Friday 20 February 2009

Keep on movin'

Sorry, I've been terribly remiss in my blogging of late.

This past week has been a bit mad. Last weekend our letting agent told us that there was someone coming round to view the property. Why? It turns out that our landlord has been a naughty boy in the property market and the flat has been repossessed. The agent couldn't tell us whether or not we would be able to continue living here after our lease is up in mid April. Not good.

So we thought that we'd better start looking round for something else. Trade me ahoy. Trade me is the Kiwi version Ebay, it's where everyone looks for rental property too. We saw a lovely looking house for rent up the hill from us in Roseneath. Next challenge - the open home. Open homes here are the main way that people show property for sale or rent. You have to get in quick or you've no chance. We got there first (yeah!), but there were a couple of girls there too. When we were being shown round we were sizing each other up - it was like sharks circling. They broke first and asked to put their names down, but they had a third person to consult. We zoomed in and put our cards on the table - we want to take it and we don't have anyone to consult with. Thankfully the owners, Kate and Holger, really wanted a couple to rent to and were more than happy to take us on as tenants. We've got a lot in common and it's really nice to meet some new people. They are only moving out because they can't manage the steps with their small baby at the moment.

Problem solved? Well yes, in a way, but we were still looking at paying double for a month and a half until our rental contract here ran out. Then a notice went up in the lift - someone looking for a property in this block to rent for a short term. We made contact and they are taking over our lease.

Thanks to whoever was looking out for us!