How to snag a house at an open viewing?

Snoogans

Hey all, bit of a query here. I'm moving into a new place I found on daft before the college year starts. I'm 25 and will be in first year (yeah, yeah I know).

Anyway, the place I have, which is in the Barrack St/Tower St locale, is an unlivable dump of the highest order- it's completely disgusting, and due to my housemates we even had rats recently. Well, that was the last straw for me. After much hunting, I've found what seems to be the perfect property in the region of Patrick's Hill. The problem is that the estate agent dealing with the place has been fobbing me off when I called him, interrupting me before I finish my first sentence and promising to "call me back later" (which he didn't). I've called him on different days, from different phones, and have never gotten past giving my name. In the end, my mother rang on my behalf incognito (god bless the aul mammy) and found out there's a viewing open to the public tomorrow at 5:30pm. The only thing is, I want this place. i want it feckin' badly. It's perfectly situated, it's nice, it's neat, has internet, and 2 double bedrooms. I'm looking to move in there with a mate who sadly won't be able to attend tomorrow.

The only thing is, we'll have no problem with the rent and deposit, but we're just two soon to be students looking to grab a place. I really want this, I have my back to the wall here (every other place has problems with location, cost, or living conditions, and I've been looking for a long feckin' time). how do I get them to notice me, and take my offer? What can I do to get this place before anyone else? Were it an option, I'd just call and say "I'll take it!" without even doing a vewing of the house (I've done a viewing of a different apartment nearby that uses the same floorplan. This is almost identical but better furnished). Any advice would be tremendous help, this is a really stressful situation, as if I don't get this place, I'm stuck in the disgusting, overpriced kip I'm in now, which will make me cry.

pow wow

Unless it's marketed towards students, don't mention that you are one! Regardless of age many landlords have a flat 'no students' rule.

If the estate agent were more amenable I'd ring before the viewing, explain I was very keen, and ask what the procedure is if the viewing goes well, how soon an application could go through etc. Push home that you're ready to move immediately and have everything in place to do so quickly.

Oh, and turn up on time

Snoogans

pow wow wrote: »

Unless it's marketed towards students, don't mention that you are one! Regardless of age many landlords have a flat 'no students' rule.

If the estate agent were more amenable I'd ring before the viewing, explain I was very keen, and ask what the procedure is if the viewing goes well, how soon an application could go through etc. Push home that you're ready to move immediately and have everything in place to do so quickly.

Oh, and turn up on time

Cheers for actually responding
I called someone else at the same office today during that fecker's lunch break, and did as you advised. I shall be neglecting to mention we're students also. Anyway, your advice worked well, I was told it'd be smart to show up about 15 minutes early, so the second the door opens, I'm in.
Thanks.
Viewing's in 4 hours, anyone else has a pointer before then on how to impress/charm an estate agent, I'd love to hear it. To be honest, I'm kinda worried I'll come across the wrong way, because I look like a bit of a weirdo/scumbag. (I'm nice really, I promise) Obviously I won't be wearing a tracksuit (since I don't own any), but there's only so much you can accomplish with how you dress. Should I lie about being a student if he asks, I wonder?

tommy21

Snoogans wrote: »

Cheers for actually responding
I called someone else at the same office today during that fecker's lunch break, and did as you advised. I shall be neglecting to mention we're students also. Anyway, your advice worked well, I was told it'd be smart to show up about 15 minutes early, so the second the door opens, I'm in.
Thanks.
Viewing's in 4 hours, anyone else has a pointer before then on how to impress/charm an estate agent, I'd love to hear it. To be honest, I'm kinda worried I'll come across the wrong way, because I look like a bit of a weirdo/scumbag. (I'm nice really, I promise) Obviously I won't be wearing a tracksuit (since I don't own any), but there's only so much you can accomplish with how you dress. Should I lie about being a student if he asks, I wonder?

Ha, I live on Summer Hill! You look like a weirdo/scumbag?! Wear a suit - sounds crazy but you can mention you were able to arrive a bit earlier as you got off work early. Make up some job if they ask what you do, like sell insurance or something like that or desk-based. You want to come across responsible and to an extent boring. At at a minimum dress smartly with proper shoes! Do not chew gum. Turn your mobile off or to silent. Treat this like a job interview. Do not lie, say you may have plans to go back to school in the future depending on how you are liking your job etc. If you really want the place, mention that you might be willing to pay slightly more than anyone else (though this might be a mistake too!). If you can bring or offer (good) references, do so. Thank them for the viewing at the end and leave a contact number telling them they can contact you if they have any more questions on your background, or if you are successful to arrange a time to give them the deposit etc. (making you seem keen and like you have money to burn). The key is to leave them at ease.

Snoogans

tommy21 wrote: »

Ha, I live on Summer Hill! You look like a weirdo/scumbag?! Wear a suit - sounds crazy but you can mention you were able to arrive a bit earlier as you got off work early. Make up some job if they ask what you do, like sell insurance or something like that or desk-based. You want to come across responsible and to an extent boring. At at a minimum dress smartly with proper shoes! Do not chew gum. Turn your mobile off or to silent. Treat this like a job interview. Do not lie, say you may have plans to go back to school in the future depending on how you are liking your job etc. If you really want the place, mention that you might be willing to pay slightly more than anyone else (though this might be a mistake too!). If you can bring or offer (good) references, do so. Thank them for the viewing at the end and leave a contact number telling them they can contact you if they have any more questions on your background. The key is to leave them at ease.

