Here is what transpired since the huis uitzetten on Feb 27th:
The following week two containers appeared on the sidewalk in front of our house. Workers followed who cleaned the place and their storage out. Everything was put into the containers... a broken chair, papers, used cans of paint...everything present in the house and storage. Arjan said it will be taken someplace where the owner can pay to get it back. If not, it will be gone through to see if there is anything worth selling and sorted to go to in the right refuse.
Next a man who inspects places after people move out came to see what repairs were needed in the house and removed the toilet and water fixtures. Within a few days a carpenter showed up and used our electricity to do something over there. Then the tile/bath/kitchen guys came, who also used our electricity and paid Arjan 10 Euros. They worked for a good week removing the tile from the kitchen wall and toilet and shower/laundry room walls and floor. (This is the exact tile we have which when were told we could pick new cabinets and a counter a few years ago, we were told our tile was still good so couldn't be changed--URGH!) Then they put the new in and it looks so much better. They used a natural, cream/white colored bigger tile on the walls and a light gray bigger tile on the floor--our floor is brick red. It lightened the toilet and shower room and kitchen up and looks so much better. Then with a new white toilet and new piping and fixtures, it really looks good. The house is at least double the size of ours with a nice living room that goes all the way through to the kitchen and there are 3 bedrooms, 2 small ones that are bigger than this little room--consider a 3/4 room, and one as big as our biggest.
Arjan and I dreamed of just being able to move over there. The one small room still has Winnie the Pooh paper on it from when the people before lived there who moved 5 years ago and opens to the balcony. That would be my computer room, and I think I could actually set up my card table in there as well to scrapbook. Then the other room would be for guests so they wouldn't have to sleep in the living room. We dreamed.
The what's for rent this 2 weeks paper/online came out, which I'll write about in another post, and the house appeared in it. That was the 3rd-4th week of March. The problem with what was advertised for the place showed a picture that was not it...from a much nicer neighborhood and a town house, Arjan says there is a street with this name in one of the neighboring suburbs advertising in this area and they picked the wrong picture. It also said that this place is from 1990. No way...these were built around 1911 and the last renovation was in 1986. I responded, which is the way it works here, and by the end of the two week period we were down to #123. The top 5, which they show, were all Urgent, which goes above everything else. We figure the false advertising led to so many responses. Around 400 for something like was presented is a steal in the Rotterdam area.
Plenty of people have come to see it, two just last week, but so far no takers. I think they see it and know they can find something a bit nicer without climbing so many stairs for around the same price or a bit more. We'll see if they make it to our number or readvertise it, not sure what happens after a certain amount of time. We do know that some places are quickly rented...just happened with a place across the street but they're newer, bigger, and this one is on the ground and has a back yard.
Of course, one look out on the balcony and people may decide this isn't for them when this is what they see:
That is a bucket left by the tile workers, who were very friendly young men. It is unbelievable to me that with all the people there after the work was done, including the man that comes to let the people in to see the place, that no one has picked this bucket up and taken out to the trash. Who knows, maybe they haven't even looked out onto the balcony, let alone stepped out there.
I'll tell you...the cats are sure enjoying having so much space and we're enjoying not having to worry if they're wandering into that house and it is just overall nice not to have someone next door, much quieter.
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