Hey guys looking to move out into my own place (by myself), and I am just wondering what some tips would be when going to apply for a rental?
I know the usual deal of what to do after getting a place but I am going to inspect a place this week sometime and apply for it if it's decent enough.

Thanks

just hope you earn a decent amount of cash and can prove it and you dont fall into the category that landlords discriminate against, young males.

if i were in that situation i wouldn't lease a house to an 18 year old either.

you'll need to get your pay slips and identification sorted straight up

i reckon really look around and look for exactly what you want and even offer under the rental price. the tenants have the power atm cause there is a surplus of houses to rent.

also make sure you go over the top when filling out your entry report.
list absolutely anything and everything even if its a fingerprint or a scratch or a dirty fly screen.

they will pick you up on it when you move out if you miss anything.
seriously be super anal when moving in. it can save you a half a day cleaning when moving out.

Never hurts to ask about the neighbours, see what they do with their lives.
If you get a chance, ask the realo / neighbours about the area, what's good, what's bad.
Think about storage - built-in wardrobes are awesome.
Check for working appliances, etc - e.g. ovens, exhaust fans.
Look at neatness of the block - a tidy block means the owner cares about the place and you can be house-proud.

That's all I can think of now, but the more you look around at places, the better feel you get, even if you don't want the place, if you've got the time do lots of searching around.

PS thank fuk i dont have to rent anymore.


hate hate hate the whole rental game.

if i were in that situation i wouldn't lease a house to an 18 year old either.

yeah that's understandable.. im 23 so I hope that shouldn't be a problem.

hate hate hate the whole rental game.

no doubt.

If you haven't rented before, listen to what Sleepy said: you get this tiny tiny list of what to state is damaged or faulty about the place when you move in. Expand it. Lots.

Let them know that you know there are scratches and marks on the wall, crack in the very corner of the ceiling, chipped paint on the bottom of a freaking handrail, everything. The more anal you are, the less they'll try and scab bond from you when you move on.

Be extremely organised with your paperwork when applying. Payslips, bank accounts, other papers/bills that show proof of address. Birth Cert. References (they really do ring and ask about your character) the more respected the referee, the better. Choose teachers, principals, lecturers, bosses, etc.

If you want a place, and you're sure, apply sooner rather than later. My experience is that if you're keen, they will like you more. They also hate stuffing around, because time is money (once you're in, they start earning money).

Let them know that you know there are scratches and marks on the wall, crack in the very corner of the ceiling, chipped paint on the bottom of a freaking handrail, everything. The more anal you are, the less they'll try and scab bond from you when you move on.

Yeah that was my plan.. I was going to take my camera in and photograph everything as well just for that extra evidence.

Thanks for the tips guys. Oh and also is there any real estate agency's to avoid in general? Some more anal than others about approving people?

nope. i reckon its hit and miss with real estate agents. plus the rental dark overlord or whatever the name for that person is may change during the term of your lease.



cannot stress enough..be super anal on entry reports.

camera is good but if there is eg a scratch on the wall. dont say scratch next to light switch on western wall etc etc.

be more like scratches on walls in living room. windows in kitchen dirty inside and out including ledge and window frames. incorperate the whole thing instead of naming little bits here and there.
good chance they wont come back for another look anyways after you submit your version.

make sure you get your version/copy signed by them and keep it in safe till exit time.

also make sure you go over the top when filling out your entry report.
list absolutely anything and everything even if its a fingerprint or a scratch or a dirty fly screen.

they will pick you up on it when you move out if you miss anything.
seriously be super anal when moving in. it can save you a half a day cleaning when moving out.

THIS
Previous landlord tried to get me to move a heap of junk out from under the house, which I removed HALF of it 9 months earlier after repeated requests to the real estate and the other half was theirs.

what seven said.. be ultra vigilant on the marks on the walls.. pretend like the place was built yesterday.. now pick on everything that looks like any type of wear and tear.. especially if your young and its your first time.. it will save you your bond when you move out

AND GET IT ON THE INSPECTION FORM

i was in an apartment in CNS and when i was walking through the place with the agent we both noticed the crayon marks on the wall.. she said thats from the last tenents who had kids.. the marks were where the couch should go so i didnt worry about it..

of course because we both saw it and she was telling me about it i didnt formally write it down..

you can see where this is going.. of course when i go to move out.. what about those crayon marks on the wall you left there...

UMM WTF YOU STUPID c*** I DONT HAVE f***IN KIDS OR CRAYONS SUCK A COCK c***

i had to pay to have it cleaned off......

