The If Only...

It was a 1960's building - if only the outside was more charming.

It had a gardien and an elevator, even a little garden to look onto from the living room window - if only the hallways weren't so dingy.

It was in a perfect location - the 20th arrondissement of Paris - right near a metro, surrounded by the city buzz - if only the bedroom windows didn't give onto the busy street.

It had 55 square meters of floor space, including a covered terrace - if only you didn't have to go through the second bedroom to get to it.

Yes, it had TWO bedrooms - just what we need! If only you could fit a bed in the larger one without blocking the window-doors to the covered terrace. If only you couldn't see through those doors into the smaller, second bedroom. 

It had a parking spot included in the purchase - if only we had a car.

It was free of furniture and personal items since the owner had moved his things to his primary residence in Switzerland - if only the apartment felt more homey.

It had radiators in the floors and ceilings for communal heat - if only you didn't have to break the floor and the ceiling in the event that it needed repairs.

It had lots of potential, if only it had been clear to us as we stood there staring at the weird-shaped bedrooms, the funky terrace, the water damage in the closet left un-repaired, the ugly archway they'd installed between the kitchen and the living room...

So we left.

And we talked about it on our way to dinner. 

Was it a coup de coeur for you? No. You? No. 

But it's 55 meters squared! and it has a parking spot! and it's in an amazing location! ....

But how do we fit a bed in that room? What is up with that terrace? Why is the neighbor's door directly across from ours? The homeowner's fees are outrageous!!

Maybe we should think about it. Okay, we'll think about it. 

And I'm still thinking about it. But I know it wasn't the one. 

The Fixer-Upper

Last weekend, Copain and I visited another apartment, only this time, the apartment was in PARIS. 

It was described as being 50m squared (about 500 square feet), and "à tout refaire" - everything must be re-done. Hence the lovely price-tag. So we went - why not?! Maybe this was just the ticket to homeownership in the city!

There was only one photo on the agency's website - of the outside of the building - the rest was a mystery.

We hiked up avenue Gambetta, taking in the beautiful Père Lachaise cemetery, the tree-lined street, the kids playing at the park. Then we turned right onto the street where the apartment was located...

I looked at Copain. He looked at me. We weren't in Kansas anymore.

I tried to remain optimistic- This neighborhood is up and coming!  I'm sure there will be a Starbucks here in no time! Yeah, the guy on sitting on that porch looks like he's been there for the past week, but hey, we're in Paris! It's....authentic!

The agent met us at the gate and lead us up two flights of stairs in a lovely, well-kept building. We looked at each other hopefully - the co-propriété (the co-owners) must be good, responsible people!

Then the agent opened the door to the actual apartment we'd come to visit...

We walked into a little horizontal hallway which gave us four choices - one door lead to a bedroom, one door lead to the living room, one lead to the WC and one lead to the kitchen. Lots of...options. The walls rocked wallpaper from 1943, a gigantic TV had made a permanent indent in the bedroom mattress, two tables were set up in the living room covered in bullets and knives, and the shower was located in the kitchen, closing nicely with a brown accordion door. Jackets and shoes hung in the overstuffed closet. 

We learned that the owner, a retired policeman, had just died, leaving the apartment to his niece in Marseille. (Maybe he secretly hated her). And she wanted one thing - to get rid of the place (very understandable).

The windows on the left of the apartment gave onto a courtyard and a building, and the windows on the back wall gave onto another courtyard and another building. 

The tank for the toilet was located on the wall and flushed by pulling a handle at the end of a metal chain, BUT, there was one small window for aeration purposes which is really hard to find in Paris. I pointed it out to Copain hoping he would ignore the rotting wood around the window frame and direct view into the neighboring apartment.

We asked the agent how exactly he envisioned this apartment being livable, and he jumped into his spiel of tearing down walls, fusing the shower room and toilet together, adding door frames in murs porteurs (supporting walls) with approvable from the building manager, opening up the kitchen onto the living room, re-doing the electricity and plumbing, and then voilà! A brand new apartment in Paris! 

You understand just how badly we want an apartment in Paris when I tell you that Copain immediately called his parents to see if they thought it was a good investment. 

We asked the agent if we could meet him at the agency later in the afternoon, after walking around the neighborhood to get to know it better. As we adventured further down the road, we realized that the neighborhood had a ways to go before it was actually up and coming. I wondered if I would feel safe walking home alone at night. 

