Is nobody renting rooms?

waxon-waxoff

Im advertising a room to rent in Dublin on the edge of the city centre on southside. Its a two bed apartment so i need one more person to share the place with me. Ive been renting for ten years but never seen it so slow. Only three viewers in two and a half weeks! The only replies im getting are people looking for short term, have very little English or want to share the room. The rent is 525 so its not cheap but average for the location, but i dont think thats the problem. Has anybody else had this problem?

Max Power1

waxon-waxoff wrote: »

Im advertising a room to rent in Dublin on the edge of the city centre on southside. Its a two bed apartment so i need one more person to share the place with me. Ive been renting for ten years but never seen it so slow. Only three viewers in two and a half weeks! The only replies im getting are people looking for short term, have very little English or want to share the room. The rent is 525 so its not cheap but average for the location, but i dont think thats the problem. Has anybody else had this problem?

thats why, way overpriced IMO

Cathmandooo

+1 to it being overpriced.

Tenants have a much bigger choice of places at the moment, they can get their own space for a little bit more rent than you're asking also.

Knock down the rent

safesecure.ie

I dont necessarily agree with the price being too high, at the end of the day you get what you pay for!

In both this house and my previous house I've always believed that you'll get better tenants with better rooms i.e. decorated well - some of the rooms that are advertised on Daft are dire!

I'm based in Navan and had no issue with getting calls regarding renting rooms, the only problem was finding the right people - luckily I have now.

Best of luck with the search

macy9

I was looking for a room in the city/south side and this was my price range. In the end it came down to a room in D2 and a room in D4, both identical. Which would you choose? So yeah, imo it is overpriced. Plus if its owner occupied you're probably less likely to get as many calls.

Max Power1

macy9 wrote: »

I was looking for a room in the city/south side and this was my price range. In the end it came down to a room in D2 and a room in D4, both identical. Which would you choose? So yeah, imo it is overpriced. Plus if its owner occupied you're probably less likely to get as many calls.

anyone thats even semi familiar with the legal/contractual situation wouldnt go anywhere near an owner occupied houseshare

eth0_

For 525 i'd want a huge double room, possibly an eu-suite, with all bills included and it would have to be a really nice area.

As others have said, you can get your own 1 bed flat for not much more. Also the fact it's owner occupied is a disincentive.

jon1981

kinda agree,

im paying 500 for a large double bed in harolds cross (might look into getting the rent down some more)...but yeah the owner occupier is a massive turn off. You never feel like an equal in an owner occupier so maybe in your advert stress that you will not be anal about the fact it is your place and that its as much the persons home as yours.

Max Power1

jon1981 wrote: »

kinda agree,

im paying 500 for a large double bed in harolds cross (might look into getting the rent down some more)...but yeah the owner occupier is a massive turn off. You never feel like an equal in an owner occupier so maybe in your advert stress that you will not be anal about the fact it is your place and that its as much the persons home as yours.

tbh its not that, its the fact that you have pretty much no legal recourse if anything goes wrong

billybigunz

Anybody with a bit of smarts will steer clear of owner occupier setups. How can you go into work everyday knowing that your you could be thrown out that night on a whim


Plus it is overpriced. If it wasn't overpriced you would be getting more calls.

waxon-waxoff

Where did the owner occupier comments come from? Im renting.

I moved in with a mate a few months back, his contract ended and ill have to move out if i cant get someone to replace him in next week or two. Its a twelve month lease but i have to break it. Landlord is to call me tomorrow so hopefully they will reduce the rent or else ill have to start packing.

Penny Dreadful

I'm a little shocked at the owner occupier comments:( I bought my house ten years ago and rented out the spare rooms for a few years to make ends meet. There were a few nutters along the way but in the end with the right people things muddled along ok. After about 3 years or so my boyfriend and I decided to live together and I had to ask the people to move out but I gave them 2 months notice and would never have thought about just kicking them out, that would be such a horrible thing to do to anyone.
Now myself and the aforementioned boyfriend have broken up and he has moved out. Now I'm struggling to pay the bills and while would have been ok(ish) news of an impending pay cut has made me think strongly about renting out the double room again. I live in Clonsilla and its a nice house and I was hoping to get between €350 and €400 for the room. I didn't think me living here with the other person would be such a turn off:eek:

billybigunz

Penny Dreadful wrote: »

I'm a little shocked at the owner occupier comments:( I bought my house ten years ago and rented out the spare rooms for a few years to make ends meet. There were a few nutters along the way but in the end with the right people things muddled along ok. After about 3 years or so my boyfriend and I decided to live together and I had to ask the people to move out but I gave them 2 months notice and would never have thought about just kicking them out, that would be such a horrible thing to do to anyone.
Now myself and the aforementioned boyfriend have broken up and he has moved out. Now I'm struggling to pay the bills and while would have been ok(ish) news of an impending pay cut has made me think strongly about renting out the double room again. I live in Clonsilla and its a nice house and I was hoping to get between €350 and €400 for the room. I didn't think me living here with the other person would be such a turn off:eek:

Just discount over a standard room rental.

