| Good to know
Looking for a property to rent
What starts out as an exciting project can turn into a real pain if the search for a new pad drags on for too long, taking up the bulk of your free time. Use your time efficiently by clearly defining your criteria before you start house hunting. |
Once you've established your budget, define all the criteria that are important to you: location, size, brightness, design, garden, leafy neighbourhood, etc. Here's a comparison tool: simply select from the list of more than thirty criteria those that you want to use to compare the properties you visit.
Check the adverts regularly and sign up for Immoweb's free email alert service, so that you're immediately notified when a property that's likely to appeal to you is posted on the site. Another good way of saving time is to arrange several viewings in one day, area by area.
When you phone to arrange a viewing, ask a few initial questions, as the extra information may help you eliminate a property that isn't quite right for you. Visit any places you're interested in several times, preferably at different times of the day, and seek the opinion of at least one outside person.
Find out straight away how much the previous tenant's bills were (remembering that they will be higher in winter, if they were paying for actual consumption rather than a fixed amount each month). This will help you avoid nasty surprises later on.
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