Hello everyone
Welcome to a new week
Ever had of scarcity in abundance? That's exactly what happens when you're looking for a good house to rent. You see buildings everywhere but because of one thing or another which might vary from persons to persons, you are unable to settle for any.
Hunting for buildings is a very tedious task especially when you are new to the city with no knowledge of what their housing looks like. This is because many things are at stake depending on where you are living. Literally, your building determines the level of progress you will be making everyday.
You can't definitely compare someone living in an environment where he wakes up to good neighbours and is welcomed by good neighbours to someone who wakes up to a quarreling neighbour and gets welcomed by the fights of other tenants; your peace of mind is hunted even when you are not directly involved.
In my area, like in many others, the rent culture is heavily shaped by the economy, location, and even the social expectations that come with certain neighborhoods, a knowledge not too far from both tenants and landlords.
By the virtue of being Nigerian, you already know I can adapt to many things, however, there are factors that When I'm looking for a new building and I don't see them, I will never pay the rent because what's the point of paying for where you will remember you're going back to and all that comes to you is anger?
What do I look out for?
- Location and Accessibility
The location wouldn't have been an issue but because of the nature of work I do, it has become the top variable when I'm looking for a new house. This is because as a medical doctor, you can be called at any point in time that your attention is needed inside the hospital.
Now imagine if I'm living very far from the hospital? That will always put a strain to my mental and general well-being especially considering the fact that I don't have my own car and there comes in the accessibility aspect, a house in a location where I can easily get a cab would be me ticking a box.
- Network and Electricity
The second variables on the list are definitely good network and electricity availability If you've ever battled with sourcing for good network for your online activities, you will definitely believe with me that it's one of the most painful things to experience.
Most of my life's activities are online, hence, I can't even afford settling in a home with poor network nor live in a house where I can only have electricity once In a week.
- Water source
I never knew this would be a problem until I visited my friend that lives in an apartment without water supply. You keep thinking of where to fetch water from, if there will be water available, if the water will be neat and so on and so forth...
Time that should have been channelled into something more productive... Sigh
- Flood Prone Area
Never thought this would ever be considered but with the recent experience my friend had with flood destroying all his hard-earned effort, I can't even think of renting a house without asking few questions based on the flood. It is really not what you want even the worst of your enemies to experience
- Security
Finally, what's the essence of living in a house where you can be chased out the next day or where you can't even go to once it's a particular point of time? Security is a big criterion to consider before making any payment.
In summary, renting house isn't necessarily about rushing to grab the first available house, but it's a combined decision of balancing comfort amidst the payment.
Thank you for reading and have a nice day