Written for SA2Eire by a Member
How we arrived
We moved to Ireland through my Critical Skills Employment Permit, coming from South Africa as a family of five: my husband and I, our 21 year old daughter, our 7 year old son, and my sister-in-law who came along to explore.
We came over with just enough money to get here and keep going for about a month. No big financial cushion, no room for a crisis. We had to be meticulous.
I want to share how we found a long-term rental within three weeks of arriving, because I know how daunting this feels when funds are tight.
Temporary accommodation: brace yourself
We knew we would need short-term accommodation while we searched. Airbnb mid-summer is expensive, especially for five people. We used a combination of Airbnb and Booking.com to find the cheapest self-catering options we could, staying in four different places, three to five days in each.
One had all five of us sleeping in the same room. Two double beds and a single. Luggage everywhere.
Husbands: do not bring the mountain bikes and golf clubs. They can wait for the container. You can hire almost anything here.
It was tough. We learned patience, the value of personal space, and exactly how to be kind to each other under pressure. South Africans think we can rough it out with a tent and a spade. None of that compares to five people living on top of each other for days on end. But if limited funds are making you nervous about doing this, hear me: there is a way. You can do it. You just have to get your head in the right space.
Building the rental CV
Before we even had an arrival date I started preparing our rental application. I used the rental CV advice on the SA2Eire website and put together a comprehensive pack.
It included:
- A covering letter with a photo of my husband and myself, acting as an executive summary
- Our job offers and a worked-out monthly budget to prove affordability
- Our title deed and bond statement from SA, utilities and homeowners insurance
- Rental references from our previous agent and a company I rented an office from
- Character references from our accountant, minister and teacher
- Three months of bank statements for both of us, passports and marriage certificate
I focused on family values, the fact that we were homeowners who understood property maintenance, and the positives of our move. Everything was in PDF, clearly labelled and zipped for easy emailing.
The search itself
Once we had an arrival date I created profiles on daft.ie, rent.ie and myhome.ie, filling in every field including the non-compulsory ones. I then contacted every listing that came up, using a standard message that mentioned we were both professionals, our combined gross income, and what we were looking for.
Read the auto-replies carefully. Sometimes agents prefer enquiries through their own website or ask you to register elsewhere. For every one of those I followed the instruction and registered on yet another platform.
Once we arrived in Ireland I carried on applying, picked up the phone and called people directly, and walked into estate agent offices in person with printed copies of our CV. The Irish respond well to phone calls and face-to-face contact. Use that.
We were offered three properties. One was unfurnished, four bedrooms and beautiful, but we had no money to furnish it. We took it anyway.
Furnishing the whole house for free
This is the part I want every family to hear.
I downloaded Adverts.ie and spent a few days before taking occupation arranging free collections. By the time we moved in I had furnished the entire house at no cost. Lounge, dining room, kitchen table, outdoor furniture, two single beds, two double beds, drawers, a desk, a TV, crockery and cutlery. All free, all in perfectly acceptable condition.
The only things we bought were bedding from IKEA and a few kitchen items from second-hand shops for under €20 the lot.
I hired a large van from Murphy’s Truck and Van Rental in Dublin for the day, drove it around myself with my South African licence, and collected everything in one run. The daily hire cost was roughly double the hourly rate quoted by a mover. Very worth it.
When people heard our story they started offering us more things. The Irish are just amazing.
Do not limit yourself to furnished rentals only. It is completely possible to furnish a whole home here for free.
One important lesson on deposits
Get your money into an Irish bank account before you arrive if at all possible. We transferred our deposit from a South African account and our advance rent from a UK account. Both needed to clear before we could take occupation. It took four working days and cost us three extra nights of temporary accommodation.
Proof of payment is not enough. The funds must clear.
Open a non-resident Irish bank account before you leave South Africa and transfer your funds in good time. It will save you stress and money.
Good luck to everyone still on the rental hunt. It is possible. We are proof of that.
