Hallelujah!

The apartment is ours!!! We signed the lease last night.

Everything wasn't quite as perfect as we had hoped, but in one week we can start inhabiting our new home!!! Yay!

One of the problems we had was that when we toured the apartment, they had said that since we didn't need a parking spot, we wouldn't have to pay for it. The lease, however, said that we did. Nate argued with the realtor for quite a while, but she insisted that it would be very easy to rent out the space if we weren't going to use it. Nate didn't agree to it until she promised to help us find a rentor. 70 euros a month for parking (ouch)!

We had also asked for a diplomatic clause (basically a clause that says if we need to leave, we only have to give 30 days notice instead of the typical 3 months notice). That clause was not in the lease even though she had said it would be. The realtor claimed that she had talked to the owner and he promised to sign this type of clause later, as long as we faxed him some sort of official document with the clause on it. Hmmmm... Okay, fine.

Other than that, the whole process went pretty smoothly. In fact, there was a ray of light at one point. I had asked the realtor if it was possible for us to install a dishwasher at some point in the future. She said "yes" and I thought that was the end of it. Well, at our meeting yesterday, she told us that she had talked to the owner and that the owner was planning on installing a brand new dishwasher next week before we move in!!! Free of charge! Yay! I hate dishes!!!!! I like to do laundry, cook, various other household chores... but I really hate getting my hands all wet and wrinkly. : )

Other happy news is that they are allowing us to paint the apartment now, and then we won't have to paint it when we move out. I think the deal is that they will not be painting it before we move in (it sounds like they only want to paint once). So I am finally going to get my yellow walls. Not sure which room yet, but something in this apartment is going to be yellow!!!

In celebration, we went to a new Schwabian (German) restaurant. We ordered a beer each (Nate - Hefeweisen, Me - Pils, our favorites) in German, but struggled on the food order. Luckily, the older gentlemen took pity on us and said "you can order in English if you would like." Ahh, well, sure if you insist. The food was great and the waiter/owner (he does everything) was very funny and friendly. He insisted that we return, so return we shall.