When I looked for a room before the ones with a premium were usually owner occupiers who didn't have a clue about the going market rents. I'd say half them were not doing it out of choice and would no doubt begrudge your prescence in their house.

tevion

I rented with a few owner occupiers over the years, and I found them grand.
At least the house was kept cleaner than if they werent there.

Penny Dreadful

billybigunz wrote: »

Just discount over a standard room rental.

When I looked for a room before the ones with a premium were usually owner occupiers who didn't have a clue about the going market rents. I'd say half them were not doing it out of choice and would no doubt begrudge your prescence in their house.

I looked on Daft today and the prices quoted for my area are between what I quoted in my post ( €400 - 350). Yes I'd rather not have to rent out but with the right person it could be ok. There would only be the two of us so the house wouldn't be over crowded and they'd have sole use of the main bathroom and a parking space.
Re: begruding the presence in the house........when I did this before what annoyed me was one particular person who didn't give a flying fcuk about the stuff in the house and broke glasses,plates, etc left right and centre and never ever said sorry. There was one other girl who was filthy filthy filthy. I don't care what mess someone keeps their bedroom in but you have to do your fair share re: general cleaning and a once in a blue moon hoovering of the floor wouldn't kill. Still, I've learned from past experiences and would be upfront about what I expected and ask any prospective tenant what their expectations were and if we were on the same page then it should work.

billybigunz

That is fine but if both people can go into a house share like that with an open mind but you really don't know each other. I've had houseshares go a bit wrong but if it was an owner occupier there is nothing stopping them from saying please leave this house today.
That is no way to live.

bugler

Lower the price and the viewings will go up. There are readjustments being made in the rental/property market and a new reality is setting in - prices are too high. We just need rent allowance tackled properly now.

I dont necessarily agree with the price being too high, at the end of the day you get what you pay for!

If the price wasn't too high then the room would be let by now and the OP wouldn't have had to post. Assuming a decent standard of presentation, the only factor you can manipulate and by far the most effective is the price.

The OP however, is in a tricky situation by way of being left behind in a place on his own and having to fill a slot when he doesn't have full control over the asking rent. I would either ask the LL for a release from the lease or a reduction in rent. Hopefully he's sympathetic to your situation.

makeorbrake

Penny Dreadful wrote: »

Re: begruding the presence in the house........when I did this before what annoyed me was one particular person who didn't give a flying fcuk about the stuff in the house and broke glasses,plates, etc left right and centre and never ever said sorry. There was one other girl who was filthy filthy filthy. I don't care what mess someone keeps their bedroom in but you have to do your fair share re: general cleaning and a once in a blue moon hoovering of the floor wouldn't kill.

Yeah - and here is the counter-argument to all those who go on about owner occupier setups having drawbacks. Its a double edged sword. The reality is that people as a general rule don't treat things in the same way as they would their own possessions. And of course as people vary, they may be on various points of the scale in this regard...
One good example - guy I have here at the moment - annoyed that I locked front door at night - too much trouble to turn the key in the lock in the morning so he goes out the back door - leaving it unlocked. Had been doing this for a few weeks until someone else in the house told me.

Penny Dreadful

makeorbrake wrote: »

Yeah - and here is the counter-argument to all those who go on about owner occupier setups having drawbacks. Its a double edged sword. The reality is that people as a general rule don't treat things in the same way as they would their own possessions. And of course as people vary, they may be on various points of the scale in this regard...
One good example - guy I have here at the moment - annoyed that I locked front door at night - too much trouble to turn the key in the lock in the morning so he goes out the back door - leaving it unlocked. Had been doing this for a few weeks until someone else in the house told me.[/QUOTE]

This is what I just don't understand. How can it be too much trouble to turn the key in the lock in the morning? That simple not too time consuming act keeps you and your possessions safe in the house at night.
Knowing I have to go down this road again and try to filter out the nutters from the sane ones is making me want to drink at lunchtime.

robd

Penny Dreadful wrote: »

I'm a little shocked at the owner occupier comments:( I bought my house ten years ago and rented out the spare rooms for a few years to make ends meet. There were a few nutters along the way but in the end with the right people things muddled along ok. After about 3 years or so my boyfriend and I decided to live together and I had to ask the people to move out but I gave them 2 months notice and would never have thought about just kicking them out, that would be such a horrible thing to do to anyone.
Now myself and the aforementioned boyfriend have broken up and he has moved out. Now I'm struggling to pay the bills and while would have been ok(ish) news of an impending pay cut has made me think strongly about renting out the double room again. I live in Clonsilla and its a nice house and I was hoping to get between €350 and €400 for the room. I didn't think me living here with the other person would be such a turn off:eek:

That's because you were nice. The point is that if you had decided not to be nice you could, not necessarily would, but could evict a tenant on the spot. Unfortunately, this is the case for any house share but not the case where there is a lease in place with a landlord.

