Digs

YouthNovel

Just wondering is it too late to look for a digs near campus?

My travel time is killing me, got home at near to nine two evenings in a row. Can't stick this ****.

TimeToShine

I think ya can still get muckross catered, where you livin at?

bnt

Dunno about getting in to a UCD res, but apart from that, you ought to be able to find something privately. DAFT is the place to start: go to Sharing, select "College Search", UCD, etc.

One DAFT tip: if you find a listing that's almost right, scroll down to the map on that page, then "Select Nearby: Properties". This will flag anything else going in the area. Just watch out for e.g. females only, or people quoting weekly rent rather than monthly.

Rii

bnt wrote: »

One DAFT tip: if you find a listing that's almost right, scroll down to the map on that page, then "Select Nearby: Properties". This will flag anything else going in the area. Just watch out for e.g. females only, or people quoting weekly rent rather than monthly.

Uhm, stupid question: why?

bnt

Rii wrote: »

Uhm, stupid question: why?

All I meant was: some females will only share with other females. If you say "male" on the search form, you won't see those listings, but you might get caught out if you use the map as I was suggesting.

As for quoting weekly rent - well, I think it's a bad sign when nearly everyone quotes monthly rent. It indicates a high turnover of lodgers - or they're trying to catch you out (since there are more than four weeks in a month). Call it a personal preference if you like, it's up to you to decide if these things bother you.

shadowqueen

As for quoting weekly rent - well, I think it's a bad sign when nearly everyone quotes monthly rent. It indicates a high turnover of lodgers - or they're trying to catch you out

That's rubbish - a lot of landlords quote weekly because a lot of people pay weekly. It doesn't tell you anything about the turnover of tenants. It probably means they collect cash - again, that's cos it's how a lot of people choose to pay - but make sure you have a rent book and it gets signed for.

The important thing is to always go and see somewhere first, if the landlord gets too pushy, puts too much pressure on to take it, walk away. And don't go alone.

Check out the fire safety things - every flat should have smoke detectors, fore blanket, fire extinguisher, there should be more than one way out - i.e., if there's only one door, make sure there are no bars on the windows (if there are they must, by law, be openable from the inside). Fire laws are taken so seriously in this country that someone who'll flaunt them will flaunt anything else.

Make sure you get a rent book, and receipts for anything you pay for. A good landlord will register you with the private residences tenancies board as well.

It's good to find out what's included in the rent - heat included is a big plus, and if you're moving into a flat building, try and find out who else is there.

I've never lived in digs, they tend to be Monday to Friday only, and there'll usually be a list of rules as you're essentially moving into a family home, so make sure you've agreed them all with the family (and think carefully about whether you can live with them) before you commit to anything. Most important thing is not to panic and sign for somewhere sub-standard that you'll later regret.

Just one thing about daft - great site, definitely the best for renting around UCD, but some of the commuting times you'll get on the college search are well off - it gave one place as a 35 min walk and a friend who lives there walks in just over an hour.......it's fine apart from that, but check with someone else first