Finding it hard to find a decent place to live

space_man

TheBandicoot wrote: »

Just checked Daft and the place is let.

So if you want to know what the market is like(based on my interactions with the LL here):

• Ad appears on Monday
• Tenant moves out on Tuesday evening
• LL schedules open viewing Wednesday evening
• New tenant secured Wednesday evening

**** open viewings, btw, and **** everything. I'm out.

what! you moving to Drogheda?

Magenta

TheBandicoot wrote: »

Just checked Daft and the place is let.

So if you want to know what the market is like(based on my interactions with the LL here):

• Ad appears on Monday
• Tenant moves out on Tuesday evening
• LL schedules open viewing Wednesday evening
• New tenant secured Wednesday evening

**** open viewings, btw, and **** everything. I'm out.

Have you set up email alerts to be sent to you when a place with your criteria is posted?
They are really handy, however they only work for ads that have been posted brand new. Many agents and landlords just update the ad from the last time the place was up for rent, and since it's not a new ad you won't get an email.

I basically had to push and shove for my flat.
When the email alert came in I rang the agent immediately. She told me there was an open viewing at 6pm and like yourself I said, sod that, and basically nagged her til she agreed to let me view it by myself during my lunch break. I asked her beforehand what paperwork and deposit I'd need if I wanted it and made sure I had it on me when I viewed the place.

You have to be really aggressive. And I'm luckier than most as I work for a very laid back company who let me leave early to attend multiple viewings.

TheBandicoot

Haha, yeah, trust me I have email alerts set up. And yes, I emailed this guy as soon as the ad went up and I told them I could view at any time(like you I can leave the office at any timeif I need to), he still made me wait two days until the current tenant had left and they were having an open viewing.

In future I might insist on a private viewing. But why should any LL agree to that? Like I've seen, he only needs to turn up at the apartment for an hour and can have dozens of people making offers straight away. There's no incentive for him to give anyone the time of day, he has all the cards. So like I said, I give up, the market is too much for me, I don't have the emotional strength.

space_man

TheBandicoot wrote: »

Haha, yeah, trust me I have email alerts set up. And yes, I emailed this guy as soon as the ad went up and I told them I could view at any time(like you I can leave the office at any timeif I need to), he still made me wait two days until the current tenant had left and they were having an open viewing.

In future I might insist on a private viewing. But why should any LL agree to that? Like I've seen, he only needs to turn up at the apartment for an hour and can have dozens of people making offers straight away. There's no incentive for him to give anyone the time of day, he has all the cards. So like I said, I give up, the market is too much for me, I don't have the emotional strength.

while i sympathise with your frustration, you also have to see it from the LL point of view.
if he arranges a private viewing with you or anyone else, there is every chance he will be let down should the prospective tenant decide for whatever reason not to show.
i have personal experience of this, so i know what i'm talking about. people in ireland will not honour appointments without as much as a text message.
so from the LL's perspective, it's much better to line up half a dozen on a particular afternoon/evening and see who turns up. it's the only practicable way to do it.

cson

The being aggressive tip is worth following; hound letting agents and landlords, make yourself available for viewings at any time and literally be ready to go with the following; deposit (if you have 2 bank accounts and a lot of students will due to the offers flying around in years gone by) lash a deposit and first months rent into it and print a statement; have professional references ready from your employer (letter stating you work there) and have prior references from landlords (2 is ideal and note that you can still get these off College residencies - email the village manager.).

MMAGirl

You could even say that if you take it you will pay 50€ a month over asking if they let you view it early.

RATM

@The Bandicoot - also if I remember rightly there is a facility on Daft called the Tenant Database where you can fill in exactly what you're after and landlords get in touch with you. I used it a 3 years ago and had about 6 landlords contact me and ended up in one of their apartments, where I am to this day and happy out.

