Whether you’re fleeing the coop to start a new adventure at university, moving off campus to a share house, or have recently graduated and now have to ‘adult’, finding the right place to live can be tough. Finding somewhere that’s not too expensive, meets your needs, and is half decent can sometimes turn into a nightmare.
If it’s your first time renting then you probably don’t have much experience either. Here are some tips to make your life a little easier when searching for your first rental.
Choose your roommates carefully
One of the great things about renting is that you can share a house with your friends. In the early stages all you can think about is the crazy great times you and your bestie will have. The excitement makes you forget all about the less exciting stuff like cleaning, cooking, and whose turn it is to take the garbage out.
You’ll also have to have the serious conversation about splitting bills, groceries, how clean the place should be kept, and if you can handle each other’s personalities 24/7.
Unfortunately, you can’t yell at your housemate when they don’t return your straightener, like you do with your siblings at home. In this case you might lose a friend.
Don’t be shy about money
Real estate agencies evaluate your application according to whether you can actually afford to live there. If your income on your application is only just making rent, then you probably won’t get approved.
To seal the deal with the place of your dreams, try to include all forms of your income on your application. This includes payments from Centrelink, scholarships, or money that your parents give you. Being completely independent whilst studying full-time is hard and sometimes just not realistic. Real estate agencies realise this, so as long as you can cover rent and afford to eat, then your search for a rental should be okay.
Don’t get lazy
Once you have finally been accepted into your brand new rental it’s tempting to just relax and watch movies (in between studying of course). Unfortunately adult duties have only just begun.
Generally you’ll have inspections every three months to make sure the place is well-kept. It will do you good to look after your place and pay your rent on time, this way your rental reference will be in tip-top shape and make your life easier come your next rental search.
