New to renting in Dublin

HelloYoungBoy

I'm starting with a big four firm in September and I have began to look at accommodation on Daft.ie and I'm completely lost, dont know where to start. I haven't lived in Dublin before so its all new to me. What areas do people live in etc, as much information as possible would be appreciate

TiGeR KiNgS

HelloYoungBoy wrote: »

I'm starting with a big four firm in September and I have began to look at accommodation on Daft.ie and I'm completely lost, dont know where to start. I haven't lived in Dublin before so its all new to me. What areas do people live in etc, as much information as possible would be appreciate

One piece of advice, don't advertise for apartments with that user name.

Jim2007

HelloYoungBoy wrote: »

I'm starting with a big four firm in September and I have began to look at accommodation on Daft.ie and I'm completely lost, dont know where to start. I haven't lived in Dublin before so its all new to me. What areas do people live in etc, as much information as possible would be appreciate

It might be an idea to consider what kind of accommodation you need first. Back in the day, we all lived in shared houses around Rathmines, but we were not there a lot of the time as we were down the country on assignments! In fact the most time we spent in Dublin was during study leave, exams and a month or two in the summer.

As an example, at one time I spent nearly nine months living in the Talbot Hotel in Wexford. On another occasion I was up in Donegal for about three months.

Marcusm

Jim2007 wrote: »

It might be an idea to consider what kind of accommodation you need first. Back in the day, we all lived in shared houses around Rathmines, but we were not there a lot of the time as we were down the country on assignments! In fact the most time we spent in Dublin was during study leave, exams and a month or two in the summer.

As an example, at one time I spent nearly nine months living in the Talbot Hotel in Wexford. On another occasion I was up in Donegal for about three months.

Albeit that was back in the 80s when ticking and bashing was done with pen, paper and abacus!

I still agree with your sentiments on choice of location.

keith16

Do you have a family OP? If not would you prefer to house share or live by yourself? What's your budget?

Do you like city life, or would you prefer something a little more quiet in the suburbs?

The_Morrigan

HelloYoungBoy wrote: »

I'm starting with a big four firm in September and I have began to look at accommodation on Daft.ie and I'm completely lost, dont know where to start. I haven't lived in Dublin before so its all new to me. What areas do people live in etc, as much information as possible would be appreciate

Work location, price range and commuting information (would you like to walk/cycle/bus/drive to work) and any other preferences would be helpful here.

Dublin is big, you will have to narrow down the sort of information you require here if you want some constructive responses.

Sh1tbag OToole

I'm looking for a place myself and here's what I found so far

1. Cheap places go very quickly, the same day they are put on sometimes

2. People with houses in Dublin love mould. You could be paying 750 or more for a room, and the bathroom will be disgusting and mouldy.

3. It is a bit like online dating or finding a job. People will ask you lots of questions, people will be very weary of you and in the end they will ignore you. Or else they have so many punters they never bother getting back to you. Many places are doing interviews and putting in a lot of effort to find the most pleasant person.

4. Women renting out shared apartments nearly always specify "females only" and quite a few men also want females only.

5. They are often already warming you up for an increase in the rent before you even get in.

6. If you want to get a place of your own, they want long lease agreements and its hard to find anything short term.

HelloYoungBoy

Oh some information: I'll be working in Harcourt Street. I'd rather live with others than on my own as I'd find that boring. Ideally I'd like to get somewhere for less than 750 a month maximum. I don't mind a 15/20 min walk or Luas trip

Marcusm

HelloYoungBoy wrote: »

Oh some information: I'll be working in Harcourt Street. I'd rather live with others than on my own as I'd find that boring. Ideally I'd like to get somewhere for less than 750 a month maximum. I don't mind a 15/20 min walk or Luas trip

So, you'll be working with EY (or Ernst & Thug as they used to be known, alongside Toilet & Douche and Price Whorehouse). D2, 4, 6 & 8 and places south along the green line of the Luas would be ideal locations.

