Renting as a Vet

I imagine finding your first rental property is difficult for everyone. You don’t have any tenancy references and you don’t have any experience dealing with real estate agents. It becomes that much more difficult again when you’re trying to rent somewhere interstate.

And add another level of difficulty for trying to view properties all in one day in the week before Christmas.

In a town I don’t know, with no family or friends currently staying there to guide me around, I need to find a place to spend the next 12 months. I’m new to this real estate game, but there’s an extra odd little factor to it.

I put ‘Dr’ as my title on the forms.

The conversations go something like this.

“So Dr Ferox, I take it you want to be close to the hospital for work?”

“Well that is the right area, but I’m not working at the hospital.”

“Oh. Where are you working there.”

“I’m a vet. I’m working on XYZ street.”

“Oh! Dr Anonymous’s practice, right?”

“Yes, that’s the one.”

Honestly I didn’t think the town was small enough for everyone to know the name of the boss vet. I’m sure it’s not the only clinic in town either. I have to wonder if maybe the real estate agents and my future boss all have kids the same age or something, but I can’t shake the feeling that everyone knows the clinic.

I’m flying back down to look at some of hte more intriging properties next week, so that at least I’ve seen the place before I start applying for rentals. I haven’t done this before, but applying for houses feels a lot like job interviews all over again.

Fingers crossed that ‘Dr’ on an application form goes a long way and that landlords like animals.