Customer Profile - Michelle and Lea*

Finding your first rental property is difficult enough, but with the market so competitive, it’s harder than usual right now. As a result, we’re increasingly being engaged by parents looking for a little extra support for their kids. This is exactly what Michelle was after when she first contacted us back in December.

Her daughter, Lea, was relocating from NSW to Melbourne to continue her university studies. While she had previously lived on campus, she felt she was now ready to move out on her own. She was also hoping to have space for Michelle to stay when she came down to visit.

While Lea was a responsible, mature young woman with great personal references, she didn’t have a formal rental history. Getting down to Melbourne was also going to be difficult over the holiday period. As she was hoping to move mid-January, she clearly needed additional support – which we were more than happy to provide.

Working with our network, we identified three suitable on market properties and made plans to view them in early January. Wanting to see the places themselves, Michelle and Lea made the trip down to attend the inspections with us. One of them seemed perfect, so we submitted an application, but the market suddenly “turned”, and we were unsuccessful.

Not wanting to give up, we went back out to our network and identified a few more potentially suitable options. However, each inspection was attracting 60+ people and applicants were regularly offering $50 - $80 more than the advertised price.

Eventually, we were put onto a lovely off market property in South Melbourne that ticked most of the boxes. We arranged an inspection and conducted a video walk through with Michelle and Lea, who loved what they saw. And while it wasn’t available until the end of January, they felt they could make this time frame work.

Knowing we needed to move fast, we quickly submitted an application and worked with the Property Manager to get it approved. This meant Lea was still able to relocate ahead of the new semester and settle in before classes began.

We’re so happy we could help Lea find – and secure! – her first rental property to call home. Both she and Michelle were a pleasure to work with and we wish them all the best for this next stage of their lives.

* Names have been changed to protect the privacy of the individuals involved.