Things you need to consider:

Do you want to have your own place (difficult for your budget) or will you share?
Do you know anyone from your course who is also taking up a Dublin based trainign contract with whom you'd like to share? It can be easier to look for a 2-3 bed place rather than only to look for rooms.
Be prepared to consider box rooms in new apartments or unrefurb'd old stufff.
Are you working in Audit? If yes, is it financial services (mostly Dublin based) or other?
Will you need a car park space.
Look up myhome and daft. Get some references.

Santa Cruz

HelloYoungBoy wrote: »

Oh some information: I'll be working in Harcourt Street. I'd rather live with others than on my own as I'd find that boring. Ideally I'd like to get somewhere for less than 750 a month maximum. I don't mind a 15/20 min walk or Luas trip

Thanks for the info. I would say that with that type of budget you would get a share in a good standard two bed apartment. I would recommend getting a place on the Green Luas line which will bring you right in to Harcourt St. There are a lot of good standard apartments in the Milltown/Dundrum area.
Wyckham, Southmede, Rockfield etc.
The advantage of Dundrum is that there are a lot of restaurants, bars cinema etc. nearby so you don't have to go into town midweek for socialising.
Ranelagh is also great and a handy stroll in.
Check out Daft for people wanting to share. However you will find accommodation hunting a stressful time especially in a few weeks when the CAO offers come out so get moving

keith16

HelloYoungBoy wrote: »

Oh some information: I'll be working in Harcourt Street. I'd rather live with others than on my own as I'd find that boring. Ideally I'd like to get somewhere for less than 750 a month maximum. I don't mind a 15/20 min walk or Luas trip

Personally, I would be looking at Portobello or Rathmines. Easily within walking distance. These are also very vibrant and bustling.

You could move a bit further out along the Luas line, Clonskeagh or Dundrum but these areas would be more "settled" and lack the feel of the city.

HelloYoungBoy

Appreciate all the input. Have been looking at places on Daft.ie in Ranelagh and they look decent. 15 min walk too according to google maps. I know one of 2 who are planning to go to Dublin too but not in the same area. They are also on J1's for the summer so I'll have to sort everything myself. Whats the story with these references ye mention of?

Marcusm

HelloYoungBoy wrote: »

Appreciate all the input. Have been looking at places on Daft.ie in Ranelagh and they look decent. 15 min walk too according to google maps. I know one of 2 who are planning to go to Dublin too but not in the same area. They are also on J1's for the summer so I'll have to sort everything myself. Whats the story with these references ye mention of?

Ranelagh is very close; always going to be a walk in the morning as the Luas will be completely packed by the time it gets there but that's hardly an issue. Ranelagh is basically a converted house flat market (with limited apartment builds mostly from the 60s/70s). The Dublin rental market is very hot with queues for many apartments. You will be heading into the ultimate heat of that with new graduates (like you) heading to your new posts in September plus some students heading back to college.

Landlords will be plenty experienced with trainee accountants - some will have good experiences and others bad. References from prior landlords and proof of your employment will be critical for many landlords. Everyone has their own prejudices and you're going to need to hit the road to get a place. If you can finance it, it might even be worthwhile trying to pick up somewhere during the summer and paying rent from then.

Sh1tbag OToole

Marcusm wrote: »

References from prior landlords and proof of your employment will be critical for many landlords. Everyone has their own prejudices and you're going to need to hit the road to get a place. If you can finance it, it might even be worthwhile trying to pick up somewhere during the summer and paying rent from then.

Pay rent for a few months and not live there? Just to appease the landlords and their demand for references?

Now I'm lucky that I have a few but I imagine this is real bummer for people starting off. Tis a shame really but it didn't take long for things to really turn into a seller's market in Dublin again as soon as things started looking up a tiny bit.

HelloYoungBoy

Sh1tbag OToole wrote: »

Pay rent for a few months and not live there? Just to appease the landlords and their demand for references?

