Applying for a rental property
 

My apologies if this question has been asked before but I've done a search and cannot find the answer. Can one make applications for several properties at once in the hope that one will come through or is it best to make one application at a time? Am wondering whether you are obliged to follow through on an offer you make or if you can change your mind even if your application is accepted. We'll e moving to Melbourne.

Also I've had a look on the Victorian consumer affairs website and they state that it's illegal for landlords to ask for more than one month's rent in advance for properties whose rent is 350 or less per week. Other people on here have said they had to offer to pay 6 months in advance in order to secure a place. Do most agents just disregard this rule then?

Re: Applying for a rental property
 

Don't know about the legalities of it all, but money certainly talks when you're new in a country with no local references, etc... We offered 3 months in advance and the very nice landlady completely lost interest in anyone else... My wife's Australian cousin here in Sydney says it's very unusual for people to offer substantial upfront payments...

Re: Applying for a rental property
 

Hi same here we wern't forced to pay 3 months up front,but when we came here "Good" rentals were a bit thin on the ground.

So i offered 3 months up front to get the rental i wanted...to be fair the agents did ask if i was sure i wanted to pay that muck up front..

Steve

Re: Applying for a rental property
 

The difference comes from "asking" for the money in advance, and us "offering" the money in advance!!

As for the number of different applications you can put in, I guess it depends on the agents.

When we arrived it was a really busy time, and decent rentals were also thin on the ground. We knew that we were at a disadvantage with no local references or rental history in Australia, so if we saw a property we liked we applied for it ASAP. I believe that some rental agents take a fee/mini bond off you for applying and if you get the house and turn it down then you lose the money you paid... unless I really really loved the house and really really wanted it, then I (personally) would stay away from them. They get enough money out of tenants as it is!!!!

So yeah, we put in multiple applications (up to 3 at any one time, with different agents) and when we got a house we just called and withdrew the other applications that we had in.

The house we're in now, we offered to pay 3-6 months rent upfront as a gesture of goodwill. I think it was the offer that swayed it for us (we'd been knocked back for everything else), but in the end the landlady said she didn't want the rent. I guess the gesture was just enough!

Re: Applying for a rental property
 

Thanks guys. We'll definitely make multiple applications then and just offer some advance rent then it's up to them to refuse if they don't want it.

Re: Applying for a rental property
 

We also found that you have to be persistent. Things move much slower here and it could take a couple of weeks before they get back to you with an answer one way or the other about whether or not you'll get the place. The house we're in now, we called the agent a couple of times to remind her that we were interested and if she wanted to rent the place the landlord better make a decision. In the end we got the place. I think it was because the agent didn't want to have us phone her again asking when they would let us know.

Re: Applying for a rental property
 

Here in WA, you need to put one months rent in 'cash' in with your application to stop people putting in multiple applications and wasting peoples time.
My advice is get everything pre-prepared... photocopy visa's, marriage certificates, references, resume, in fact everything you can think of.... put in the cash and hope for the best.
Here in Perth you need to act fast (in our experience) so be prepared!

Neil.

Re: Applying for a rental property
 

We offered 6 months in advance to secure our rental. The agent said that it was OK to come to an arrangement with the owner but that she was not allowed to accept it. As it happened we got the rental but the owner did not hold us to our offer.