So I'm a renter despite owning 2 properties. I've just realised that it's been exactly 18 months since I have been unhappily living in my current location and been looking for elsewhere to move into. There has only been 1 property which would have been my ideal house but sadly I did not get it. For those who do rent, how picky are you with where you live and how long does it usually take you to find somewhere else to live?
For those that RENT - How long does it take you to find somewhere?
- Thread starter Anon_
- Start date
I'm not really that picky, well I don't think I am anyway 
I have my "criteria" which is always a 3+/2/2 and must allow pets (two cats) although I know that "no pets" doesn't actually mean an absolute no, so if I find ones I like I still give it a go.
I must admit, I'm usually pretty picky about the properties I see advertised so don't really inspect that many, and am picky about the agencies I rent from.
I think last time we moved we (I) was looking for about 2 months before we moved, but probably inspected only 5 or so properties.
I have my "criteria" which is always a 3+/2/2 and must allow pets (two cats) although I know that "no pets" doesn't actually mean an absolute no, so if I find ones I like I still give it a go.
I must admit, I'm usually pretty picky about the properties I see advertised so don't really inspect that many, and am picky about the agencies I rent from.
I think last time we moved we (I) was looking for about 2 months before we moved, but probably inspected only 5 or so properties.
Hi Anon,
Me and my partner renting also. It's been about 4 years all up now, and we've been in 3 rental properties. Moving into each rental has been because we have moved towns (and twice moved states) with timing of the move dictating each time that we get the closest fit to our criteria NOW.
With that sort of pressure, we've had to just take what we could, and always ended up with a pretty decent home in our price bracket. Each time we have found a place within 2 weeks.
I'm thinking that you are looking for another home pretty close to where you currently live, so can therefore either take or leave a prospective place? Can I ask what's been wrong with the places you have rejected in the last 18 months?
Me and my partner renting also. It's been about 4 years all up now, and we've been in 3 rental properties. Moving into each rental has been because we have moved towns (and twice moved states) with timing of the move dictating each time that we get the closest fit to our criteria NOW.
With that sort of pressure, we've had to just take what we could, and always ended up with a pretty decent home in our price bracket. Each time we have found a place within 2 weeks.
I'm thinking that you are looking for another home pretty close to where you currently live, so can therefore either take or leave a prospective place? Can I ask what's been wrong with the places you have rejected in the last 18 months?
Depends where you want to rent, and how soft the rental market is.
I've only had to actively look for somewhere to rent a few times in my life....going to the agent, inspecting places, decide.
Two times were less than 2 weeks with this process.
It helps if you are not too fussy, of course.
The third time was returning from the USA in '08. We found a place online, signed a lease based on only photos. Stayed there 2.5 years.
I've only had to actively look for somewhere to rent a few times in my life....going to the agent, inspecting places, decide.
Two times were less than 2 weeks with this process.
It helps if you are not too fussy, of course.
The third time was returning from the USA in '08. We found a place online, signed a lease based on only photos. Stayed there 2.5 years.
Our last place we broke our lease, as I was half way through my pregnancy and the area we were living in wasn't appropriate for a new baby. (think hundreds of apartments going up)
Otherwise just on periodic lease and find a new place and then give notice, usually a week or two cross over time.
If it's for renting, I usually find it within 2-3 weeks of looking. It get easier over time. It was difficult in the beginning when you don't have that much history on renting, but I know the pattern now so its easier - Got the rent for this apartment in one hit (i.e. view one, apply, got it).
Hubby and I have rented at various times in our lives - how easy and/or quick it's been to find a rental has depended on our personal circumstances and the rental market itself.
Rentals were hard to come by when we were young and had no rental history (1990s), so we had to rely on the landlord taking a punt with us. We kind of had to 'sell' ourselves as ideal tenants to the property manager (hoping that he'd relay all our selling-points to the landlord). We'd only ever lived with our parents but I think the fact that we had good, secure, well respected jobs with good incomes and that we had just become landlords ourselves helped win him over. We also didn't have any pets and wanted a long-term lease. Our personal presentation was also neat and tidy. We were never late with a rent payment and, as I'm a neat-freak by nature, had the place looking schmick. We received fantastic rental references. After a few years, we moved into our own place.
I assumed that the excellent references we had received when we were first starting out would really help us when we were looking to rent again (2000s). But no. Our next move into a rental property came when we bought a block of land and needed somewhere to live while we built a new PPOR. By this time we were a family with young kids, dog, etc. There was hardly anything available. We wanted to live in a 'decent' area but nothing was available even in the 'less desirable' areas! It was Christmas time - traditionally the busiest time of the year for rentals when everyone wants to 'be in by Christmas' and start the new year afresh. We wanted a house and whenever one would come up there was about 20 families inspecting and lodging applications. Most rentals in our area seem to be townhouses, units, etc (cheap stuff that most investors can afford I suppose, but not practical for families...) We had a 6 week settlement before we had to be out of our house and it was tricky to try and make it all work time-wise. We would have been quite happy move out of our house early and pay a few extra weeks rent in advance just to secure a rental, but, silly me made the mistake of being too honest and disclosing that 'we were building' and would probably only need to rent for apppox 12 months and also that we had an (outside) dog. Of course, we were knocked-back due to the successful applicants wanting a long-term lease, not having pets, etc.