If you write a good profile on that and show that you're a reliable tenant who'll look after the place well you might just get a few landlords contact you before they spend money on Daft to advertise their place. Letting agents are also likely to use it as a quick way of finding tenants with little leg work so have a good profile/ad is important. Worth a shot IMO.

space_man

cson wrote: »

The being aggressive tip is worth following; hound letting agents and landlords, make yourself available for viewings at any time and literally be ready to go with the following; deposit (if you have 2 bank accounts and a lot of students will due to the offers flying around in years gone by) lash a deposit and first months rent into it and print a statement; have professional references ready from your employer (letter stating you work there) and have prior references from landlords (2 is ideal and note that you can still get these off College residencies - email the village manager.).

i dont think the agressive "strategy" will work, as my experience has been the tenants who have caused me most difficulty have been the pushy ones ie the ones who say "here's the money, i'll move in straight away".
as a LL it's always best to interview all prospective tenants to try and identify the ones who will be best suited, and again speaking from experience the best ones have often been those who were a bit laid back.

space_man

geraldishere wrote: »

get more money bro you 1 bed apt cheap bitch

i dont think that comment is very helpful.
if a 1 bed is all he can afford then where's the problem with that?

there a plenty of people in this country "residing" in large houses in negative equity that they cannot afford.

D3PO

space_man wrote: »

i dont think that comment is very helpful.
if a 1 bed is all he can afford then where's the problem with that?

there a plenty of people in this country "residing" in large houses in negative equity that they cannot afford.

ignore them. they have been trolling on 8 different boards forums today.

MMAGirl

Another thing we used to do when renting was to make this offer to the landlord.

In return for €50 a month off the rent we would do basic maintenance and repairs in the apartment. We would also pay for any repairs ourselves and return the items in the same state we got them in.
€600 off the rent in a year and we usually spent a lot less than that on repairs.

So the landlord gets a hassle free life and we got some rent off. win/win.
They love that.

Of course if anything major went wrong, like boiler etc he would pay for it and we would go back to paying full rent, but that never happened. We always ended up on the good side of that deal.

Nowadays you could probably ask for €75 a month off the rent for such a deal though.

Victor

geraldishere wrote: »

get more money bro you 1 bed apt cheap bitch

Abuse not welcome.

Moderator

space_man

MMAGirl wrote: »

Another thing we used to do when renting was to make this offer to the landlord.

In return for €50 a month off the rent we would do basic maintenance and repairs in the apartment. We would also pay for any repairs ourselves and return the items in the same state we got them in.
€600 off the rent in a year and we usually spent a lot less than that on repairs.

So the landlord gets a hassle free life and we got some rent off. win/win.
They love that.

Of course if anything major went wrong, like boiler etc he would pay for it and we would go back to paying full rent, but that never happened. We always ended up on the good side of that deal.

Nowadays you could probably ask for €75 a month off the rent for such a deal though.

sure and have some DIY novice hacking away at your property?
no LL with half a brain would accept such an "offer".
and besides in today's market the LL might well be asking you for €75 extra in order to maintain the property in good order.:rolleyes:

MMAGirl

space_man wrote: »

sure and have some DIY novice hacking away at your property?
no LL with half a brain would accept such an "offer".
and besides in today's market the LL might well be asking you for €75 extra in order to maintain the property in good order.:rolleyes:

We did it with 2 different landlords over 4 years and it worked out really well.
The only things we had to replace or have repaired were 2 shower hoses, 1 hoover, 1 electric kettle, 1 toaster, 1 microwave, 1 letterbox, 1 kitchen chair, 1 Kitchen hob. :rolleyes:

blackbelted

I also find it desperately hard to find 1 or 2 bed in D2 or D8 area. The apartments in the center are either very crappy or pricy...

I know the friends reference would make it cheaper and easier, but most of them are also looking one to move...

I keep a ref letter from work with me in case they need a proof of income.

Some agents are not nice at all. The way they look at you is like " will you able to pay it?" Why would I bother to rush from work to view it ?! No brainers!! E. g: savills from my experience.

Hope you all the best for the hunting....
Any good/bad experience please share.