DCU Freshers 2015/2016

Here's a few tips for some of you guys who won't be staying on campus and need to find accommodation!

1. Start browsing daft.ie etc. as soon as possible. There's a shortage of decent, affordable rental properties in Dublin at the moment so you've got to be on the ball. You can search for rooms in a house or you can search for a whole house if you join up with a few people to find a place.

2. Never ever accept a room/house from online browsing only. If you don't live in Dublin, you're going to have to come up and look at places. There's really no way around this. Book a hostel in Dublin as soon as you get your offer and then start ringing and e-mailing places. Because competition is so tough, most won't give you a viewing time until the day before or day of the viewing so there's no point ringing a week in advance. Set up as many viewings as possible for the 2 days you'll be around Dublin. You've got to be persistent here and keep ringing and keep browsing online, even while you're waiting in between viewings! If you know someone who has a car this will be a HUGE help as it will let you fit many more viewings in the day than bussing or walking.

3. Bring enough money for a deposit with you. Borrow from your parents if you need it, but have it in your pocket. Again, this is because of the competition at the moment. If there are several people viewing a property at once, the landlord might be more likely to sign up the person who has a deposit on hand rather than someone who won't have it for another week (and could potentially fall through in the meantime). It's all about making the landlord's life easy to get in somewhere!

4. Be prepared to settle, to a certain degree. It is really, really, really hard to find somewhere that is 'perfect'. There'll always be something not 'right' about the properties you look at so it's a good idea to think beforehand about what you're willing to settle on. Are you willing to pay a slightly higher rent for a better location or newer/bigger house? Maybe you don't mind having a longer commute in the morning if it's cheap? Maybe you're not that bothered about a small room as long as the location and price are decent? Whatever it is, think about it before hand. It'll help you rule out what properties you definitely won't be happy in, and what ones might not be perfect but will work as a place to live for 9 months to a year.

Don't stress anyway guys! There are always options and DCU doesn't even start till late September so you do have time. It might not work out first time you go looking at places but you'll get there

Kremin wrote: »

I'd love to move out and live somewhere else for college but doesn't really make sense as I'm a 15 minute walk from dcu .

Just keep thinking about how much money you're saving! I'm sure everyone currently paying ~500e/month just for rent will be very jealous of your situation

Kremin wrote: »

Yeah I know the money is a huge advantage but I'd still love to experience it :l

You'll get there, don't worry. There are tons of upsides and downsides to living away from home and at home so you just gotta make the most of what you have. At least you'll still be able to fully participate in on campus activities etc. with living so close! I know some Dublin people wouldn't always be able to hang around because they live on the other side of the city of whatever.