I ended up in a very sticky situation with house share tenants many years ago. They decided to throw an impromptu party for half of the college after the last Christmas exam despite me refusing their earlier request for such party. There was over 200 people in the house and the place ended up totally trashed. Gave them 5 weeks notice as there was 1 week left in month. After 1 week when rent was due they decided to play silly buggers and refuse to pay the rent. I knew them personally so had waived deposits when the moved in. Some of them were in arrears as it was. They where thrown out on the spot. I was young then and in was an expensive lesson for me in not mixing business with pleasure. The point is when it comes down to it and you have to, you can evict a tenant in a house share on the spot. Good for owner, bad for tenant.

makeorbrake

Penny Dreadful wrote: »

This is what I just don't understand. How can it be too much trouble to turn the key in the lock in the morning? That simple not too time consuming act keeps you and your possessions safe in the house at night.

I guess the mentality is a mixture of two things;
1. Ah sure the house will never get robbed (granted its unlikely as i'm in a small regional town but that hasn't stopped a couple of houses being burgled at lunchtime in a couple of other estates in the town recently...so it can happen and if it does with the door unlocked, guess what the insurance co. are going to say!). Of course, I can always ask him to pay for whatever gets stolen (yeah, right!).
2. It boils down to attitude and self interest. He doesn't have anything in the house worth robbing so why should he care (and this transfers into other things too).

As to how this could be too much trouble...the mind boggles...but then house sharing can be an education in psychology! Same guy has trouble closing fridge door too...so maybe its some sort of door thing!

Penny Dreadful

makeorbrake wrote: »

I guess the mentality is a mixture of two things;
1. Ah sure the house will never get robbed (granted its unlikely as i'm in a small regional town but that hasn't stopped a couple of houses being burgled at lunchtime in a couple of other estates in the town recently...so it can happen and if it does with the door unlocked, guess what the insurance co. are going to say!). Of course, I can always ask him to pay for whatever gets stolen (yeah, right!).
2. It boils down to attitude and self interest. He doesn't have anything in the house worth robbing so why should he care (and this transfers into other things too).

As to how this could be too much trouble...the mind boggles...but then house sharing can be an education in psychology! Same guy has trouble closing fridge door too...so maybe its some sort of door thing!

I could stay on here all day swapping horror stories, maybe we should just move in together. I always lock the door at night and when leaving the house, keep fridge and freezer doors closed too, am clean and tidy but not in a nutty way................:)

tHE vAGGABOND

Im an owner occupier in an apartment in town, renting a room.

First, I really don't understand peoples dislike for owner occupiers? If your sensible you will have some form of ground rules for how you live in a house share, if your living with one owner, or 11 Aussies You could have nightmare housemates living with anyone, I have not had any bad experiences with anyone type more than others in 6+ years sharing in Dublin and London.

Anyway, I have only had a problem filling it once [in 2 years odd], when I was over priced [my fault, had celtic tiger prices, after things went down hill]. So that one time I adjusted my prices and I filled room the first evening of viewings. The other 3 or 4 times I have had to rent the room I have filled it very quickly, generally after a night or two [I tend to rent to people passing through Dublin/Ireland for a few months, as it suits me to change who I live with every so often tbh - variety being the spice of life].

Pricing the room is key...

How do I price my room, I look at similar rooms in the area on daft and price mine somewhere around the middle. You may argue you could get a few more quid in rent or that it should be less - but its a system that's worked for me in brief peroids of good times and the slow spiral down

What I currently get is about 150 a month less than what I got 2 years ago, but having someone in there is better than nothing by a long shot

Ammonite

I would not write off owner occupiers completely.

My one experience with an owner occupier was a very positive one. I got a room in a beautiful house for a good price with all bills included. You literally could not have got a better location either. The owner was very nice, easy to get on with and not overly picky about cleanliness, as long as everything was kept reasonably tidy. My landlord was not at all the type that would kick someone out with no notice and I stayed to the end of my lease.

CiaranC

People arent taking in specifics about owner occupiers. Its just that with a glut of rental property on the market, why would you move in somewhere where you can be kicked out with no notice when you dont have to? It makes no sense.

makeorbrake

CiaranC wrote: »

People arent taking in specifics about owner occupiers. Its just that with a glut of rental property on the market, why would you move in somewhere where you can be kicked out with no notice when you dont have to? It makes no sense.

