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My roommate and I are working our way through the latest saga of trying to get approved for the apartment we've applied for. Yesterday things got a little tense.

The apartment leasing office called and said we needed to put first month's rent down as a deposit. Sounds reasonable? Except there's a glitch. Both of us are getting our first and last month's rent through a gov't savings scheme that matches our savings 3:1, but it will only pay out once a lease is signed. But to get the money, we need a lease, but to get the lease, we need the money. So we're stuck in this circular loop. I tried explaining our situation to the leasing manager - no go. I tried explaining out situation to the savings plan administrator, no go.

So I frantically get on the phone to my friends, and borrow first and last month's rent since they also want last month's rent on signing the lease.

Then once we get the lease we can present it to the savings program which will in it's inimitable logic give them first and last months rent again. I'm supposed to recoup the money I'm paying out, with the rent I won't have to pay once the SEDI money starts paying the rent. Great in theory EXCEPT I had to borrow both my and my roommate's half. And I have no idea where she's going to get $1000 to pay me back, since her disability will also only pay directly to the apartment building. It looks like I'm going to have to front the entire amount, come up with a way to pay back my friends, and then get her to pay me back something like a $100 / month for the next 10 months.

This is really helping me to understand the barriers to housing faced by low income people and the homeless.

Thank God I have friends who are willing to lend me money.

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[greatfaith]

You did good my friend. All the best to you and your roommate