Life For Tenants Gets Tougher
Illawarra Mercury
Tuesday January 15, 2008
LIKE many other tenants in the Illawarra, Sonia Squires is caught in a market where rents are rising and alternative accommodation is increasingly hard to come by.
The Blackbutt property that has been her home for the past six years is set to be sold and Ms Squires is on the lookout for another property in the Shellharbour area.However she finds herself increasingly in competition with many others in a similar situation."There are a lot of people looking," Ms Squires said.She said each Saturday she searched through the Mercury classifieds, scrolled through the internet and contacted agents directly in search of a place to rent.She has a set price range, which has fewer properties in it every week."But even if you find the right price and right location, there could be 100 people applying for the same place," she said.Ms Squires said six years ago finding a house was not as difficult as it was now.Leaving the area is not an option for Ms Squires as her daughter is settled at a nearby school, she has casual work at Stockland and makes use of the limited public transport that is available. Ms Squires said she would love to own her own home."I should be able to buy a home, but I am a single mum with a casual job and the banks are not going to take that risk," she said."The high rents make it hard to save for a deposit and there are increasing interest rates if a loan is approved."Then there is the increasing cost of groceries - you just can't do it."Things are getting pretty bad."I don't think people realise how bad it is getting out there."
© 2008 Illawarra Mercury
Share This