Now I'm lucky that I have a few but I imagine this is real bummer for people starting off. Tis a shame really but it didn't take long for things to really turn into a seller's market in Dublin again as soon as things started looking up a tiny bit.

I would certainly rather not waste my money like that

Marcusm

Sh1tbag OToole wrote: »

Pay rent for a few months and not live there? Just to appease the landlords and their demand for references?

Nothing to do with demand for references but a practical solution to a real squeeze in September. If come September, the monthly rent is a €100 or more higher (very possibly) and it results in him having to commute from Dundrum than walk from Ranelagh, it may actually be cheaper int he long run especially if he can make use of it from (say) 1 August.

Marcusm

HelloYoungBoy wrote: »

I would certainly rather not waste my money like that

And now you have failed most of your exams - you can't make a decision whether it is a waste of money until you have weighed the evidence, in this case performed a cost benefit analysis.

Based on your question about locations, I expect you have never lived in Dublin before and, on your surprise at references, that you may never have sought rental accommodation previously. The scarcity of suitable accommodation makes it a landlord's market, this is particuarly acute in September which is when I assume your induction will begin.

IN typical fashion, many people leave it until late to look for a place meaning that there can be a greater supply in August meaning you have better choice. A Luas annual ticket is approx €800 and I would epxect you might be able to apply a value to your time. Finding an apartment early might mean that you have a better standard of living accommodation for the same money or a better location by which I mean a shorter travel time for your twice a day journey. An hour on a bus twice a day can become soul destroying....

awec

Anywhere along the green luas is going to be fine for Harcourt street though personally I wouldn't go out further than the Sandyford or Central Park stops.

Check with your employer if they do the tax saver Luas tickets - some can be a bit fussy about it and only give them out at certain times of the year.

750 a month should get you somewhere pretty good so long as the other person is putting in the same amount. Though September is the worst time of the year to be looking that also depends on where and what you are looking at. Not going to be many students looking for 1500 euro a month places miles from all the colleges, though you will probably be competing with other young professionals in the exact same position as yourself.

Claw Hammer

awec wrote: »

Anywhere along the green luas is going to be fine for Harcourt street though personally I wouldn't go out further than the Sandyford or Central Park stops.

Check with your employer if they do the tax saver Luas tickets - some can be a bit fussy about it and only give them out at certain times of the year.

750 a month should get you somewhere pretty good so long as the other person is putting in the same amount. Though September is the worst time of the year to be looking that also depends on where and what you are looking at. Not going to be many students looking for 1500 euro a month places miles from all the colleges, though you will probably be competing with other young professionals in the exact same position as yourself.

The places the o/p is looking at will be in the catchments areas of many colleges. UCD would cover most of the Green line. Gifiith Portobello and other private colleges as well aas DIT Aungier st, Kevin St and Trinity are among the many colleges close to where the O/p is working.
What awaits in September is the following :-
students bid up the rents and pack in more tightly. 4 in a 2 bedroom apartment priced well up on the previous rent. SOme landlords are going from a 2 bed at 1100 to profesionals to the same 2 bed at 1800 to students.
In addition the landlords are insisting on 12 month leases with guarantees from parents. The parents have to be home owners and not in negative equity. The landlords have realised that they can sue on the guarantee in the courts and there is no need to go near the PRTB.
IF the prospective tenants don't like it then sleep on the road. The o/p is well advised to do his leg work now and be prepared to stump up if he comes across anything suitable.

MrDerp

Any local solicitors/doctors etc a friend of your parents? Or anyone who has stationary with their name/business on the letterhead

Get them to throw a reference together. The chances that anyone will check the references are slim, particularly if its professional looking, but you'll have a real person at the other end to say you were a good tenant if they call. References get checked if they want to get rid of you. None of my previous landlords ever said they got a call. This is slightly shady, but lads coming up from the country are rightly or wrongly expected to be nightmare cohabitants, drinking round the clock, never cleaning anything and burning toast 3 meals a day bemoaning the loss of their mammy.

