Rental Searches

In September of 2024 with a fifty-day deadline, I headed back to Tucson to find a rental. 

I stayed at a different airbnb owned by my potentially-future real estate agent and began my search. 

My chemical-sensitivity requirements were: no carpet, no gas appliances, no mold/mildew or musty stink, no air fresheners, no candles, small, no new construction or remodeling due to chemical off-gassing, nice neighbors, with a washer and internet connection. I was hoping for under $1,000 a month, but willing to consider as high as $1,300 a month. I spent a week in Tucson with appointments all day long. I saw quite a few that were being remodeled but didn't trust they would be offgassed and safe by the time I needed to live in them. By the last day, I was driving to and from appointments CRYING in disappointment afraid I'd be homeless by the end of the month. My requirements were impossible and I was running out of time and options.

Around the third day of my trip, I was horribly sick. At first I thought it was because of the exposures of the various rentals, but realized it was the airbnb! Something was wrong with the portable air conditioner which was contaminating the air. (Later I did some research and discovered air conditioning created really bad indoor air quality!) I spent the last days of my trip sleeping in the bathtub as the bathroom was the only safe space. What a nightmare! This illness also compromised my ability to assess the rental spaces.

I found one apartment that might work. It was described as a casita, but it wasn't. It was advertised as 300 square feet, it wasn't. I was told the shared wall was sound-proof and smell-proof, it wasn't. It was advertised as $855 a month with all utilities and internet service, it wasn't. Then the 81-year old landlady said something that caught my attention...she was sensitive to perfumes and fresh paint. This gave me hope! At least she wouldn't poison me!

During the showing I noticed the walls had not been painted although the advertisement said it was. I was happy about this lack of toxic paint smell, however, there were holes in them, patching, scratches, the colors were painted into the white ceiling. It was ugly. Because of the risk of new paint, I offered to paint it for her before I moved in using low VOC paint. I'm great at painting. She said absolutely NOT and she was sure I'd throw it all over and make a mess. She almost didn't rent it to me for fear I would paint on the sly. Who turns down a free paint job? She continued to harass me about painting even after I moved in.

By the time it came to sign the lease, the landlady raised the price twice first from $855 to $955 and then to $995. She constantly tried to gaslight me into believing, "That price was what it was advertised for." She deleted the listing without deleting the "Price History" which clearly shows the lower price. (She eventually deleted the "Price History", too, when I called her on her lies!) "You can always back out," she kept repeating. She didn't realize I didn't have any other options. She also said it came with all utilities and internet, but later she changed her mind. She said it came with a washer if I sign a one-year lease, again, she changed her mind again. Later I found out the walls are neither scent-proof or sound-proof, and the space was much smaller than 300 square feet. She lied about nearly everything!

I signed the lease thinking I can do this for one year just to get me moved and in Tucson. I dreaded moving into an apartment managed by a compulsive, pathologically lying psychopath. I was no longer excited about moving to Tucson. I didn't have a choice. I imagined the worse...

And the worst came true...

To be continued.

Housing: The Fear of Moving

 

I'm looking for a new place to live. I love my house but it's far away from civilization. This is good if you want to be away from people and pollution, but not so good if you want a place to get organic food or need medical attention. And my house isn't far enough away as my inconsiderate neighbors stink as does the town's mill. I need to be out in the country, but closer to civilization.

 

 

I've contacted a real estate agent to help me sell this house which is an extremely scary idea. It will involve inviting strange people to walk around my personal space, look at my personal belongings, and contaminate my only safe place on earth.

And then, where do I go if it sells? The great thing about this house is it's paid. No rent or mortgage and when looking toward the future, this is a good thing. I'm afraid of purchasing again. Mortgages are hell. The interest alone can double the cost of a house and I don't have lots of spare cash lying around to buy something outright. Being closer to civilization means much more debt as property is more expensive the closer one gets to a city. Besides the cost, I'm still not sure if I want to ever buy again as I don't know if I want the responsibility of maintenance or harassment of construction workers.

So I'm weighing my options. Do I go back to renting?

 

My current idea is to rent while I'm trying to sell the house so I don't have to worry about stinky, prospective buyers walking in and out of my house and I can move much of my stuff out so it's de-personalized and presentable for showing. I would like to remove Peter as well so I don't have to worry about him. I'm hoping if I find a good place to rent I won't feel the need to buy.


I've been looking at rentals off and on for about four years. The last apartment rental cost me $425 a month, but that was nearly ten years ago, and of course, prices have nearly doubled. I have no desire to live in an apartment with shared walls. And Peter is still alive so my options are limited. I need an outdoor space for him.