Definitely get photos of everything, no matter how tiny the damage might be.

f***! I didn't know it go so bad out in the rental scene. Glad I own my own home, screw those greedy uncaring rental overlords.

As a greedy uncaring rental overlord here are some tips from the other side of the fence;

- We also need to do an inspection report and will write everything we can see down. Try to be as thorough as possible with every little detail and don't be afraid to attach some appendices to the report since they give you tiny s*** little boxes to start with.

- Find out what you are liable to paying so you're not surprised. Some newer houses have water meters so that the evil uncaring overlord doesn't have to pay water as part of his rates and instead passes it onto the tenant using the water (I'm caring so I pay for it though!@).

- Keep the place neat, clean, tidy and be courteous to neighbours. It's not hard and it makes you look like a good person to continue renting to. Complaints from neighbours/body corp to filter through so don't be surprised when your lease isn't renewed at the end of the tenancy.

- As much as you might think the real estate are c***s (they are) don't take it out on the property .. the real estate doesn't own the house wall you just put your fist through.

- *IMPORTANT ONE* Get contents insurance if you value your stuff being replaced when it's stolen. Most renters don't think to have any insurance.

- Check up for broadband options before moving in somewhere. If it's a unit it might not support DSL so you might be stuck with cable if you're lucky. You would have to have a pretty nice uncaring overlord to give permission for cable to be installed if it's not already in the premises.

- If anything breaks, tell the real estate so it can be fixed. Overlords get to claim it on tax and would rather find out when its a deduction instead of moving back in when they decide to stop renting.

- Be prepared for 6 month inspections, it's normal, it happens to everyone so no need to complain when it happens.

- Treat it like it's your own place!

camera is good but if there is eg a scratch on the wall. dont say scratch next to light switch on western wall etc etc.

be more like scratches on walls in living room. windows in kitchen dirty inside and out including ledge and window frames. incorperate the whole thing instead of naming little bits here and there.
good chance they wont come back for another look anyways after you submit your version.

agreed - still.. don't forget these magic words: NEEDS PAINTING.

Same goes for carpet.

someone just moved out of the place - a wall probably scratched/marked somewhere there.

don't wear it.

never EVER rent a brand new home.

Wear and tear happens very very badly on a home which is brand new. Tile patterned lino will tear when a couch is put on it, or shelves or a dining table and chairs. Their really "industrial grade" carpet will compact and look like s*** and they will blame you for not enough steam cleaning. If the grass is dead when you move in, make sure its dead when you move out. I lost money because the dirt patch i moved into was a thriving garden/lawn when i moved out. Paint which looks great when you move in will suddenly settle and fade revealing the plasterboard behind it.

Just don't. It looks nice but 12-24 months later the place will look like complete ass.

Make sure when you are there and renting - everything that goes wrong is told to the agent. If the toilet leaks, report it, its their duty to fix it. If you move out and you didn't report it, you'll lose money.

Also here's a tip for ever moving. You want about $1000 + Bond. Hiring stuff, replacing things, losing your last bond. It all adds up and moving is really expensive. Moving in the first time isn't hard but every appliance or whitegood you buy makes the process that much more expensive.

I moved out when i was 17, it wasn't that bad. I just had to make sure when i inspected it with the rest of the group i already had the forms to apply filled in ready to hand in. Being the first in i swear has helped me a lot. I've managed on minimum wage as a student to move into places in preference over couples, or small families.

There's a heap of good advice in this thread that I won't overlap. However, there's a few points that I'm paranoid about that help me get houses.

Treat the house inspection/application process as you would a job interview. You're being assessed on if you're going to be someone who is going to treat the house well, you might as well look as professional as possible.

When you go through and do your evaluation on the state of the property take time stamped photographs of everything. Append those photographs to your evaluation report and keep them somewhere safe.

If you're moving out with friends, make sure that they are not douchebags. Failing that, make sure that they are no more of a douchebag than you are. Otherwise, you won't be friends for much longer. Also, if anything is in your name you have to be ultra vigilant about getting money from people for it. Considering we live in the age of VoIP, I'd recommend that you restrict all long distance access on your landline. Hell, try and get local calls itemized too.

Try and find the current phone number of the location (or a shop very close) and test the DSL capabilities of the area.

Hell, try and get local calls itemized too.

