know we will hear about the new contender by the following afternoon. So we let him know we will have a decision for him then. He is fine with this.
Less than twenty-four hours sit between us and our answer. There is no way for us to know which way this is going to go. But at least we have one thing on our side now. By the end of Sunday we will have a place to go…
To be continued…
