Every year, thousands of students enrol in the top-notch educational institutions of Australia. While the high-standard education is an important factor in their experience at Australian universities, there are other equally significant factors, such as their accommodation.
So while you are on the search for the best universities, we have compiled a list of things to crosscheck while hunting for a student housing option. Read on:
1) Proximity:
Is your university within walking distance from the property? How is the locality? Is it a good and safe area, or surrounded by a rather empty patch of woods or a lane that looks suspicious? How many minutes walk to the nearest pharmacy/hospital?
How many food options in its neighbourhood? How far does your landlord live from here, if not in the same accommodation, just in case you may need to reach them urgently? Now just hospitals and banks, how long do you have to commute to reach a movie hall or a sports ground?
Make sure you have asked yourself and your potential landlord all these questions before you say “Done”. There are many websites that also provide you detailed maps along with reviews of the place by old tenants to help you shortlist. Click here to know more about such websites and places!
2) Internet Facilities:
The primary use of the internet is to scroll through social media, but otherwise, you would also need fast and steady internet for studying, researching, and most importantly, staying in touch with your parents and friends, who are now far from you. In the case of a crisis, your internet could be your rescue too! So, always check about the internet speed, pricing, and usage restrictions of a place before you sign up for it.
3) Landlord’s background check:
If you have a bad feeling about someone, it wouldn’t hurt to run a background check. You could ask around in the neighbourhood, or for verification purposes, check with a police officer in that area. How the coming months would go depends on how your landlord behaves with the tenants. If you look around for the right contacts, you could find previous tenants and enquire about their stay.
4) Basic amenities:
24*7 water, ample food options nearby, fire hazard preparedness, a lift for emergencies, and basic hygiene should be on top of your list while ticking any place in as an option. Nowadays, a little more on the fancy side, you could also find places with a swimming pool or an in-house gymnasium. In that case, checking that the pool hasn’t caused any leakage or dampening in the walls is a must; or that the floors below the gym aren’t disturbed by the heavy equipment’s burden or noise should be important.
5) Online Image:
Last but not least, everything is available on the internet these days, and you should make this a point to check for the rental’s social media reputation. If they are active on Instagram or Facebook, it should be easy to find them and steer through their audience engagement and reviews.
In case they aren’t social media savvy, they would still have their address or rental advertised somewhere, and that platform is highly likely to have reviews, ratings, and real property images. Before you even ask for a visit to the property, search for its existence via Google. This would not only help you filter out the scams but also save your time from unyielding visits.
We hope these tips have helped you get an idea of what house hunt comprises. Have a happy house hunting!
