Last Sunday, my dad and AJ's parents arrived around 9am and we started to load up the trailer. Luckily it wasn't too hot out or anything. And boy did we work fast! We had everything packed and ready to go by 11:30! It took much less time than any of us expected I think! So we had some lunch on the floor of our empty apartment and were on the road by 1pm. And my mom and Daniel were nice enough to stay behind and finish cleaning the old apartment for us! They saved me some work to do on Thursday night and they did an outstanding job! :)
The rest of us hit the road and made it to Council Bluffs with no problems by about 5pm. Our parents went to relax in the hotel rooms and I dragged AJ out to Target to pick up some shelves and bathroom stuff. That night we ordered pizza and were all asleep at the hotel by 9:30pm! It had been a long day!
On Monday morning, we couldn't get into our new apartment until the leasing office opened up at 9. But we headed over there around 8:30 so we could find the building and a place to park the trailer. As soon as we could, we got into the office to sign our lease. Everything was pretty standard but we did find out that since we were moving in a week early (from August 1st) we were going to have to pay for that week. We weren't very happy about it but oh well. After getting everything signed, the lady handed us the building key (every building is locked) and said the guys were up in our apartment now finishing up some things and changing our locks - they would give us our new door keys.
Before we started to move anything upstairs (up three flights of stairs....) AJ and I went to check out the apartment. At first, we were not impressed. The maintenance guys still had work to do. They had their tools still in the apartment. None of the outlet/switches covers were on yet, there were no blinds for the patio door, the window in the bedroom had a huge crack - all the way through, it looked like someone had tried to kick out the deadbolt on the door and the kitchen floor was disgusting! Just to name some. We were not happy. However, the guys seemed really nice and apologetic. They kept apologizing saying everything should have been done before we got there. And they let us start moving all our stuff in while they were still working. They kept telling us what condition the place had been in before they got all the work done after the last tenants. I can't even imagine. The good news is that we did get brand new carpet, some new doors and a new fridge! They actually were moving in the first on Monday. They also apologized for the kitchen floor and didn't understand why it didn't get cleaned. They said they would call the cleaning company and have them come take care of it this afternoon.
So we started hauling everything upstairs. It took a little longer this time since we had to go up three flights of stairs. It was pretty hot out too but luckily the building was shading the side we were moving in on, so that helped some. We finally got everything in and there were boxes everywhere. Luckily we had an extra bedroom so that was pretty much were everything went to start out with. We had some troubles getting the couches through the door, but other than that, really no problems. Meanwhile, the guys finished up everything they could - put the new fridge in, put on our new doors, put the blinds up, put all the covers on, put a plate on the door so we could lock it and called the cleaning company and the window guy. They were very helpful.
At lunch, we decided to head somewhere cool and sit inside and relax before our parents had to hit the road. It was a nice time and a good meal too! Our parents were on the road by 1:00pm roughly and the Qwest guy was here at the apartment waiting for us when we got back. He got our TV hooked up to Direct TV while AJ and I started to unpack some boxes. We also had the window guy stop by to get a measurement and he said a new window would be here in just a day or two. We spend the rest of the day just unpacking what we could. Finally around 5:30, a woman came from the cleaning company. She was also very friendly and apologized for not getting the floors cleaned. She told us that she thought the floor in the kitchen was going to be replaced so they didn't bother really cleaning it. But she worked as hard as she could and got it looking really nice. She did show us what she couldn't clean off - burn marks and cuts (from a knife?) on the floor. She also kept telling us what a mess the apartment was after the other tenants left. She said they spent 12 hours cleaning here and it looked like they never cleaned the toilets and the inside of the fridge was so gross, she wasn't even going to tell us what was in there. I can't even imagine!
On Tuesday, we tried to get some cleaning done - which was hard considering we left most of our cleaning supplies back in Waterloo so that apartment could get clean. And we got some more things unpacked. We also went grocery shopping and found out how much fun it is to climb the stairs trying to carry all our groceries in one load! We went shopping at this place called No Frills Supermarket and it was really cheap and right near our apartment! We loved it! We also did some laundry because one of the great things about this apartment is that we have our own washer and dryer!! :) However, as we were using the dryer, it kept smelling like something was burning. I check the sheets in the dryer and luckily they were fine. After we started the second load in the dryer, I noticed there was lint all over the floor! AJ asked if I had cleaned the lint trap so I said I would after that load. Well, when I went to do that, I discovered there was no lint trap! Hence the lint all over our floor! So that was it for laundry until we could get a new lint trap!
So we decided to try and cook some dinner. We had gotten some garlic bread at the store so AJ started to preheat the oven. However, when he went to put the bread in, a puff of smoke came out of the oven with a smell so bad it almost knocked AJ to his feet! He was NOT happy! I really wanted the garlic bread so we cooked it anyway. Once the oven had cooled down we took a look inside. It had obviously not been clean and black stuff was just caked on. Then we decided to try our luck at our dishwasher (another perk of this apartment)! Once they were done we took a look. The dishes were clean, but not extremely clean. AJ looked at the bottom of the dishwasher were he found pieces of food, a water bottle cap and cigarette butts, just to name a few... Again, we were not happy.
We sat down that night and filled out our move-in inspection sheet. We had to turn it in the next day and we made sure to mark down everything we've had problems with so far. On Wednesday we took it to the office and AJ asked if we could sit down and go over the form with them. We told them everything we've had problems with and they listened and took notes. They told us they would get someone up to fix the things we needed and they would call the cleaning company to come take care of the oven and dishwasher. AJ then said that while we appreciate everything that's been done and going to get done, we didn't think it was very fair we had to deal with these things while we were moving in - especially when we had to pay for the week. The lady said she would talk to her boss and see what she could do.
Unfortunately, I had to head back to Waterloo that night for work the next two days. I also got everything else taken care of at our old apartment and turned in our keys on Friday. I also got a call from AJ saying he had just heard back from the leasing office here in Council Bluffs. They were going to take $100 off our September rent and they agreed to replace our kitchen floor in September as well! We were very excited! Plus, we had our window replaced, we got our lint trap, we'll have a new door this next week and they were going to come and just do some finishing touches on the paintwork. They also said the cleaning people should be coming to clean the oven.
On Friday after work, I drove back here to Council Bluffs with all the rest of our cleaning supplies. On Saturday, we did a lot of cleaning. AJ - sick of waiting for the cleaning people - cleaned the oven and spent probably about two hours on it! But you should see the difference! We also cleaned the floors, did some dusting and just general cleaning. The place is looking great. It finally feels like a real home to us. I'll post some pictures below of the finished apartment and I'll also try to upload some to our photo sharing website so you can see the process. :)
Later this evening, I'm heading to Minnesota for a few days. I'm going to keep my dad company while Mom and Dan are in Guatemala and I'll be working at Farm Fest. I'm also excited because I get to stop in Estherville to see Amanda! :) Unfortunately for AJ I won't be back in Council Bluffs until the weekend of August 13th. But AJ has plenty of things to keep him busy now preparing for the school year and he starts orientation on August 12th. So begins the next part in our lives. We really have no idea how it's going to work but we're hopeful and I know AJ is eager for school to be starting.
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