Growing up and living in a riverine area/state has opened my eyes to important pieces of information and details with regards to rent and housing in general.
The area I grew up in, beside my street, a lot of the other streets around, had low-lands. Mine was upland, and so when the heavy rains come, most houses and compounds would get flooded. On more than one occasion, I've either gone to help a friend from the other street rescue some of their stuff in the waters and take them home. An uncle of mine suffered the same fate.
People say that the best time to go house searching is during the rainy season, and I highly agree. Early this year, a relative complained to my mother about how she made payments for a house that she had vetted and was assured it was in great shape only to find out from one of the other tenant's kids that water came up from the ground during the rainy season. She pleaded with the landlord for a refund, but he refused even after deceiving her. Her only crime was house hunting during the dry season. Experiencing flooding, not only in my house but in my street is one thing I am scared of, that's why I do proper findings and make intense research plus at the right time, when I have the need.
When house hunting, the things that are basic and crucial for me are the security situation of the environment. I grew up in a chaotic and, frankly, terror-filling part of town, and I don't think I could go on with that. I know what it's like to live afraid. Another thing that I look out for is electricity. I prefer having a prepaid meter, but in areas where it's not common, I would appreciate having at least a 16-hour/day light. I've always lived in areas with good electricity supply, and I don't appreciate anything less, neither do I appreciate the noise from generator sets.
Something else for me is good road network and access. Access to my business places, my job, to market, banks, hospital, church, and other important centers. For me, this is made possible by getting a house just in the center of town just as we had growing up. The road network needs to be in a good state too to ensure all of that.
As I mentioned earlier, it's important the area is upland to avoid flooding.
Then, in order to ensure I meet these, one thing that I've learned to do is to start early enough. Start my search and findings early, and while at it, I meet with some people in that neighborhood(and if there are any, the other tenants in the compound I wish to rent a house in), and ask about the compound and what their likes and dislikes are. Most of them give genuine opinions.
The rent culture here, however, is quite depressing. A few of my friends have been complaining about how difficult it is to find a house, and when they do, it's either above their budget or the house is in a terrible state. I know so too since , speaking with my sister recently, I was shocked how much rent costs in her part of town. Back when I was in school, it was fairly cheap. Even then, many complained it was on the high side. It's sad there are no regulations for these things. But it's what it is.
I hope that this was interesting to read.
Thanks for coming around.