Lately I've been looking at small houses. I am finding some, but the rents are anywhere from $700 to $1500 per month. Naturally those $1500 a month rentals are much nicer and cleaner with lovely features such as views of lakes or beaches, fields or mountains. Very hard to justify since I'm currently paying 0 (zero!) for rent right now.

I found what seemed like a good place a few months ago. The landlord claimed it was a cottage, out in the woods on property with a washer and dryer. My definition of a cottage is a small, freestanding, single story building. I asked basic questions via email: electricity vs. propane, hardwood flooring vs. carpeting, lease and deposit information, neighbors and their barking dogs, appliances, etc.

When everything seemed to pan out I moved to my second phase of questioning: Peter. Most places don't allow pets, meaning cats or dogs, indoor animals. Peter is a special situation since he'll never be living indoors to pee all over the floors and he's not going to bite or bark. Still, I need enough room to build him an outdoor cage.

Even that all worked out and I made an appointment to see the cottage, but I needed to ask one more question. I didn't want to ask it, but I also didn't want to waste my time since the drive was three hours one way. I emailed: Do you wear cologne? I explained I had allergies. He did mention in an earlier email he lived on the property although about 500 feet away. Too close if he wears cologne. And if he wears cologne and wants to do repairs in my home, in my air space, not going to happen. No answer. Hmmm...my spidey instincts flared. Something was wrong. Why wasn't he responding? It's not that difficult a question.

The landlord asked me to call him before leaving for the appointment to confirm so that morning I did. He was expecting my call and without so much as a greeting he screamed,

"WHAT DO YOU THINK THIS IS A DATING SERVICE?"

Whoa! I stuttered, "Ah, ah, um, no." Nothing like a stupid, smart-ass question to throw me off guard. I should have hung up, but I was in a state of shock.

He went on to yell at me about a previous tenant who was chemically sensitive and bipolar. When he paused mid-holler, I tried to explain I was not bipolar, but he wasn't interested in what I had to say. He just wanted to rant.

 

He interrupted me, "NO, LET ME FINISH!" and on and on he went about what a pain in the ass his former tenant was and how she threatened to sue him for not providing a chemically-free environment, and then about another tenant who demanded the shared laundry room to be fragrance-free. THEN he said how he could not be around perfumes or colognes either because of his asthma. ???????? What a contradiction.

Where do I find these people? I think I'm a crazy-magnet.

Although he was acting more bipolar than anyone I've ever known, he was also giving me a lot of information. The cottage was not a cottage at all, but an apartment off a garage. LIAR. The washer and dryer was not in my cottage, but housed in a shared area. LIAR. There would be other tenants. LIAR. I was a little disappointed he blatantly lied about nearly everything, but wondered why was he acting so crazy if he, too, did not want to be around perfumes or colognes?

When he finished his rant, I took a deep breath and said very quickly, "I would like to cancel the appointment. Good-bye." I hung up before he could respond. I felt very fortunate I was not in a hurry to find another place to live and so thankful for my house. For all it's inconveniences, it was still safe and mine.

 

This one experience has reminded me how horrid renting can be. Even if I get past all the rental scams in the online classified ads or the frustration of prospective landlords who are too lazy to answer questions, there are always the crazy people imposing their craziness on you as if it's their right. Suppose this guy's insanity didn't rear it's ugly head until after I had moved in? <Shiver>

Even if the landlord is sane, a chemically-sensitive tenant is at the landlord's mercy and they can thoughtlessly contaminate your living space in the blink of an eye. Most of these little cottages I'm looking at are on the property of the landlords. Those who live on the property want control. I had another prospective landlord tell me I could have my rabbit outside as long as his dwelling was not visible. Really? HOW would that be possible?

I think with a bigger house I would have more privacy, but I don't want to be giving someone $1500 or more a month for rent and I'm not really interested in living in a big house anyway. I already have two bathrooms to clean and that is one too many.

So I'm back to considering buying property and building a tiny house. Not sure if this is a good idea, but I'm looking at the options.

Home Sweet Home

Once you determine where you can live, then there is the decision of what kind of housing would be the safest and at the same time affordable. Here are some pros and cons on housing options:

Apartments  I love apartments. They are small which means less cleaning and less stuff.  They are rentals which means less maintenance and cost. All you have to do is pay the rent, your bills and keep the area relatively clean. The main problem with apartments is shared walls which is like living with a bunch of stinky people and you have no control.  Also, landlords can do all kinds of toxic things to your environment, for instance, re-painting, construction, air freshener usage, carpet shampooing, cleaning and you have no control. Also, apartments use public water works with all the chemical additives and you have no control. Bottom line: you have no control. But for those of us with limited finances, living in an apartment is often the only option. Apartments with limited units such as duplexes might be a better choice.

