Rental Strategies: Your Guide to Finding the Perfect Home

2025 has arrived, bringing its own unique challenges and opportunities to the rental market. Whether you've rented before, or perhaps you are just starting out, finding the ideal rental for your lifestyle requires strategic thinking and careful preparation. Let's explore how to navigate this journey successfully.

Understanding Your Priorities 

The success of your search begins with understanding what truly matters to you. As the saying goes: What is your life telling you? How will the location of your new house affect your daily routine? Do you need space for pets?  What nearby amenities are important to you? Some people enjoy living in the middle of the urban hustle and bustle; others prefer a more relaxed suburban or even rural living setup. Make sure you have a clear understanding of your priorities before starting your search - you can save yourself a lot of time and effort by knowing what you don't want. 

The Money Side of the Move 

It's tempting to get started with viewings as soon as possible, but before you kick off the process, you will need to take a comprehensive look at your financial situation. You will need to check if you can afford the basic rent, but this is further affected by needing to budget for other associated costs, like water, electricity, levies, and parking charges. Checking your overall budget before viewing properties will help to eliminate any financial stress down the line, and will help you to pick properties that fall within your means.

Read more: Renting the right way: Factors to consider during your property search

Pre-Approval: Getting The Edge Above Your Competition

If you are searching for a rental property in a competitive market, such as Cape Town, it will come as no surprise that there are often multiple applicants in competition for the same property. Getting pre-approved by a rental agency is an excellent strategy, and can make or break your application for your  dream home. To get pre-approval, you will need to submit certain important documents, like proof of income and rental history, and you will be vetted based on this. Although it may seem intimidating, getting pre-approval can speed up the application process and give you a better chance of being considered over other applicants, especially in the current climate, where properties are snapped up quickly.

Read more: Renting a property: How to ensure it's a pain-free experience

Making an Informed Choice 

Variety means options, and the rental market is no exception. The range of available properties on the rental market is huge - from compact apartments with the cost of certain amenities included in the price, to large and spacious houses, where more independence might come at a greater price. Each option comes with its own set of things to think about, like maintenance responsibilities, privacy needs, and lifestyle preferences.

Essential Features vs. Nice-to-Haves

It is crucial that you have a clear understanding of what you can't live without, and what would be nice to have, but not essential. This category can include anything from how many bedrooms you need in your home, laundry facilities, clubhouses or whether or not pets are permitted.  Knowing what you consider to be essential will help you phase out the deal breakers. 

Protecting Your Interests 

It is always worthwhile asking a third party to have a look at your lease agreement. Make sure that you know what your rights and responsibilities as a tenant are. Make sure you know whether or not you are responsible for any maintenance of the property, and what factors might affect your security deposit. 

For your overall peace of mind, you will also be well-advised to so some research about the neighbourhood, if you are not yet familiar with it. What are the crime patterns in the area? Are there any places nearby that could be noisy at times, like sports centres or clubs? Are there any major planned developments about to be built? 

Read more: What to ask before you sign that lease

Finally - your relationship with your landlord or agent matters. You are completely within your rights to ask questions about them and their management style, and what the mutual expectations are between you. Strong communication channels will always be the groundwork of a good rental relationship.

Over to you

Systematic planning and decisive action is the strategy to follow when you are on the lookout for a rental property. Stay active in the process and keep researching - neighbourhoods, market conditions and availability. Keeping your finger on the pulse will put you in a far better position to secure that home you are dreaming about. The time, research and preparation you put in now can pay off in the form of years of happy living in home that meets all your needs. 

Working in tandem with a trusted Real Estate Agency like Chas Everitt can be very helpful. You agent can easily access information and insights that could aid your decision-making, and support you through the process. 

The good news? The right home for you is out there - all that's left is taking the right steps to find it. Contact us today if we can be of assistance.