What am I doing wrong????

trishabon

I recently posted about my fake landlord situation and was very grateful for all advice and opinions. So maybe you could help with this please...

For three weeks I have been on many sites trying to rent a room. I am polite, state that I am quiet, single and mature with good references... Now I know better than to expect much from daft, but the situation has become ludicrous! Of all the emails, texts and calls I have made (which inevitably go to voicemail) only two people have actually answered my calls and one person had the decency to text. All places were gone. I have alerts, respond within 24 hours, usually within 6 hours and often within an hour and also try the ones advertised for longer. I wait a day and politely follow up. Yes, I am sure that people get bombarded but surely they could take the ads down after 5 days? Or just say no.

Am I doing something wrong here? I am tired of people telling me that there are 100's of properties out there, like I am not trying hard enough. I have a good credit rating and I am not taking legal action against anyone. My head's completely wrecked so please advise.

Seems like common decency is not that common anymore. Or am I doing something wrong here?

tippingpoint

I had an ad up recently for a house share. I received over 200 emails over 3 - 4 days. No way was I replying to everyone!

If someone sounded like they would be a good fit for the house I would ask them to come for a viewing, so maybe 10 out of the 200 + got a response. Unfortunately there's a massive shortage of supply at the moment so you might have to start looking in other areas you wouldn't have considered before.

Good luck with the search!

Samuel T. Cogley

Are you selling yourself as regard fit in your opening email?

trishabon

Well thanks for clearing that up for me... I was beginning to doubt myself as I responded to so many that I could not believe the zero response!

trishabon

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

Are you selling yourself as regard fit in your opening email?

Yes indeed. All the positives that you would hope for in a tenant. The problem with the internet and technology is that there's no personal interaction. Same as applying for an apartment... On the few occasions that I actually managed to get a viewing the were hoards of viewers. I always took all my paperwork along but was told by the agent to email them if interested... As a one time landlady I know that references can look great on paper, but often those people can be the filthiest tenants and can destroy a property, where someone with reasonable references can be reliable and take great care of your property. But I guess if you are an agent why would you care about that?
Sharing living space with someone is even more personal and I get that there is a huge demand, but how to sell yourself by text or email is a mystery to me...

Samuel T. Cogley

Firstly keep it short and too the point. Make it clear you're not a shut in and are easy going. The rest is down to the luck of the fit between you and the host.