Some of you may remember our house dramas last year, four months to find a rental property and when we did find one it was through a private landlord.
Well.... we applied for a house with an agent the other day and were missing half our information (rental ledger, payslips) so didn't expect to be approved, especially with our luckless search with agents last year.
Then on Saturday we looked at a private rental and he offered to us on the spot. We of course accepted and paid one week deposit in the property.
Today I have just got a phone call from the agent and we were actually approved for the agent property.
So how the heck do i choose which one?
If anyone has been in this position can you outline some of the things that helped you choose? or questions that prompted you to go with a certain property.
Also - i think what landlord guy did the other day taking a deposit without a signed lease was illegal isn't it? so thats another strike to that house i think
Which house suits you better? Which one do you like better? Which one is in a better area? Which one is cheaper? The list goes on.
Make a pros and cons list with them and compare that way.
Did the landlord give you a receipt for the money you gave him on the weekend? For all you know, the house could be rented out by night!
AJ - I don't think its illegal what the landlord did - I don't think there is any governing legislation about taking "deposits" on things - after all, its just a deposit. Jodi makes a good point though - did you get a receipt?
And as for the house - well take the one that you think suits your needs best, is one bigger than the other, nicer, have a nicer toilet - car accommodation, in a better area, yard friendly for kids etc etc etc..
I agree with the pros and cons list! I also like to ask someone else which one and see how I feel about their answer. Depending how hard I fight for each one generally answers the question for me.
Depends what's important to you. We may have to move to a rental next year and on my list would be: bedrooms a fair way from living room, safe yard for DD, no front steps cos too much hassle with a pram, decent kitchen because we like to cook, good heating and preferably aircon too AND lots of storage. Depending on the layout of the house I may also want a carpeted hallway because I find I'm paranoid about waking up DD walking up and down the house with floorboards. I don't drive so it's also essential for me to be close to public transport and walking distance to shops.
Sometimes it helps to write a list about all the things that annoy you about your current house and then see how the other two compare.
we were in the exact same position 2.5 years ago. We ended up going with the private landlord as it was a better price and a bigger house.
The only problems arose when things starting going wrong and he was too slack to get back to us and get them fixed. If we had've gone through the agent, things would have been done quicker
That's why we hesitated, however we hadn't signed any documents and he knew that we had already applied for another house. Considering he still had six weeks to find someone it asn't really a big deal.
Id take the agent house, purely because from my experience private landlords can be a royal pain in the A. Great that you got a place so quickly this time!
I dont know if its illegal to take your money before signing the lease....I paid a deposit of 2 weeks rent this morning to the agent and will sign the lease on Wednesday when I move intot the house...
Two approvals how do i choose?
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