Finding a rental...

We've rented in a few challenging markets. In Evanston, you had to sign a leave for September by early February, tricky since that was about 2 weeks before the on campus housing lottery. For those of you not NU alums, that is where you'd drop everything for narrow time window that you (or perhap your social security number) was allotted to come and draw a number out of the hat. The lower the number, the better your chances of getting a place on campus. Why we had to show up in person I don't know. Or in Boston where you could rent something about as nice as a single car garage for $1000 a month. I remember one set of friends rented a place with a kitchen that only had 2 hotplates and a toaster oven! Though over time that market eased and we lived in some lovely flats.

Well here in Wellington, rentals don't always come with whitewear. I naively thought this referred to dishes like some hotel suites provide stateside. Nope, this refers to washer, dryer, and more importantly the FRIDGE. Fridges vary in size and so do fridge openings in kitchens, so it isn't always easy to ensure that the fridge you own (hypothetically since we don't own one) will fit the space. And last I checked moving heavy appliances was difficult however you look at it.

The other thing is that market moves fast. People list places typically 1-2 weeks before they are available, sometimes they list for places that were available yesterday or 2 weeks ago which I find odd. This makes for high drama and pressure because many people HAVE to move that weekend. We've decided to find a place that opens up atleast 1-2 weeks before our current renting situation is up so that there is a bit of overlap for our sanity.

But not everyone can do this, so you can image the scene when you turn up to the open houses. Yes they show rental flats as an open house. I went to one that was half my weekly salary the other day. The kitchen was in the hallway and reminded me of the places I used to clean clams in on the Oregon Coast. There were two bedrooms, one looking out onto the park. The shower was a metal box at the bottom with plasic splay guards glued to the walls. I think I would have felt like a crab being cleaned in it. I wasn't thrilled by the kitchen or bathroom, but the location was lovely and would have meant a walk thorugh a gorgeous park as my daily commute. I like hardwood floors too. Well no one else was as reserved as me, all the Kiwis were saying that this was a “wicked” place and for those sharing a flat with another person (i.e., another income) it probably would have been quite a deal. The single mom looked a bit down after it though, I think she like me was wondering how'd we ever find something suitable and within our budgets. So everyone lined up and signed the agents book, I was probably 30th on the list and there were people behind me. I guess the agent works herway down the list until she finds a taker with good references. I can't imagine that it took more than 3 calls given the spirit of the crowd.

I've also been looking at sharing a flat. This would mean getting to know flattmates very well and also meeting people through their circle of friends. We'd also get to have a bit more space... People are fairly keen on a couple here, and some places have 2 rooms open so we could rent out a bedroom and use another room as a study. We've met some lovely people, but mostly we find that we contact them, start arranging a time to meet, and then just as we're heading out to the flat we get a call saying that it is already taken. As I may have mentioned, the rental market flies here. You really need to be able to walk in, say you like it and take it right then and there. This may be different in other price ranges, but for what we are looking for, this is the reality.

 This is what trademe, the local internet site for classified ads, has on offer...