Searching for a house to rent in Portlaoise

tokenv

I'm searching for a house in Portlaoise. I was undecided whether to post here or in the Co Laois sub-forum, but there it goes.

I'm honestly tired of Estate Agents who don't care about anything or anyone so I thought I'd try on here and maybe get in touch with an home-owner directly.

These are my requirements:
1) 2 or 3 bedrooms house (I prefer house but apartment is also fine if it's 1st floor or higher)
2) it's got to be quiet, i.e. not directly in front of major roads (I work from home and hearing roaring vehicles every second is not ideal)
3) property needs to be decent, preferably with wooden floors for bedrooms and sitting room (carpet is fine if it's very new)

Now details about myself:
1) I'm male and single, no family, no kids, no pets
2) I'm a self-employed software developer
3) I work from home and I would use the extra space as my own studio area (note that I work for international clients through the Internet, therefore I don't use the house as business premises)
4) I always pay in time, never missed a single payment for rent or bills in the past 3 years
5) I'm tidy, clean and responsible and I will let you check my current place as proof

You might think I seem like the ideal tenant. Living alone, tidy, almost anti-social (no parties or gatherings), with a stable job and pay. And probably I am.
The only catch is pricing. You can find a decent 3-beds for 500/mo by default in Portlaoise. Given that I will live in there alone however I'm ready to pay 450/mo max.

If you think that's not enough for your property, I understand but don't even bother contacting me then.

For anyone else, please send PM with pictures and approximate location of the house.
I'm searching for someone who cares about their property and wants someone to live there that cares too, at the expense of a slightly lower income.

the_syco

How about; http://www.daft.ie/21313866 looks to be in a small estate, not near any major roads? TBH, when looking through daft, best looking from a map view to ensure you don't waste your time with houses near main roads.

Stheno

tokenv wrote: »

I'm searching for a house in Portlaoise. I was undecided whether to post here or in the Co Laois sub-forum, but there it goes.

I'm honestly tired of Estate Agents who don't care about anything or anyone so I thought I'd try on here and maybe get in touch with an home-owner directly.

These are my requirements:
1) 2 or 3 bedrooms house (I prefer house but apartment is also fine if it's 1st floor or higher)
2) it's got to be quiet, i.e. not directly in front of major roads (I work from home and hearing roaring vehicles every second is not ideal)
3) property needs to be decent, preferably with wooden floors for bedrooms and sitting room (carpet is fine if it's very new)

Now details about myself:
1) I'm male and single, no family, no kids, no pets
2) I'm a self-employed software developer, running my own business
3) I work from home and I would use the extra space as my studio/office area
4) I always pay in time, never missed a single payment for rent or bills in the past 3 years
5) I'm tidy, clean and responsible and I will let you check my current place as proof

You might think I seem like the ideal tenant. Living alone, tidy, almost anti-social (no parties or gatherings), with a stable job and pay. And probably I am.
The only catch is pricing. You can find a decent 3-beds for 500/mo by default in Portlaoise. Given that I will live in there alone however I'm ready to pay 450/mo max.

If you think that's not enough for your property, I understand but don't even bother contacting me then.

For anyone else, please send PM with pictures and approximate location of the house.
I'm searching for someone who cares about their property and wants someone to live there that cares too, at the expense of a slightly lower income.

Price is the problem for you, but there are a few two beds on daft for 450e a month or less.

D3PO

OP just becasue you live alone it has no bearing on what a 2 bed or a three bed should cost.

its your choice to live alone and you have to expect to pay extra for that privledge.

Also please be aware that running a business from a residential location can be a breach on planning permission. Thats something to be concious of in terms of how you present yourself as a tennant.

syklops

Im in a similar situation, looking for a flat or house to rent for a short term lease (3/4 months) in westmeath, and its hard. Considering what the meedja would have you believe regarding property in this country there seems to be a shortage of quality properties available.

However, going by two of your requirements you are swimming against the tide a bit.

Given that I will live in there alone however I'm ready to pay 450/mo max.

I work from home and I would use the extra space as my studio/office area

I think you will need to be a bit more flexible rent wise. 450 a month the only thing I think you will find would be student accomodation, or somewhere really crappy, and if you work from home, you need a place that doesn't look like the previous owner died and was found 3 days later. Again, working from home, you dont have the costs associated with travelling to work everyday , so you should be able to throw a little extra money at the rent.

tokenv

Thanks for the feedback and info guys. But I was trying to avoid daft on purpose because it's almost just EAs there.

