New Apartment

I just got back from looking at an apartment. I think it's going to be great. It's a 2 bed, 1 bath; small, but not too small. The carpet is kind of ugly, but it's not dirty or anything. It's in a fairly quiet area, and the neighbors connected to the apartment are both female. One of the nice things about the place is that the walls separating the apartments are solid concrete, so no hearing everything they do/say. The only big issue is that it's far enough out in the country that there are no sidewalks, but I can just run on the road.

Initially, rent was $550 and they required first, last, and security, plus the $50 application fee. There was also a washer/dryer hookup, but no washer/dryer. Since it's just me and my cat, they dropped the rent to $500 per month, with just first and security. They waived the app fee. The manager also agreed to put in a washer and dryer at no extra charge. They do require a year's lease, but he said it shouldn't be a problem to let me drop it early, and if not, I can probably just sublet it for a couple months.

And here's the icing on the cake: the guy who does the maintenance (and who showed me the apartment) is a former Marine! He said it was the best time of his life, even though he was wounded. I mean, what better sign could I ask for that this is the apartment I should get? He also offered to help me move if I needed a truck and when I said I had no furniture, he said he'd hook me up! I'm definitely getting this place... now I need to work up the courage to tell my roommate/landlord...