I paid for a Skype account two years ago, its about $40 dollars a year for a number (a proper landline like number 07 33321323) and its unlimited local and national calls to landline phones. This usually includes most of those 1800 numbers. I just have to keep my phone on me, and i can be signed on at the same time at multiple PC's and it will ring all the locations. I can answer it from anywhere even my mobile (obvious data fees will apply).

This plus naked dsl (most of which come with a voip number these days anyway) allows you to maintain control of my communication costs (i never have any that aren't my mobile).

I get my housemates to tack on another 10 a week for the internet connection and we split the electricity bill evenly.

I've lived with many different people and all of them have their own systems which work but the important thing is making sure everyone pays what they owe or else you won't be friends. Don't just give in if they don't pay you, you'll resent them for it as your standard of living drops because they are lazy fks.

also you think its expensive there.. try netherlands.. the good thing is as long as you dont smash windows when you move out you will be fine.. when you leave you take everything... and i mean everything.. floors, light fittings garden plants ponds the place needs to looks like its about to be demolished.

when you move in though you put everything in, so as long as you leave it as a s***ty old shell when you leave your fine.

o and here.. i called up the agency and told em a hard wired electricty point wasnt working.. too bad thats your problem.. almost everything is our problem.. we even pay the local council rates on the place..

its a big change from the easy renting land of australia

ps to move house cost us around 5000 euros or about 10000 aud

Any advice for moving into a place with other people? i.e your name isn't on the bond. Are there any tale tell signs that the person you are moving in with is going to make your life hell? How do you split electricity/water rates/other stuff?

Sorry for hijacking your thread 88.

I guess what you're referring to greazy is usually just drawn up as the person renting the home subletting a room to you. Not having your name on the bond is GREAT (as long as you don't pay any) because if anything is broken, you can't lose money for it. Make sure you are on the lease though, I can't stress that enough. I wasn't on the lease in the last place I lived in, so it was hard to find a place to rent as it looked kinda dodgy.

Bills should be split down the middle, or negotiated in particular circumstances (like if the person you live with has 10 computers and grows hydroponic tomatoes and you just have a lamp and a laptop, you'd probably want to negotiate on the power bill).

When house hunting for a rental, make sure the rent on the place is no more than a third of your net income (or a third of the combined income of the house). I heard the first thing real estate agents do is cull off any applicants that don't make more than three times the rent per week.

Be careful about living with friends. After all the friends I have ever lived with, there is only 1 I could honestly say I would live with again. I lived with my current housemate in a previous share house, and would live with him again. Don't get me wrong, I'm still friends with all the people I have lived with. I just couldn't live with most of them again.

In terms of interpersonal harmony in a house, you ultimately want people who are on a similar page for things like noise, cleanliness, schedule etc. If you're a party animal and your housemate is a quiet antisocial bookworm or videogame shut-in, they will resent you for it and you will hate their passive aggressive bulls*** revenge. If you're a neat freak and your housemate is an absolute slob, they will irritate the hell out of you, and they won't appreciate your snide comments. If you only have one bathroom, you don't want somebody who works the exact same hours as you, but you don't want a night shift worker either. Having somebody wake you up when they get home from work at 5am, or getting s***ty at you for waking them up at 7am, is not a nice experience.

Oh and avoid overly opinionated, naive, argumentative, competative, arrogant or ignorant people (or one person with all these qualities). They will annoy the s*** out of you, and you'll say something back that will totally crush them as a person in just one sentence, and you'll regret it for the rest of your life (well, that's what happened to me).

If you're looking to rent alone at 23, good luck. I tried getting a place alone at 22 with insanely good referees (i.e. manager in a government department, high level management in major international corporations), a good income and a clean record and I struggled. Being 23 and with no previous rental history, they're probably going to take one look at you and assume you're some spoiled, snotty little brat who has had their arse wiped for them by mummy and daddy for the last 23 years so they won't have the ability to take care of a property on their own. It might be better to try squeeze yourself into an existing share house for 6 months then try for your own place.

I guess the most important things I could say about actually GETTING the place you want are; show up for the inspection early (this could give you a chance to chat with the agent and build rapport), be smartly dressed (office attire is good), have all your s*** filled out and ready with copies of ID etc attached (they will want to site these themselves and make their own copies later, but this looks good) and always, always, ALWAYS be honest.

hydroponic "tomatoes"

fixed

thanks for the awesome post Crizane Tribal

Oh and avoid overly opinionated, naive, argumentative, competative, arrogant or ignorant people (or one person with all these qualities).

So, move in with inflatable people then? :)