Trying to rent, what can we improve?

sweirdo · 30-07-2018 08:54PM #1

Hi!
My fiancé and I are looking to rent an apartment literally anywhere that is within the red zone in Cork (since I am dependent on the bus). We have been looking for quite a while now but constantly get turned down. Does anyone have any tips for us? Is there anything that might be the problem and any way to work around that?

Here are some facts about us:

-both wrking full-time, combined gross over 60K a year
-no pets
-don't smoke
-never been students, so aren't used to a party lifestyle and generally don't party excessively
-both have work references
-one of us has landlord references, the other one is a first-time renter (lives with parents atm)
-age: 20 and 22
-one Irish and one German
-always come to viewings dressed professionally
-offer to pay the first three month's rent upfront, as well as the deposit (of course) or an increased security deposit
-offer o rent for two years instead of one
-quiet people

The things going against us (probably):
-our age
-one of us does not have a landlord reference
-one hasn't been in Ireland for long and hasn't had a job for long, also it's a fixed purpose job (generally, we could still afford the kind of rent we are aiming for, if one of us lost their jobs)
-ne is employed in a family business, so the same surname is on the work reference

What we are looking for:
-anything bigger than a studio apartment (basically reasonable storage space and bedroom separte from kitchen)
-up to 1200/month
-with parking available would be preferred
-closeish to a bus station

Does anyone have any tips? Maybe even any landlords around here? We are really getting desperate, since my lease ends in about a week.

Fol20 · 30-07-2018 10:10PM

Speaking from a ll point of view here, you age will go against you even if you are respectable etc. generally speaking at that age, there are stereotypes out there where I don’t even care what you do, I would just decline it because I’m afraid you would destroy the place.

What I would say is any time you go to a viewing, dress well, have all of your references, etc in a binder or a nice type of file to give to the agent or ll. At least that way you will appear eager and organized. When you talk try and get across that you are professional as well. In the case of the person who lives at home I would try and get some type of reference maybe from work or something just to indicate that your great bla bla .
If both of you are good wages, it might be handy to give them a recent payslip or bank statement to highlight your affordability. Generally speaking I would try and avoid doing that but in one or two cases where tenants I was hesitant to take them on gave me this, it reinforced their strengths. Again I would stress not to give this if possible but sometimes if your wages are good it can strengthen it. If you have have enough funds, you also offer to pay 6months up front, then can make an offer quite enticing. Likewise if it’s your first rental you could also lower your expectation of a very modern property,we have all had to endure student type properties so you could start there.

It will be an upward battle with your age, but you will get there eventually, cork isn’t like Dublin so it still is doable to get something. You might have a better shot dealing directly with a ll as well, if it’s through an agency they will have their own checklist while if you talk directly to the owner, he might see your decent people and give you a shot. Good luck. I’m sure you will get something.

sweirdo · 30-07-2018 10:38PM

Fol20 wrote: »

Speaking from a ll point of view here, you age will go against you even if you are respectable etc. generally speaking at that age, there are stereotypes out there where I don’t even care what you do, I would just decline it because I’m afraid you would destroy the place.

What I would say is any time you go to a viewing, dress well, have all of your references, etc in a binder or a nice type of file to give to the agent or ll. At least that way you will appear eager and organized. When you talk try and get across that you are professional as well. In the case of the person who lives at home I would try and get some type of reference maybe from work or something just to indicate that your great bla bla .
If both of you are good wages, it might be handy to give them a recent payslip or bank statement to highlight your affordability. Generally speaking I would try and avoid doing that but in one or two cases where tenants I was hesitant to take them on gave me this, it reinforced their strengths. Again I would stress not to give this if possible but sometimes if your wages are good it can strengthen it. If you have have enough funds, you also offer to pay 6months up front, then can make an offer quite enticing. Likewise if it’s your first rental you could also lower your expectation of a very modern property,we have all had to endure student type properties so you could start there.

It will be an upward battle with your age, but you will get there eventually, cork isn’t like Dublin so it still is doable to get something. You might have a better shot dealing directly with a ll as well, if it’s through an agency they will have their own checklist while if you talk directly to the owner, he might see your decent people and give you a shot. Good luck. I’m sure you will get something.

Thanks for the tips! We're pretty much doing all that, we'd just like to have a private place (so not a house share or something) and at least 1 bedroom. We have work references and one has two landlord references (and good ones as well).
Having the bank statements on hand is a good tip we hadn't considered yet. There are just a few major expenses, since our wedding is coming up in October already. So we kind of are under pressure to find something until then. At the moment there are about 3 apartments we are still waiting to hear from, but one already said it is unlikely we will get the place.
It's just quite frustrating and disheartening, I guess.

the_syco · 31-07-2018 04:14AM

sweirdo wrote: »

The things going against us (probably):
-our age
-one of us does not have a landlord reference
-one hasn't been in Ireland for long and hasn't had a job for long, also it's a fixed purpose job (generally, we could still afford the kind of rent we are aiming for, if one of us lost their jobs)

A question for the landlords; would a larger deposit (an extra €500-€1,000) be an idea here?

handlemaster · 31-07-2018 06:22AM

the_syco wrote: »

sweirdo wrote: »

The things going against us (probably):
-our age
-one of us does not have a landlord reference
-one hasn't been in Ireland for long and hasn't had a job for long, also it's a fixed purpose job (generally, we could still afford the kind of rent we are aiming for, if one of us lost their jobs)

A question for the landlords; would a larger deposit (an extra €500-€1,000) be an idea here?

