Wednesday 31 January 2018

Rental rationing revisited

Sometimes, first-principles theorising gets you a long way. 

I'd written a couple of weeks ago on rental rationing: when rental housing markets clear by queuing rather than by prices. I'd suggested it was because landlords might be suspicious about high bidders being bad types, that landlords might like having a pool of applicants to select from when it's tough to monitor and police what actually goes on in the flat, and that non-price rationing would be more common where it's harder to kick out a bad tenant. I'd also suggested that tenants of the type that landlords were likely to prefer should make sure to send the signal.

That was all first-principles stuff. Here's some supporting anecdotes from yesterday's Dominion Post:
Some turn up to flat viewings in suits, others arrive with professionally designed rental CVs, all in the hope of standing out from the crowds that gather for flat viewings.

...
It's worth being careful with how much you offer - efforts to outbid other tenants could be a red flag, according to property manager Lydia Deakin, with such tenants often trying to hide a bad rental history, or expecting additional services because they are paying top dollar.

Jeffries said hopeful tenants should treat a viewing like a job interview by dressing well, and introducing themselves. ...

"It's also a good idea to create a cover letter explaining a little more about yourself and the other tenants."

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