finding an agent - to rent

Hey guys, there are so many, many letting agents out there, I don't know where to start. The problem we have when renting is that we have a cat in tow. I trawl Daft every day looking for pets allowed places, and I'm sure one will come up. I remember years ago (um, 12 years ago, showing my age a bit) renting my first place, me and the then boyfriend were able to go through an agency (I had two budgies then, still do, but house owners generally don't care about budgies). They were able to seek out a landlord with a flat to let who would allow us to keep the birds too; the flat was not specified "pets allowed" but the agency was able to clarify with him and it took a lot of stress out of the procedure for us. This was before Daft and when we were reliant on the Evening Herald.

Do such agencies still exist? Specifically we would not mind paying a fee for one that could help us negotiate with a landlord, where "pets allowed" has not been specified, some landlords are fine with pets but prefer not to put it in the ad, you know?

Hope I am making sense. Thanks in advance.

Liam D Ferguson

Finbar Drohan of Drohan Lettings is a very experienced letting agent who now runs the long-established family business in Dublin Drohan Lettings. I can't guarantee that he can help you but he's the most experienced letting agent I know so I'd imagine he can point you in the right direction.

Thanks so much! Any recommendation is a good one There are just so many agencies out there and in my limited experience, some can treat tenants not so well.

ProudDUB

OP, its not so much a case of finding a letting agent who will find you a landlord who will accept pets. It's a matter of sifting thru each company one by one to find what you need.

Letting agents are not land lord clearing houses who you call up, you tell your needs to, and they match you up with someone who will suit your needs, based on every single land lord that is out there looking to find a tenant for his property. They will only let you properties that are on their books and theirs alone.

So a Sherry Fitzgerald letting agent will not have access to Lisney landlords. A Savill's agent will not have access to Mason Estates landlords. A Lowe's letting agent will not have access to Gunne's land lords & so on. If you found someone last time, it was because the letting agent had a client on his books who was open to allowing pets, even if the ad didn't say so. He didn't go out and rustle him up out of thin air.

Landlords pay letting agents a finders fee to find them tenants. Few of them would register their property with more than one letting agent as it would cost them more to do so. So it is a matter of sifting thru the letting agencies themselves to find if they have someone on their books who could help you out.

Why not drive around the area where you want to live, and note what estate agents have the majority of For Sales signs up. If people in the area are going to them to sell their houses, odds are they are going to them to rent them for them too. Call them up, tell them your problem. Tell them that you are a good and careful pet owner & that you would be willing to pay over and above the amount being asked (the fee that you mentioned) so that you can find a good home for you and your pets. If you are able to do so financially, perhaps offer to pay a double deposit to cover any potential damage caused by your pets. Who knows, you may find a landlord whose property has been sitting empty for so long, they'd bite the arm off someone whether they have a pet or not. It just hasn't occurred to the letting agent to modify the ad saying that.

Isn't there a Pets forum on boards? Perhaps some of the posters there would know of properties out there that are pet friendly.

TY! Yeah there is a pets forum but this would be redirected here anyway!

I know there are so many letting agents out there.... back in 2000 when looking for our first flat we were able to find agencies that helped match tenants to landlords, do those agencies still exist? Or did Daft do away with them?

Currently it's trawling Daft ads to find a place that is suitable to us, then asking if they accept pets, most places don't reply, so I guess not The right place will come up! Eventually! Neither of us is gonna be homeless anyway so we can afford to wait.

Cat is currently destroying my childhood toy penguin. I don't know why landlords have such a problem with him, he's lived with us a year and never once scratched furniture or carpets, he just wrecks our clothes and beloved childhood things. Oh and the bathmat, he also jumps into the bath and rolls around in it pulling down all the bottles into it. A year ago he was a "wild, untamable outdoor cat" who we adopted, to live outside because I am terrified of rats. Now we're stuck with a house cat! Was fine till earlier he discovered my budgies. Words are gonna have to be had. This is why we need a two bed place!

ProudDUB

Deleted User wrote: »

Cat is currently destroying my childhood toy penguin. I don't know why landlords have such a problem with him, he's lived with us a year and never once scratched furniture or carpets, he just wrecks our clothes and beloved childhood things.

In fairness, land lords are not cat mind readers. They don't have crystals balls to see into the future. Your cat may be the most harmless little ball of fluff known to man, or it may be a little demon that will destroy furniture, soft furnishings, floors, skirting boards etc etc. You may do right by your landlord and pay for all damage before you move out. Or you may scarper and leave him with a big bill to fix the damage. The land lord has no way of knowing in advance what category you fall into, so he does what he can to protect himself.

Land lords are business people first and foremost. They are not in the business of operating animal shelters. By not allowing pets on their property, they are eliminating a possible cause of future grief future for them. It is an odds/numbers game for them, & to be honest, I can't really blame them for playing it. I love cats, but I know a lot of irresponsible pet owners who think that their little darling can do no wrong. I'd be banning them too if I was a land lord.

Yer I knows, was just adding what the little fecker was up to for lolz. He's currently at the foot of my bed licking the place where his balls used to be, that's not as appealing.

I can tell a landlord that he does not and has never scratched up the fixtures and fittings, or the furniture, because he doesn't. I can get my current landlord to testify to this too!

He does walk around looking for the pets though. And trying to eat the Birdz. That would solve half my pet issue anyway, but I'd miss them.

No now I am going to drop the pet talk and act serious. I realise I'm in the wrong thread to be acting the eejit! Sorry!

scaryfairy

hi budgese,

we have been moving around with 2 cats for the last 10 years, in UK and Ireland, and always managed to find something that we really liked. Always got our deposit back in full, too. Have to add that from a landlord's point of view, from all other aspects, we are "attractive" tenants: non-smoker, professional couple, without a kid. OK, we are foreigners, don't know how this may/may not affect our chances!
the strategy that worked for us:
- contact by phone rather than email (communication by email never worked with agents for me). Go for the apartment you want rather than a specific agency - their selection is usually quite limited anyhow.
- obviously try to present our good points first (as above - would really just mention the job bits, not flaunting that we don't have kids...) and only then mention the cats (but before visiting the place - you don't want to waste the agent's or your time).
- If we get to the viewing stage, we also carry with us a ref from LL stating how great tenants we are and that cats haven't done any damage + I also take with me a work reference, too. They always like this.
- more recently, we took an unfurnished place. It worked for us: costs about €100-150 less per month than other 2-beds in the same dvpt, cats can have a go at our furniture if they really want to (they don't! thank goodess). Spent about €1200 on Ikea stuff - so after 15 months of living here the investment has paid itself off and now we continue paying a low(ish) rent. But it can be a bit difficult to find the next unfurnished place...

We found that maybe in about 20% of the cases landlords would accept cats. Also, they might be more afraid of dogs, and small kids can also cause damage, student parties, too.., so you might find yourself be more attractive than a lot of other potential tenants.

Re offering more: I wouldn't go that way unless it's absolutely necessary, and would not be bringing it up myself at the opening stages of "negotiations".

You should also be able to set up searches and alerts on daft, and just check the latest places added.

good luck - your kitty sounds really sweet!!

convert

You could try offering an extra 'pet deposit' to the landlord, which they would retain if the cat (or any other pets) did any damage beyond normal wear and tear. It's worth a try.