The offer up front could be seen as desperation

handlemaster · 31-07-2018 06:24AM

OP . Bank statements, salary statements, legal gurantee from a family members to pay rent if you dont also damages.

sweirdo · 31-07-2018 07:44AM

handlemaster wrote: »

The offer up front could be seen as desperation

I actually hadn't thought about that. Might it be smarter to offer a larger security deposit instead?

sweirdo · 31-07-2018 07:46AM

handlemaster wrote: »

OP . Bank statements, salary statements, legal gurantee from a family members to pay rent if you dont also damages.

How exactly would you get a legal guarantee like that? Would my parents be able to sign that, even though they aren't living in the country? I can unfortunately assume that my fiancé's parents wouldn't sign anything. They refused to write a landlord reference, even though he pays rent for his tiny room (and more rent than I pay in a house share much much closer to the city as well). So I wouldn't expect help from them.

handlemaster · 31-07-2018 12:00PM

sweirdo wrote: »

handlemaster wrote: »

OP . Bank statements, salary statements, legal gurantee from a family members to pay rent if you dont also damages.

How exactly would you get a legal guarantee like that? Would my parents be able to sign that, even though they aren't living in the country? I can unfortunately assume that my fiancé's parents wouldn't sign anything. They refused to write a landlord reference, even though he pays rent for his tiny room (and more rent than I pay in a house share much much closer to the city as well). So I wouldn't expect help from them.

A foreign guarantee would be difficult to en force therefore of no value. Letter from solicitor signed by parents stating rent / arrears damages etc will be paid by x in the event of tenants not paying. Normal in Europe for this to be given. In ireland less so. Perhaps when viewing as LL or agent regarding your situation how could your chances be improved

handlemaster · 31-07-2018 12:00PM

sweirdo wrote: »

handlemaster wrote: »

OP . Bank statements, salary statements, legal gurantee from a family members to pay rent if you dont also damages.

How exactly would you get a legal guarantee like that? Would my parents be able to sign that, even though they aren't living in the country? I can unfortunately assume that my fiancé's parents wouldn't sign anything. They refused to write a landlord reference, even though he pays rent for his tiny room (and more rent than I pay in a house share much much closer to the city as well). So I wouldn't expect help from them.

A foreign guarantee would be difficult to en force therefore of no value. Letter from solicitor signed by parents stating rent / arrears damages etc will be paid by x in the event of tenants not paying. Normal in Europe for this to be given. In ireland less so. Perhaps when viewing as LL or agent regarding your situation how could your chances be improved

Ray Palmer · 31-07-2018 05:49PM

sweirdo wrote: »

I actually hadn't thought about that. Might it be smarter to offer a larger security deposit instead?

The same as the forward rent. I would be suspicious of anybody offering more than required. The assumption would be the person would stop paying once they were in. It is also what people do when renting a grow house.

The_Conductor · 31-07-2018 05:57PM

OP- you're actually doing everything right here- and I sympathise fully with you- the issue is a lack of property- and the fact that two tenants as young as you two are- will automatically ring alarm bells with a prospective landlord..........

If you put together a compelling package for a prospective landlord- akin to what you currently have- but add a guarantor for good measure- and see what happens.

Offering to rent for 2 years instead of one- means absolutely nothing- the risk is entirely with the landlord, not the tenant- you gain additional security in any tenancy after 6 months under the Residential Tenancies Act- the landlord, actually has their position significantly diluted.

Your age- is probably the one knock-out factor that is going against you here- other than your age- I bet any landlord would be overjoyed to rent to you.

Samuel T. Cogley · 31-07-2018 07:22PM

Extra deposit means very little, LL refs are key. What's going against you is you're very young and as stable as your relationship maybe the LL has no clue if you're going to break up next week an one move out and stick the other with the rent they then can't pay.

I'd be house sharing it for six months or so to build up a reference and try again.

Whatever you decide to do the very best of luck.

dudara · 01-08-2018 01:21PM

the_syco wrote: »

A question for the landlords; would a larger deposit (an extra €500-€1,000) be an idea here?

I'd personally be suspcisious of a tenant offering more. Putting more money on the table upfront may mean that they have less to pay later. It could also be a strategic move from some malicious tenants to get into the property, six months later they stop paying and you're stuck with them.

I'd focus on references - LL and work, and having everything ready in a folder to share with prospective landlords.

Fol20 · 01-08-2018 01:23PM

personally I would rate them very low due to the system we have as sometimes landlords have anti social behavior, tenants in arrears and would give them a glowing review just to be rid of them. Even if it’s references that could be a few years old because people don’t want to be sued, they wouldn’t give much negative info about it. If I ever have a bad tenant that has moved out already, I would just decline to provide a reference and leave it at that which can be telling in itself.