That's actually pretty solid advice, except I don't own a suit. I'll dress as smart as I can anyway. Good advice though, but this place has a different deposit policy on students, I've learned. On doing some homework, it turns out they generally do a six month lease, and they dislike students renting their properties on 9 month leases, as it means that the property is generally empty for 3 months. What I think I'll do is inform them I'll be happy to sign a 12 month lease. You have also made me twig something important. When I was staying in tralee, the house I was living in got trashed by people who were moving out. I stayed back to clean the place up on my own. The landlord at the time was very impressed, and offered himself as a reference in the future. I never took him up on it, but it might be worth phoning in a favour then. One thing is that there will be two of us living there, but my partner in crime is in Galway at the moment. I think her non presence there could reflect badly, and on the flipside, having an attractive young woman there might make them more likely to rent (you may scoff, but it's amazing sometimes what she can get away with).
You have raised some very salient points, I should be as calm and reassuring as possible. I think I can come across as more of a uni lecturer type than a student type, regardless of what I tell them my profession is. Cheers.

paddytheboy

Introduce yourself being polite and friendly. "Hello, I'm xx, thanks for seeing me"
Most people make a decision on someone within the first 7/8 seconds. You can't get that back!

tommy21

paddytheboy wrote: »

Introduce yourself being polite and friendly. "Hello, I'm xx, thanks for seeing me"
Most people make a decision on someone within the first 7/8 seconds. You can't get that back!

Incorrect. Did you forget about amnesia?

babo9

You could say you do research in the college, it's your job
Researchers often look "weird"

Technically I work for the college doing research, but technically I am also actually a student

Snoogans

I got the place, thanks for all the advice guys, competition was actually really stiff, there were like 11 of us there.

tommy21

Snoogans wrote: »

I got the place, thanks for all the advice guys, competition was actually really stiff, there were like 11 of us there.

Haha sweet!

pow wow

yay congrats! now when is the very sedate and thoroughly boring housewarming?

babo9

Snoogans wrote: »

I got the place, thanks for all the advice guys, competition was actually really stiff, there were like 11 of us there.

Cool, how did ya snag it in the end? Did you have to compete with the others, were they actually interested?

panda100

Congrats on snagging your dream gaff Snoogans!

I'm heading down to study and work in Cork and am going to visit a few places next week.

I was just wondering how far is Blackrock and Douglas from the city? How long roughly would it take to cycle as I don't want to be driving every day?

Sorry Snoogans I don't mean to hijack thread!

tommy21

panda100 wrote: »

Congrats on snagging your dream gaff Snoogans!

I'm heading down to study and work in Cork and am going to visit a few places next week.

I was just wondering how far is Blackrock and Douglas from the city? How long roughly would it take to cycle as I don't want to be driving every day?

Sorry Snoogans I don't mean to hijack thread!

Hey Panda. You will enjoy living in the best place in Ireland

Blackrock will take about 15 minutes to cycle to the City centre.
Douglas is further out, generally a bus would take 20 minutes from city centre, so cycling I'd imagine perhaps forty minutes (including a slightly steep section:D, rest of it is pretty flat) or slightly more depending on what part of Douglas.

panda100

tommy21 wrote: »

Hey Panda. You will enjoy living in the best place in Ireland

Blackrock will take about 15 minutes to cycle to the City centre.
Douglas is further out, generally a bus would take 20 minutes from city centre, so cycling I'd imagine perhaps forty minutes (including a slightly steep section:D, rest of it is pretty flat) or slightly more depending on what part of Douglas.

Excellent!Rents are a lot better out in Blackrock than the city centre, and 15 minutes is pretty close!
Can't wait to move to Cork,I'm a bit tired of Dublin and Limerick at this stage!

Thanks tommy!

Snoogans

Thanks for all the help and support guys. Throwing a housewarming early next week, say monday or tuesday-ish, there'll be pizza and it's BYOB. Come along!

babo9 wrote: »

Cool, how did ya snag it in the end? Did you have to compete with the others, were they actually interested?

Yeah, a fair few of us wrote down that we were interested, but I had a reference from a previous landlord on standby, and was willing to agree to a 12 month lease off the bat, which is what clinched it, I think. Went in to sign the lease this morning, and ran into these other two girls who had wanted the place I had. They were being fixed up with another property themselves, so it was great. My friend got back to Cork, so I showed her the place we'd snagged and she was thrilled.
(although there is an achillles' heel: The metal frame bed in her room squeaks like ****, as it turns out)

Panda100 wrote:

Congrats on snagging your dream gaff Snoogans!

I'm heading down to study and work in Cork and am going to visit a few places next week.

I was just wondering how far is Blackrock and Douglas from the city? How long roughly would it take to cycle as I don't want to be driving every day?

Sorry Snoogans I don't mean to hijack thread!

Feckin' great, where/what ya studying? I don't know Blackrock that well, to be honest. Douglas is a bit of a sprawl, easily accessible by bus, but depending on where you are there, you can walk to the city center in 20 minutes, or may as well not bother. Ballinlough is neighbouring douglas and has comparable accomodation prices, but puts you a little closer.

Milly33

Sorry I know I didnt say anything but thats cus I didnt know anything, but congrats on getting the place nice to hear good news

tommy21

Snoogans wrote: »

(although there is an achillles' heel: The metal frame bed in her room squeaks like ****, as it turns out)

Was your "friend" that pleased with your bartering skills?:D

babo9

tommy21 wrote: »

Was your "friend" that pleased with your bartering skills?:D

LOL

MunsterCycling

Hmmm how was that discovered!!!