Written by Charlotte Penhall
So you’ve taken the step to move out of home and now it’s time to move off campus and into town. It can be scary at times but don’t worry! You can start preparing at any time. Here are some tips to make your life a little less stressful.
Think about moving in with someone.
Moving into a rental with someone can make moving into a rental cheaper. Your rent, bond, and utilities cheaper and lessen the financial stress on you. I also recommend sitting down with the person or people you might be living with to sort out expectations for stuff like chores and bills. It will save you drama later on.
Have money put aside for rental bonds.
The majority of rental properties will require you to pay a bond. The bond is four weeks’ worth of rent. So, if you’re rent is $510 in total, your bond would be $2,040. Also, beware that you have to pay a couple of weeks’ rent to secure your rental. This can be a lot for one person, so having a roommate can make things a little cheaper.
Have bills in your name to show a credit history, especially bigger ones.
This will show landlords and real estate agencies that you can repeatedly pay large amounts of bills on time. Good bills for this would be your phone bill, car insurance, and your car’s registration.
Put the items you’ll need for rentals in a folder.
Some of the most common things that are needed when applying for rentals are payslips, bills, rental references, and bank statements. It will make it easy to quickly apply for rentals online and save you the trouble of having to search for them.
Be prepared for the university residential reference to not be enough for the real estate agency.
One thing that I found myself struggling with when applying online for rentals, was that the real estate agencies didn’t just want the residential reference that the university provides you. They usually want to call or email someone. Be patient and you’ll eventually find a rental that will accept it with no dramas.
Charlie blog is a SSAF funded initiative
