the virtual world

Hi everyone, we've been talking about how the internet has changed the relocation industry. Not only are we dealing with internet savvy Gen Y's but the real estate world has finally embraced the internet. The rental market is highly competitive and service from real estate agents varies - but what we need to be aware of is that properties advertised on the web may not be available as some sites are slow to remove them. Also the internal pictures may not be accurate - some agents use old pictures of properties from previous sales compaigns. It's tough out there and the agents are finding people are also difficult to deal with, very stressed and in some cases putting in multiple applications for properties. This means they take us less seriously which is a shame. We reassure them that our policy is to guide our clients to be sensible about this and only apply for properties they either have a good chance to get and really want. The speed of searching on the internet on laptops and mobile devices means we need to be up to speed with our clients - but we can't look at every single property advertised. It's hard enough to get to view some of them and our knowledge and expertise of suburbs, neighbourhoods or previous inspections of properties does help. The best approach is to have a good drive around during an orientation, narrow down the suburb choice and focus on the area you want - it makes the whole process less stressful. If nothing else it's less confusing for new arrivals and means you can concentrate on the best that comes up in that particular area. Melbourne has a large metropolitan area for instance and it can be quite daunting to travel from one end to the the other! Presenting well at an inspection, keeping children well behaved, being polite to agents all helps to position you for a successful application. Happy hunting.