Ultimately you will be judged on a letting agent or landlord's gut feeling and prejudices. Look smart when you show up, have shoes and a grown-up ironed shirt on and no hoodies*, and have all your references, bank statements, photocopies of your passport etc ready to go - don't leave them waiting for something else from you.

*I turned up to a viewing with my now wife, years ago, straight off the train in a hoodie and we didn't even get a call back to say the place was let to someone else. I was nearly 26, with a really good new job in Dublin that could have paid the rent on the house 3 times by myself. Ignored us for the viewing and cooed up the smarter looking folk instead. The missus killed me, of course

TimeToShine

As a college graduate you'll find a heap of people in your position looking for houseshares. It can be pretty good craic, you'll all work Mon-Fri and then live it up in the big smoke at the weekend. I think 750 is a bit much though, AFAIK those firms start you out at about 23-26k so after tax you'll clear something like 1800-1900. 750 is a sizable enough chunk of that. I think the general rule of thumb is around 25% of your pay cheque should go to rent.

Also don't rule out cycling and it will save you a lot of hassle.

Santa Cruz

HelloYoungBoy wrote: »

I would certainly rather not waste my money like that

It all depends what you want. If you want to join the lines of people waiting to view the few decent available properties wait until September. Or you could use a bit of initiative
You say you don't know Dublin. What would be wrong in getting a place early. Even if you were working during the week for the Summer you could use it for the weekend or have some of the family use it. I know one student who has a great well located apartment. He agreed a three year lease with the landlord on condition he could sub let July and August. He has done this the last two Summers , got a nice payment from a South African family who pay above the odds to have accommodation in Dublin for those two months. The landlord was happy once the property was looked after

HelloYoungBoy

What do I do if I dont have landlord references? I have 3 employment references, 1 of which from the firm ill be starting with in September. Anyone have experience of dealing with this

athtrasna

Be up front about it, don't be tempted to fake references. Three work references and a good job is a good sign. Offer to welcome an inspection after the first month...you can get around the need for references if you make yourself a sufficiently attractive tenant.

Leaving cert results are out this week. The panic for accommodation starts then, not September.

HelloYoungBoy

athtrasna wrote: »

Be up front about it, don't be tempted to fake references. Three work references and a good job is a good sign. Offer to welcome an inspection after the first month...you can get around the need for references if you make yourself a sufficiently attractive tenant.

Leaving cert results are out this week. The panic for accommodation starts then, not September.

Cheers, ive got a couple of viewings scheduled for Monday so trying to beat that rush

HelloYoungBoy

MrDerp wrote: »

Any local solicitors/doctors etc a friend of your parents? Or anyone who has stationary with their name/business on the letterhead

Get them to throw a reference together. The chances that anyone will check the references are slim, particularly if its professional looking, but you'll have a real person at the other end to say you were a good tenant if they call. References get checked if they want to get rid of you. None of my previous landlords ever said they got a call. This is slightly shady, but lads coming up from the country are rightly or wrongly expected to be nightmare cohabitants, drinking round the clock, never cleaning anything and burning toast 3 meals a day bemoaning the loss of their mammy.

Ultimately you will be judged on a letting agent or landlord's gut feeling and prejudices. Look smart when you show up, have shoes and a grown-up ironed shirt on and no hoodies*, and have all your references, bank statements, photocopies of your passport etc ready to go - don't leave them waiting for something else from you.

*I turned up to a viewing with my now wife, years ago, straight off the train in a hoodie and we didn't even get a call back to say the place was let to someone else. I was nearly 26, with a really good new job in Dublin that could have paid the rent on the house 3 times by myself. Ignored us for the viewing and cooed up the smarter looking folk instead. The missus killed me, of course

Are Bank Statements and Passport photocopy necessary? I have 3 employment references and one landlord reference

HelloYoungBoy

Would landlords prefer to let the whole house to a group of people or to individual people? There are 2 of us but I'd have no problem filling the houses id say if that was the case