The sun was shining, so we grabbed a table at a local café, ordered salads and rosé and talked about the potential of the apartment. How it would be a good investment - that when we sold it, we would make a mint. 50 square meters in Paris! At this price! We could make it beautiful! We could sell it for so much more!

But then we finally admitted to ourselves, it wasn't a coup de coeur, it was a good investment. And while people buy apartments to invest their money, we also want to buy a home, not just an investment. We want a coup de coeur.

I told my colleagues about the apartment the next day and they told me I was crazy-town. 50 meters for that price?! But the neighborhood is up and coming! And then I thought that maybe we had made a mistake. I texted Copain that maybe we should visit again and reconsider. He texted back:

Don't think about it. This wasn't our coup de coeur. 

And he's right. It wasn't. 

Vincennes Apartment

The apartment hunt continues in the Cannes Cannes household. Yesterday we had a rendezvous in Vincennes, just outside the limits of Paris on the line 1 metro. When you pop out at the exit Chateau de Vincennes (oh yeah, there is a chateau there), all of a sudden you are in Baby-town, France. Strollers a-go-go. Tricycles, scooters, snacks and... more strollers.

After about a 15 minute walk, we stopped in front of the 1930's, 5th floor walk-up we were about to visit. You heard me right - 5th floor walk up. That's actually 6th floor for all you Amuuuricaines out there; the French start with the rez-de-chaussée (ground floor) and then count from there, so what we call the second floor, they call the first. 

Our peppy agent immobilier took us through 2 security doors (a good thing) showed us the trash area in the hallway, pointed out the cave (basement), and then we all hiked up to the 5th floor. There was one door on each landing, and each landing had either A. plants, B. ladders or C. strollers.

Once we'd made it to the top, we walked inside and started our visit.  The apartment has parquet (wood floors), a living room with a prussienne chimney,  a large bedroom, a small bedroom with a regular chimney, a teeny bathroom with a funky tub, probably from the 30's, a separate WC and a normal-sized kitchen. All of the windows are double-paned except for those in the kitchen and WC. The ceilings are high, and it is en étoile - star-shaped - meaning that all of the rooms are fashioned around the main hallway. There is no wasted space (a bonus when you have barely any space to begin with!). In total, it measures about 53 meters squared.

Best not to forget anything on your way out the door...

Bedroom A

Living room

View from living room into the kitchen and hallway

Bedroom A, closet

Kitchen - no room for a dishwasher, unless you get creative

Teeny tub, teeny bathroom

We're not 100% sure we can afford it, but we kind of both had a coup de coeur - we just knew we loved it. It's about a 7-minute walk to the very center of town and the neighborhood is well-kept, as is the inside of the building. The added bonus for this apartment - whoever owns it can eventually purchase the attic and make a duplex! You know, like when we have an extra 200K lying around. 

There are lots of things that are a bummer - no parking, no balcony, no elevator, no bike storage (except for in the cave), but it feel so nice and homey inside. And as I've come to almost accept, we can only maybe afford this apartment because of these "point noir" as the French would say - these negative points. In short, we're going to have to make concessions.

As we got a tour of the town from our Vincennois friends and their two little boys - one in a stroller of course, I started brainstorming - could we RENT the first-floor neighbor's landing and park our bikes? How about our non-exisitent-but-maybe-one-day stroller? (we'll obviously be needing one in order to fit in here) Could I invent a stroller backpack? Some sort of pulley system?  

Then I got positive - I could have groceries delivered! I would always have toned buns and thighs! We would share walls with absolutely NO ONE! La rêve...

I can't stop thinking about this apartment, even if it's crazy-expensive. I mean, I started mentally moving in and placing furniture. But - we're waiting for the diagnostics before we really think about anything. For example, are the pipes made of lead? Is the electricity aux normes? Are there termites? How about the roof - any leaks? 

We did notice that the current owner had installed a fire alarm which happens uh, never in France. I'm certain it was a sign since I'm the queen of safety and fire alarms (I almost considered getting them for my neighbors for the holidays). The agent immobilier called the current owner a "maniac" - I call him smart. Don't you think this apartment was made for us????

We timed the metro ride back into Paris - only 5 minutes to Nation, about 8 to Bastille. Not bad, eh? Oh la la....I'll be keeping you posted mes amies.