I don't "run a business" from home, I just work from home. I do not use the home as business premises, with clients or anyone else going in and out, I just commence my own work from the house, which is not in breach.

OP just becasue you live alone it has no bearing on what a 2 bed or a three bed should cost.

Really? Are you telling me that as a home-owner you would feel exactly the same renting a house to a family with 2 kids and a dog rather than a single individual? I personally wouldn't, maybe if you don't care much about the property you would.

D3PO

tokenv wrote: »

Really? Are you telling me that as a home-owner you would feel exactly the same renting a house to a family with 2 kids and a dog rather than a single individual? I personally wouldn't, maybe if you don't care much about the property you would.

Every tenant weather they be an individual or a family would be expected to care for the property in the same way. If a family damaged something beyond normal wear and tear they just like you would be libel for the cost so your thought process that you should get a better deal is so wide of the mark isnt incredible.

a landlord may have a preference for a single person over a family but they wont reduce rent for that reason. If you could find a handful of LL's in the country that would you would be lucky.

as for a pet what has that do do with anything that has no bearing on the original post or reply so why are you moving the goalposts now ?

tokenv

I was making an hypothetical (it's very common for families with kids to have pets). I guess I think differently than most landlords but hopefully there's one who thinks like me and wants piece of mind when letting his/her property at the cost of slightly lower revenue. But thanks for your feedback, it is appreciated.

syklops, sorry I didn't see your message before. I think Athlone is different from Portlaoise. I know because I was living there until recently. Athlone is a business center, a transit center and a student center. All in all these factors contribute to a higher value for the property market. My estimates indicate about 100/mo higher to get similar property there rather than here. So picture what you can get with 550/mo in Athlone.

Stheno

tokenv wrote: »

Thanks for the feedback and info guys. But I was trying to avoid daft on purpose because it's almost just EAs there.

I don't "run a business" from home, I just work from home. I do not use the home as business premises, with clients or anyone else going in and out, I just commence my own work from the house, which is not in breach.

Really? Are you telling me that as a home-owner you would feel exactly the same renting a house to a family with 2 kids and a dog rather than a single individual? I personally wouldn't, maybe if you don't care much about the property you would.

Some landlords have insurance that is invalidated/higher if people are in the house all day and won't take unemployed people on that basis (It's come up here a few times)

I rented in Portlaoise a few years ago and had a three bed in a quiet estate for €500 a month, negotiated with the EA and got it down to that.

There are a few apartments in the likes of Stradbook which despite being across from the prison is a fairly quiet place to live, they are fairly new, and of a decent quality that you'll get for 450/month

Caroline Bergin are the main EA I've dealt with in the past and I found them very good to deal with.

tokenv

Stheno wrote: »

Some landlords have insurance that is invalidated/higher if people are in the house all day and won't take unemployed people on that basis (It's come up here a few times)

That seems really odd. It sounds to me like those were very specific (and peculiar) cases.

I can't think of anything that would void the insurance depending on how much you "use" the house, unless they were trying to use the insurance to repair wear and tear which I don't think any insurance covers for.

In fact most disastrous conditions covered by house insurance, like robbery, fire, pipe leaks and so on would be more easily prevented by spending more time in the house.

Besides, what if you have 2 parents and child with 1 parent working and the other staying at home with the child. Are all those families then paying insurance for nothing?

Anyway sorry I got stuck into hypotheticals again, but it really puzzles me.

Stheno

tokenv wrote: »

That seems really odd. It sounds to me like those were very specific (and peculiar) cases.

I can't think of anything that would void the insurance depending on how much you "use" the house, unless they were trying to use the insurance to repair wear and tear which I don't think any insurance covers for.

In fact most disastrous conditions covered by house insurance, like robbery, fire, pipe leaks and so on would be more easily prevented by spending more time in the house.

Besides, what if you have 2 parents and child with 1 parent working and the other staying at home with the child. Are all those families then paying insurance for nothing?

Anyway sorry I got stuck into hypotheticals again, but it really puzzles me.

Dunno just read about it on here as a reason landlords won't let to the unemployed

Any luck with your search?

tokenv

I have the suspicion that might have been a politically correct alternative to "unemployed => no money => get out of here"

Not yet, I will probably have to use agencies again and the usual path, hopefully I find someone decent this time. I really wonder how people feel so confident leaving their property in the hands of EAs :P