You are going to find it hard to house share, very few accept couples as it can mess up a house dynamic. I would check if there are any more(older preferably) that you can house share with that would make it enticing

sweirdo · 04-08-2018 07:20AM

Hi!

Funny story: A couple of days after starting this thread, we actually got a place, very central, fairly cheap and no one even asked for anything. I'm still trying to figure out why we got it, but we have the keys and everything.
Maybe the communal washing machines and dryers that kinda cost extra, but meh. Better than nothing.

So yeah, I guess we were just lucky. Thanks for all your help, though, we really appreciated it!
Maybe some other people in a similar situation can find some help in that thread.

Pretzeluck · 04-08-2018 07:32AM

This has to be the only country where you actually have to prove something to be able to give them money. In any other place in the world, the landlord would be trying to make you rent the house. This is beyond ridiculous. If I was renting a property from someone then IT IS THEIR job to convince me to rent the property not mine. What a joke.

The_Conductor · 04-08-2018 07:40AM

Pretzeluck wrote: »

This has to be the only country where you actually have to prove something to be able to give them money. In any other place in the world, the landlord would be trying to make you rent the house. This is beyond ridiculous.

Yes- however, in no other country in the world is the regulatory regime for letting residential property as one sided as it is in Ireland. The very least any landlord should do- is try to ensure the risk associated with operating in the sector is kept at a minimum- by vetting tenants properly.

The OP- made an ideal tenant on paper- on every front- aside from their age- if I were letting a property- I know I'd have bitten their hand off.

The mention of communal washing machines etc- sounds like its one of the Pre-63s that has been converted (not that it really matters)- however, it has worked out remarkably well for the OP.

OP- thrilled that you've gotten sorted- and that the location is as good as it is. Hopefully its a long and eventfree tenancy and you're happy there.

Fol20 · 04-08-2018 09:52AM

sweirdo wrote: »

Hi!

Funny story: A couple of days after starting this thread, we actually got a place, very central, fairly cheap and no one even asked for anything. I'm still trying to figure out why we got it, but we have the keys and everything.
Maybe the communal washing machines and dryers that kinda cost extra, but meh. Better than nothing.

So yeah, I guess we were just lucky. Thanks for all your help, though, we really appreciated it!
Maybe some other people in a similar situation can find some help in that thread.

Congrats guys. It sounds like a starter place either built for students or pre 63. Generally at that age it’s not about what’s on paper but more about chatting to you to get a feel of you and what your like.More importantly you got your first place so it’s a good step in the right direction and now you can use this landlord reference in the future.

Samuel T. Cogley · 04-08-2018 10:49AM

Pretzeluck wrote: »

This has to be the only country where you actually have to prove something to be able to give them money. In any other place in the world, the landlord would be trying to make you rent the house. This is beyond ridiculous. If I was renting a property from someone then IT IS THEIR job to convince me to rent the property not mine. What a joke.

Every single developed country requires some sort of proof from the prospective tenant. Ireland is also not the only 'sellers market' either.

Pretzeluck · 04-08-2018 11:28AM

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

Every single developed country requires some sort of proof from the prospective tenant. Ireland is also not the only 'sellers market' either.

It is if they can pick and choose, in most places they're happy to get a tenant at all.

Fol20 · 04-08-2018 11:37AM

Pretzeluck wrote: »

It is if they can pick and choose, in most places they're happy to get a tenant at all.

Thats a very vague statement, All landlords are happy to get a tenant as long as they are decent, I know of tenancies in Uk,USA and France that also review tenants before accepting them so as others have mentioned, Ireland is not the only place that does this. Its like saying You live in Ireland, you should be happy just to have a job instead of getting a job you actually want.

Ash.J.Williams · 04-08-2018 11:40AM

handlemaster wrote: »

The offer up front could be seen as desperation

Or a grow house prospecter

sweirdo · 08-08-2018 07:26PM

Kind of off-topic, but since it was mentioned above

About requiring references and such in other countries:
I know in the US and Canada and other English-speaking countries they want some sort of landlord or character reference.
In Germany (where I'm from) it is very regionally different. In the place where I rented my first apartment they only wanted me to fill out a tenant form and they wanted a credit statement (which they got themselves, no hassle involved). Places there weren't in an unusually high demand though.
When I moved from there, I moved to a city that had a much higher demand then supply and rents were more than twice as high. I heard some people need to provide landlord and character references there and any sort of paper that would make them look better. I never had the need for that, since I was sharing in that place.
Landlord references are absolutely uncommon in most places in Germany, though. I was lucky that one of my private landlords was Canadian and knew what kind of reference I needed for renting in Ireland.

I could imagine in rural Ireland a lot of landlords wouldn't be asking for references either and would be happy to get someone to pay rent - correct me, if I'm wrong though.

Samuel T. Cogley · 08-08-2018 07:33PM

They're happy enough to get someone who pays rent but they have to ensure that person will actually pay rent.

Trying to rent, what can we improve?

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