Some urban apartment buildings are implementing smoke and pet free policies which indicates a move toward environmental friendliness, but in most cases this is to protect real estate investments rather than addressing tenant health issues. There are fragrance-free apartments springing up all over and most have long waiting lists. In fact some of the waiting lists are so long they are closed. This indicates a need and a great investment for someone with some capital.

Trailers, Mobile Homes and RVs Although trailers are much like apartments in size and comfort without the shared walls, if located in a trailer court the distance between you and your neighbor might only be ten feet. I don't know if that offers much safety, but I know some MCSers claim it makes all the difference. Be aware of the age of the trailer and the use of cheap construction materials as many offgas toxic chemicals, formaldehyde in particular. RVs are trailers on wheels - nice if you want to be mobile or travel. Some RVs and mobile homes are bigger and more luxurious than homes and cost just as much. My neighbor's RV cost more than my house.

Houses  If located in a neighborhood, your neighbors will be anywhere from five to fifty feet away and you will be sharing air space with them. If on acreage, you might not even see, hear or smell your neighbors!  Hooray!

Rentals: Other than rent and utility payments,  you aren't financially responsible for maintenance other than general cleanliness unless otherwise negotiated in the lease agreement. With a landlord you will have less control over what you are able to do with the house and what the landlord may want to do. Advantages to renting a house: no shared walls, less responsibility and you can move easily.

Home Ownership : Owning your own home isn't financially feasible for many especially those on fixed incomes or disability, but it affords you the luxury of control over what happens within your environment and the option to choose safer alternatives. You are also responsible for maintenance and upkeep which can get very expensive. As the owner you may also renovate the building to create a cleaner environment by adding such things as whole-house water filters, healthier heating systems and/or filters, and air purifiers. Again, these extra costs don't come free so plan on spending some dollars.  It used to be home ownership was a good investment, but with this latest economic recession, I've heard many houses are now valued less than their original market cost. Main disadvantages to owning a house: responsibility and you can't always move whenever you like.

Cottage Cob House

A very inexpensive option if you already have property are cob houses. Built out of dirt, they look like little hobbit cottages. I read about one woman who spent only $5,000 and did all the work herself, finding reclaimed windows and doors for cheap and other second hand supplies for free.

I played with designs a few years ago. Molding a house out of mud is a bit like doing pottery. Hey, I can do that! Here are two of my designs (out of about ten!). One for a cottage style and one for a castle:

Cottage Cob House Plan

Cob Castle Plan

Straw-Bale House

Straw-bale houses are also an option along the same lines but you would need to obtain bales of hay. These are more popular in the warmer climates of the south and they end up looking like adobe houses. I think dirt might be more cost effective...and it's a lot more fun to shape a house and play in mud!

SQUISH!

I love those tiny houses people are building. Some of them are no more than 100 square feet and on wheels so they can be carted around behind a car or truck. It's the latest thing with the minimalist movement as the economic problems are forcing people to re-think their material possessions. I read about a woman who was given a free shipping container and she made a house out of it. Check out the many websites to see designs and watch videos. It inspires me. Here's a photo of a tiny house which is a little scary for anyone with chemical sensitivity issues, but you can see the size comparisons. I visualize a tiny house on LOTS of property!

There are people who dream of building low-cost communities for chemical sensitivity residents. I visualize a plan using a large tract of acreage with multiple tiny homes. Add a centralized recreational center and community gardens and we've got ourselves a chemically-sensitive community providing safety and support yet tenants are still able to maintain a sense of independence. 

Fragrance-Free Community Living

With all the baby boomers nearly ready to retire, this sort of plan would be a nice alternative to convalescent centers, too. Unfortunately, dreams need financing.

Condominiums  This housing option strikes me as the worst. All the exposure disadvantages of an apartment, lack of freedom with condominium contracts and rules, plus you own it so the financial burden of payment and maintenance still rests on your shoulders. If there is a chemically sensitive person reading this who is living in one and can share any advantages, feel free to comment.

Homelessness There are many chemically sensitive people living in cars or tents unable to tolerate modern construction materials but without the funds to build their own green homes. I've read about some who are camping in their carports or backyards unable to live inside their toxic houses and others who live in their cars at parks. As MCS statistics go up, let's hope more chemically-sensitive communities and fragrance-free options will be available to all.