If the rental market back then was like it is today (pages of properties available), I don't think we would have had any problem finding something. Obviously landlords can be more choosy when it's a tight rental market and it therefore takes longer for a tenant to find somewhere to live. I know that if I'm ever in that situation again, I won't be revealing that we aren't 'long term' tenants. Interestingly, nor were the successful tenants of a few of the properties we missed out on, as I saw the removalist trucks after a few months. I'd also time it so as to never be looking for rental accommodation around Christmas/New Year. Although, as a landlord, it's the best time to have an IP available .
After about 4 weeks (and me getting very panicky) we were eventually offered a rental by a private landlord. The best references we had were to refer him to the immaculately cared-for house we had just sold and to the real estate agent who had sold it for us. As well as the usual pay slips, we also got a letter from our bank stating how we'd never missed a repayment, etc. We moved in, stayed for about 18 months before moving into our new house. No problems at all.
*Just re-read this, geeeez I can waffle *embarrassed*.
Rentals were hard to come by when we were young and had no rental history (1990s), so we had to rely on the landlord taking a punt with us. We kind of had to 'sell' ourselves as ideal tenants to the property manager (hoping that he'd relay all our selling-points to the landlord
). We'd only ever lived with our parents but I think the fact that we had good, secure, well respected jobs with good incomes and that we had just become landlords ourselves helped win him over. We also didn't have any pets and wanted a long-term lease. Our personal presentation was also neat and tidy. We were never late with a rent payment and, as I'm a neat-freak by nature, had the place looking schmick. We received fantastic rental references. After a few years, we moved into our own place.I assumed that the excellent references we had received when we were first starting out would really help us when we were looking to rent again (2000s). But no. Our next move into a rental property came when we bought a block of land and needed somewhere to live while we built a new PPOR. By this time we were a family with young kids, dog, etc. There was hardly anything available. We wanted to live in a 'decent' area but nothing was available even in the 'less desirable' areas! It was Christmas time - traditionally the busiest time of the year for rentals when everyone wants to 'be in by Christmas' and start the new year afresh. We wanted a house and whenever one would come up there was about 20 families inspecting and lodging applications. Most rentals in our area seem to be townhouses, units, etc (cheap stuff that most investors can afford I suppose, but not practical for families...) We had a 6 week settlement before we had to be out of our house and it was tricky to try and make it all work time-wise. We would have been quite happy move out of our house early and pay a few extra weeks rent in advance just to secure a rental, but, silly me made the mistake of being too honest and disclosing that 'we were building' and would probably only need to rent for apppox 12 months and also that we had an (outside) dog. Of course, we were knocked-back due to the successful applicants wanting a long-term lease, not having pets, etc.
If the rental market back then was like it is today (pages of properties available), I don't think we would have had any problem finding something. Obviously landlords can be more choosy when it's a tight rental market and it therefore takes longer for a tenant to find somewhere to live. I know that if I'm ever in that situation again, I won't be revealing that we aren't 'long term' tenants. Interestingly, nor were the successful tenants of a few of the properties we missed out on, as I saw the removalist trucks after a few months
. I'd also time it so as to never be looking for rental accommodation around Christmas/New Year. Although, as a landlord, it's the best time to have an IP available .After about 4 weeks (and me getting very panicky) we were eventually offered a rental by a private landlord. The best references we had were to refer him to the immaculately cared-for house we had just sold and to the real estate agent who had sold it for us. As well as the usual pay slips, we also got a letter from our bank stating how we'd never missed a repayment, etc. We moved in, stayed for about 18 months before moving into our new house. No problems at all.
*Just re-read this, geeeez I can waffle *embarrassed*.
When I used to rent I found the only properties that had heavy interest from potential tennants were really nice and the advertised rent was set at a good price for what you were getting.
So I would ring up the agent on Monday morning after the open and offer a little extra rent, got every single property I ever wanted. Money talks.
So I would ring up the agent on Monday morning after the open and offer a little extra rent, got every single property I ever wanted. Money talks.
I've only rented once. On the properties I liked I offered 3 months rent in advance. Some agencies wouldn't accept my offer and I heard an agent screaming in the background, "no way, we'll end up in court". I did find an agent and landlord willing to accept my offer.
The average punter hasn't even got the bond together.
The majority of times I have needed to rent have been in a high vacancy period, so was fairly simple to find a decent rental and didn't take long to find a really nice place. Earlier this year I needed to move quickly and was applying for anything available. Ended up getting the place I'm in now and normally I wouldn't have touched it. Is a nice enough place but not somewhere I would choose to live in for the longer term.
