Adventures in Housing Part Two

California and Santa Cruz in particular, though maybe not as much say New York City, is a housing nightmare. Real estate prices are intense to say the least. To buy an small empty lot by the railroad tracks on the lower Westside costs $419,000. There is a house around the corner going for a million bucks. It used to painted purple but got a color lift to mauve for the sale. There is nothing special about it, it is on a small lot and the basement has been renovated so it could be rented to students or person sans green card. Renters can expect to pay an average of $900 per bedroom. For a single studio type situation it's about $1200. There are up sides though, while most of the country is paying for AC and heating one can actually live uncomfortably without either of these modernities. Having lived without heat for a couple years I can't recommend it, but it is entirely possible. Most landlords feel it entirely within their job description to let you know, without you even looking at the residence whether or not it would suit. I emailed a listing which bragged an office that could be a second bedroom laying out the human and rabbit situation. The response was that there would not be enough privacy for myself and my son. I guess it is only suitable as a second bedroom if it is for the same person as the first bedroom. I would be easy to become despondent, but on the other hand it's hard not to have bit of fun with this. What follows in an actual Email conversation, word for word. Having requested and received a description of a townhouse reduced to $1695 that considered 1-2 well behaved neutered cats OK. I wrote:

I have four well behaved rabbits, all fixed, they are house rabbits......are rabbits considered OK? I can put down extra deposit for them....

thnx

dmoll

The response was:

Four rabbits!!!?? That is the funniest thing I've heard!!!

Rabbits eat wood and wires! This is a very nicely maintained property.

I can't exactly speak for my parents but I believe that while renting people typically have to restrict the number of pets they acquire. How is your income, your credit, and your references for yourself and your rabbits? Is there anyone else in the household other than you and your rabbits?

Then I wrote:

Actually there are millions of people who keep rabbits as pets not for food. Clint Eastwood and his wife Dina have a house rabbit named August. You can see them here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5faVzWUPLk

This is not Clint's first rabbit either as a rabbit is mentioned in this 2008 interview:

http://www.parade.com/celebrity/2008/12/clint-eastwood.html

Yes, some rabbits will chew on unprotected wood and wires. Of course any wires my rabbits got would be mine, but I "rabbit proof" all my wires just in case. They do LOVE telephone wires. As to wood it is easily protected in a variety of ways. Although my rabbits are "house rabbits" they are confined to X-pens when not supervised. I know four rabbits seems like a lot and I started with just one adopted from our local rabbit rescue organization, The Rabbit Haven. It seemed sad that Tyler would be an only bun and lonely while I was at work, so after a couple months I adopted his sister, who was having a hard time finding a home. A year or so later a rabbit from down the street where they are breeding rabbits to eat got loose. She came almost all the to the front door and let me catch her easily. Once in my arms I knew I could never give her back or let anyone else have her. That was number three, Amelia. Harriet showed several months ago, loose the neighborhood. I took her in so she wouldn't catch cold in the rain, advertised, got no response and she became #4. Although I know people with 6, 7.8,9 and even 20 house rabbits, four is a good number for me.....

My income is stable, I recently ran my credit check and there was one negative for a credit card bill that had not yet been received. It has been fully paid at this writing. I work as an Admin. Assist., acupuncturist, and I sell my artwork on-line. Joining me and the rabbits is my son who is a Cabrillo student. References can be obtained for all of the above.

I rather suspect you will not want to rent to me and my rabbits, after all there are some just plain people out there who need housing. If you do decide to to take the chance I think you will not regret it. Having been a landlord myself I feel that I am a timely and respectful tenant.

All Best,

Diana

PS: see the buns here: www.theqipapers.blogspot.com

Of course I haven't heard back, I totally understand why. Since I was in a writing mood I wrote the following letter to the Eastwoods, Clint, Dina and August (the rabbit). Also it was a lie about them being confined to Xpens.....

October 17, 2010

Dear Eastwoods (Clint, Dina and August),

I live in Santa Cruz and have four rescue house rabbits. Recently I have been looking for housing for myself and my son and the rabbits, too. We have encountered a certain amount of prejudice as regards the rabbits and, I suspect, ourselves for having them. Would it be much trouble for one of you to write a letter that supported house rabbits and their caregivers? Or something to that effect, whatever you feel is appropriate. It might really help and would most certainly make the house hunting process a lot more fun.

Thanks so much for your time and consideration,

Diana Moll

PS If you’d like to see pictures of my bunnies check out my blog www.theqipapers.blogspot.com

Adventures in Housing Part One

It may not have helped that while I was in my first house, my mother's womb, all she could think of, or so I imagine knowing her and placing that transparent overlay of history over the past, was moving and going to California. No one from either side of the family had ever even been to California and now my father was going to teach at a university there. Factor in that in the first two months after birth female children have a period of imprinting from the mother's nervous system. I know that when I was two months old my family drove across the country in a brown Rambler station wagon. I can only imagine how hectic the two months before the trip were, a new baby, a new life and the unknown awaited. Excitement, fear, hope....a gamut of emotions poured into my hungry infant nervous system.

Moving indeed seems to have been ingrained into my being, I have lived in 27 different houses. Of course there are people who are connected with the army or other peripatetic cultures who can claim many more, and certainly I acknowledge that I have never been homeless. I marvel at my friend Emily, whom I have known since the fifth grade and who has lived in the same house for her whole life except for 4 years. And then there is Boyfriend who has lived in the same house for 30 years. Admittedly owning a house certainly keeps the moving factor at bay. For a few years I did own a house, but as my house Karma would have it, with the divorce he got the house and I moved on.

And I am moving on again to live with my son while he attends college here in town. It is a bit more complicated than that, but simplicity will have to suffice in this case. The last time I house hunted there was no Craigslist or apartmenthunterz.com or any other internet housing sites. Craigslist lives on toolbar now and it is not uncommon for me to check listings every 20 minutes, just to see what's come up. Certain patterns are beginning to appear. Listings will disappear for a month and pop up again, these I conjecture have something seriously wrong with them, like a rats or creepy neighbors. The language of listings calls for interpretation or a salt shaker. Cosy means small, quaint is rundown, spacious means bigger than a postage stamp. But No Pets means no pets. This last one is a particular stumbling block for a person with 4 rabbits. A couple times listings that said "cats are purr" and "dogs are woof" have informed me that rabbits are not welcome.

I found one really interesting house just around the corner, from the outside it looked strange and awkward, a smallish rectangular footprint, two stories, deck out front and bright blue outside. Inside it was magical with arches and rounded corners, charming windows and and nooks. A stream ran through the back yard and there was space for a good sized vegetable garden. I was in love. It was a little more than I could afford, but big enough so that I could see patients at home and drop my office downtown. The landlord, whose son I had taught in Art class seemed amenable to this latter idea and even suggested I could have a neighborhood Tai Chi class which she would absolutely attend. I could feel the hint of victory just around the corner. Conversation meandered a bit and crashed, she had rented it last weekend but the future tenants hadn't been able to get rid of their pets. Oh, no pets? Turns out she cannot stand the smell of any animal, even after it has vacated the house for say a year. I remember that every time I've seen this women over the years she has just taken a shower, perhaps there is a, err, problem here, I wonder how she bears her teenage son, talk about animal smells!

"Well, that's too bad, my rabbits are very clean and smell really good."

"No animals"

"OK well good luck finding just the right tenant."

I turned adding over my shoulder "You know, Clint Eastwood has a house rabbit." It was the best Parthian shot I could come up with given the circumstances......