"I love you
You pay my rent."
- The Petshop Boys, Rent (1987)
Have I found somewhere to live? No, not yet. What a hideous place to find rental housing Hobart is.
You would not believe it, but property prices have soared in the past 5 years to Melbourne levels (I am currently listening to our Drive presenter talk about how property affordability in Hobart is 2nd lowest in Australia, behind Sydney), and Tasmania has the highest per capita home ownership levels of any capital city in Australia. This means that there are few places to rent, and the prices are pretty fanciful.
How about this: the real estate agents hold ‘viewings’, where you turn up during a specified 15-minute period and elbow your way through crowds of uni students, former Mainlanders, public service people like teachers and older folk who have ‘downsized’ for a look. Too bad if you’re a wage slave who can’t leave your desk from 9am until 5pm; you miss out.
Then there’s a scramble to get your rental applications in. Maybe it’s been a long time since I’ve had to fill in such forms, but I’m sure they used to be easier. Today I filled out one that required:
All manner of personal details, INCLUDING car rego, make & model (?!);
Employment and rental history;
TWO x personal or business references; AND
next of kin; AND
TWO x close relative references;
a CREDIT CHECK that’s not more than 3 months old!
Once I’d finished, I felt like I was ready for a full cavity check as well. I thought about adding my grandmothers’ maiden names and what I had for lunch, hoping this might give me an edge.
Mind you, there’s still room for getting a competitive leg up, if you’re committed. One estate agent advertises properties in a price range, eg. $240-$275 per week. You put on your application what you think the property is worth and what you would be willing to pay. ‘Wouldn’t the highest bidder win?’ I asked the agent. ‘Oh, not necessarily’, she replied, looking at the ceiling. ‘Sometimes the owner will agree to a lower rent if you’re a good tenant.’
Yeah, right. Here’s to being homeless.
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