My husband and I will be arriving in Belfast the beginning of February. We have been looking on GumTree and PropertyPal at possible apartments/terrace homes etc. The issue is we have an 8 year old medium sized dog. She is spayed, house broken and very well trained but of the couple of inquiries I've sent, it seems landlords are reluctant to allow pets. Funds are also a bit tight so we are planning on trying to find housing on our own. So a couple of questions for everybody living in Belfast. First, what was the easiest way to secure housing when you first moved overseas? Did you just find properties on your own or did you use a realtor/relocation specialist? Secondly, is there a certain leasing agency that generally allows pets or is it almost impossible to lease a property if you have a pet? Leaving her behind is not an option so I just want to know how difficult it is going to be to find a place to live.
Pet friendly accomadations
I don't know if you're already in Belfast, but I'll post this link in case you are: http://www.propertynews.com/
It's how we found our place. Can't help about the pets, but lots of people have dogs here. Act fast if you find a place that looks good: they go fast.
I've been scouring PropertyPal and GumTree for the last week or so. Found a few properties that allow pets but not many. I've even offered an additional deposit and reference letter from our previous landlord. Seems like there is no easier way to go about this than just putting in the man-hours.
Sorry I can't be of more help. I found the rental process very frustrating. I wish you good luck, and you may contact me if you think I can be of any help. We've only been here a year, though. Do act fast though because the market from the renter's perspective is very competitive.
Please be persistent. It may take a while, but you'll find the right place. I realise I didn't answer your question about relocation agencies. I looked for one when we relocated here, and I couldn't find anyone to help. The one relocation specialist I was able have a conversation with never followed up. Apparently they don't find individuals (as opposed to firms) worth their time. And, unfortunately, the rental agencies all work for the landlords, so I was never able to find an agent to work with us to find a place. Again, it doesn't seem to be worth their time.
There's another online rental site called Property Pal (I think) but Property News was the best one in our opinion.
