How to get an edge in race to rent a place called home

With barely 3,000 homes available for rent across the State, it is hardly a surprise that a thought preoccupying the minds of many would-be renters is how to get an edge in the race to find a place to call home.

All experts agree that, apart from having a high-paying job in Google or some other internet giant, the best way to gain an advantage over the competition is to be prepared.

Before starting the hunt for a home, people need to be very clear on exactly how much they can afford - and then ignore every property above that amount.

They must also collect all documentation they will be asked for by prospective landlords and bring it to every viewing.

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Typically these documents include bank references or bank statements. While handing over statements to complete strangers will make many understandably uncomfortable, there is no point arguing the toss.

Proof of wages

All landlords really care about is proof wages are being lodged into an account on a regular basis, so it might be useful to redact all other information on the statements, particularly account numbers.

A reference from an employer is also essential – and quite possibly a few wage slips too. A PPS number to hand is essential, as is a photocopy of a driver’s licence or a passport, or both.

Being able to pay the first month’s rent plus a month’s deposit is also vital. So too is timing.

There is no point in actively looking for a new home today unless you are willing to move in tomorrow.

Asking a landlord to hold a property for a month until notice is served on a current home is asking for rejection. No landlord will leave a property vacant in this market to accommodate any would-be tenant’s schedule.

‘Incredibly important’

“Your story is also incredibly important when it comes to giving yourself an edge,” says Barry Finnegan of Haines Homes Management in Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin.

He has been in the business of matching tenants with landlords for more than 15 years and has seen good times come and go - and come again.

“We would obviously ask people what they do for a living and why they are moving house, and how many people are going to be living there. We need to be sure a prospective tenant’s story makes sense. Young professionals working in Grand Canal Dock are always a good bet.”

He says landlords or their agents do not expect people looking for a home to show up to viewings in formal wear or even suits, but, “as with every other area in life, first impressions matter.

“Rather than noticing if somebody is particularly well dressed, we will notice if someone is particularly poorly turned out - and that could set off warning bells.”

Avoiding open viewings

People with all their ducks in a row might be as well off avoiding open viewings at set times. Showing up at the appointed hour only to find scores of similarly desperate people trying to catch the eye of landlords with the phoney enthusiasm of orphans in Dickensian times trying to curry favour with workhouse cooks is humiliating and pointless.

A better option is to use letting agencies or arrange with landlords to have individual visits.

Make sure to arrive a couple of minutes early. Not only is it a courtesy, it is a way of subliminally telling a landlord that punctuality matters and the thing a landlord cares most about is that any tenant will be punctual in paying the rent.

But even after jumping through all the hoops, many will still spend months searching fruitlessly because, in a dysfunctional market such as this one, there are very few winners and a whole lot more losers.