Firstly, you can't legally be kicked out without 'reasonable' notice.
Secondly, your forgetting the advantages that an owner occupied house brings;

someone who takes responsibility for paying all the bills.

no bills in your name.

probably a good deal on bills (i don't charge for broadband, tv license or bins for example)

A house that's been cared for

Stuff tends to get fixed faster than they would in a regular rental scenario

probably no need for cleaning (in my case i do it all)

You don't have to sign a lease that locks you in to renting a place for X length of time - so its truly a flexible arrangement.

You don't have to worry about having to advertise for someone else to fill rooms to cover rent

So, its swings and roundabouts. Of course, for those that can't treat the place they live in with a bit of respect, then owner occupied is not for them!

billybigunz

billybigunz wrote: »

Just discount over a standard room rental.

When I looked for a room before the ones with a premium were usually owner occupiers who didn't have a clue about the going market rents. I'd say half them were not doing it out of choice and would no doubt begrudge your prescence in their house.

+1. I haven't even lived with an owner occupier, but with someone who had rented a place empty so all the stuff was hers. It was a nightmare. She made it very clear that she was only renting out the room because she had to and that she considered it 'her' house. There was never a question of asking me if I minded her friends staying, but I felt like she would have had a fit if I'd had someone over. She was ridiculously demanding of me (IMO) - she treated me like a guest in her house, yet she'd give out if she thought I wasn't cleaning as much as she expected. So basically she wanted it both ways. I had to wash my dishes immediately but she'd leave hers for days meaning I had to wash them before I could cook and she thought that was fine. This was in another country where I didn't want to sign a lease, the rental market wasn't great and I was only staying for a shortish time. I regret putting up with it now and wish I'd just moved, I'd never put up with it in Dublin.

Penny Dreadful wrote: »

I looked on Daft today and the prices quoted for my area are between what I quoted in my post ( €400 - 350). Yes I'd rather not have to rent out but with the right person it could be ok. There would only be the two of us so the house wouldn't be over crowded and they'd have sole use of the main bathroom and a parking space.
Re: begruding the presence in the house........when I did this before what annoyed me was one particular person who didn't give a flying fcuk about the stuff in the house and broke glasses,plates, etc left right and centre and never ever said sorry. There was one other girl who was filthy filthy filthy. I don't care what mess someone keeps their bedroom in but you have to do your fair share re: general cleaning and a once in a blue moon hoovering of the floor wouldn't kill. Still, I've learned from past experiences and would be upfront about what I expected and ask any prospective tenant what their expectations were and if we were on the same page then it should work.

I believe you but my experience is that people who own/rent a place to others are often ridiculously picky. I am always careful with peoples' possessions, much moreso than I am with my own, but things break. The nightmare woman I lived with blew up at me for breaking a wine glass - all I did was dry it and it fell apart in my hands because it was cheap and nasty, one of those '10 glasses for 10 quid' things. She responded by moving all the glasses and plates to her room so I had to get my own. I heard her going on to her friend about it, you'd think I was purposely banging stuff around and throwing it on the floor. I understand people being protective of their possessions, but things break, that's life. I don't see why I should grovel and apologise for a glass cracking as if I'd done something wrong.

CiaranC wrote: »

People arent taking in specifics about owner occupiers. Its just that with a glut of rental property on the market, why would you move in somewhere where you can be kicked out with no notice when you dont have to? It makes no sense.

+1. Why would you? There are scores and scores of rooms on Daft, you can even get a studio flat in south Dublin for around the 500 mark. Why on earth would someone pay 525 for a room to live with someone who's been there much longer and probably considers it 'their' place?

billybigunz

You are dreaming if you think the average renter sees it that way.

makeorbrake

billybigunz wrote: »

You are dreaming if you think the average renter sees it that way.

All the points I made stand on their own merit. I know for a fact I've gotten lodgers as a direct result of the third point and last two points I raised above.

makeorbrake

makeorbrake wrote: »

All the points I made stand on their own merit. I know for a fact I've gotten lodgers as a direct result of the third point and last two points I raised above.

They're all good points but for me, none of them make up for feeling like you're an unwelcome guest in someone else's home.

As for the notice period, what is 'reasonable'? I've heard of people being given a few days or a week's notice to leave.

makeorbrake

[quote=[Deleted User];65323717]As for the notice period, what is 'reasonable'? I've heard of people being given a few days or a week's notice to leave.[/QUOTE] Reasonable is usually deemed to be the equivalent of whatever the arrangement is for payment. ie. if weekly or monthly, then a week or a months notice. By the same token, this is all the notice the lodger needs to give if they want to move out.
[quote=[Deleted User];65323717]They're all good points but for me, none of them make up for feeling like you're an unwelcome guest in someone else's home.[/QUOTE]
Yes, you are a guest under this arrangement. However, as people vary so will your experience. In other words, whether your a welcome or 'unwelcome' guest depends on the individuals involved. In your case, it certainly sounds like you were made to feel like an unwelcome guest. However, just bear in mind that its a two way street