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FYI: Renting / Leased accommodation in Aus

FYI: Renting / Leased accommodation in Aus

Old Mar 21st 2005, 10:05 am
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Default Re: FYI: Renting / Leased accommodation in Aus

Originally Posted by Lisa & Rich
Just to add a little more to GG's experience. (We are renting in Black Rock, Melbourne)

Maybe its just here but we found that the agents lists were printed weekly and we just missed a few properties. Generally we were advised to look at www.realestate.com every day for new properties and view on the day they appeared on the website.

We made our rental application before we had jobs and having owned property in the UK could not provide references. We brought mortgage statements that showed regular payments and the estate agents details that were used to sell our flat. We also gave the email addresses of 2 referees. This was enough for the agent and I don’t think that they actually took up the references in the end.

The only issue for us was that the landlord was looking for an ongoing rental and us only 6 months until we buy. To secure the unit we paid the bond and the 6 months rent upfront. It was a dent to the pocket but at least it will mean more money for the next few months once we start earning.

Lisa
We are going in May/June to Sydney and have the same problem as we are selling our own house and do not have any landlords references. We are accumilating all the mortgage statements etc, but what referees did you use? Were they charecter references, or ones from, say, your bank manager??!!
any advice would be appreciated!

steve
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Old Mar 21st 2005, 6:05 pm
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Default Re: FYI: Renting / Leased accommodation in Aus

Originally Posted by Geordie George
Hi BP,

We heard from the agent today that we get the keys at 4pm on Thursday, so we'll all be in (me, Mr GG and the four suitcases - it's not a lot, but it's home ) by 4.05pm on Thursday!

What I like most about Glebe is it's laid-back, arty-farty kinda feel. There are lots of book shops and cafes and the choice in food (as you rightly say, lots of Lebanese, Indian, etc places) is excellent. The buses are frequent and plentiful but (at least where we are) is only a 20 minute walk to Darling Harbour, so you don't have to use them.

Anyway, you planning on heading out for the meet Soapy's trying to organise?

Nichola
I liked Glebe for that very reason, my BIL used to live there.

Good luck with the move.

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Old Mar 25th 2005, 5:32 am
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Default Re: FYI: Renting / Leased accommodation in Aus

Having moved into our rented place yesterday (yay!!!!), I thought I'd finish this thread off by adding the last bit of info I've learnt. (Again, this may well just by Sydney - or even agent - specific, but just to give you some ideas ...)

The bond (four weeks' rent) is paid not to the agent, but to the rental bond board. This is a government run agency and means that your money is safely looked after and not just instantly viewed as extra profit by an unscrupulous landlord. They also mediate in cases of dispute. And you even get some interest back when they return your bond! (A whole 5 cents or whatever!)

Rent is caluculated by the following formula:

Rent = X per week
X is divided by seven to get the amount of rent per day = Y
Y is multiplied by the number of days in a year, so normally 365 (but obviously taking into account whether it's a leap year) = Z
Z is divided by 12 to give the monthly rental amount

This method means that the figures will be slightly different to if you've just timed X by 52 and divided by 12.

Oh, the equivilant of council tax (at least in our case) is paid by the landlord. I think this is standard practice though?

And fridges are not normally provided. Apparently. But our new fridge ($700 from Myer - Easter Sale! And Aussie built, she was keen to point out) comes on Wednesday (curse bank holiday weekends! )

Think that's about it ...

GG
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Old Mar 25th 2005, 5:40 am
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Default Re: FYI: Renting / Leased accommodation in Aus

Great thread, helped us loads. We are at the stage where we are trying to find a suitable rental close to the kids school while we wait for the council to approve our building plans.

Cheers again.
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Old Mar 25th 2005, 5:49 am
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Default Re: FYI: Renting / Leased accommodation in Aus

Originally Posted by Shelley29
We are heading for the sunshine coast in about five months and once our house is sold in between this time (hoping) we intend to move into my parents house with them. I know it's technically not renting but do you think a letter from my dad saying we were good tenants would count as a kind of reference. I suppose they aren't to know that he's my dad cause name is different. Do you think this is feasible?

Thanks

Shelley
We also owned our own house & had no references in Australia (which was what our landlord required). We only knew two people here & it had been arranged for us to stay with them for a while via a mutual non-Australian friend. Despite them only having known us for 3 weeks, the landlord asked them for a reference and gave us the property on the basis of their reference. I know that a friend came over without references and told the agent that either she helped them with a house or they'd be sleeping in their car that night as they simply couldn't stay in a hotel for another night - the agent rushed the thing through with the landlord & they moved in that night without having produced a single reference.
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Old Mar 25th 2005, 7:04 am
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Default Re: FYI: Renting / Leased accommodation in Aus

Were looking to rent short term untill we buy but currently own property so no refrences. Any idea how to get around that bit!!
Also does anyone know if there is any truth in 'In Oz you can almost walk into an agents when buying and leave with the keys' Is it really that quick??
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Old Mar 25th 2005, 7:04 am
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Default Re: FYI: Renting / Leased accommodation in Aus

Hi Nichola & Patrick
Gr8 news to hear you're settled in to your new home. Hope your travels went well. Keep us updated.
Karen x
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Old Mar 25th 2005, 10:41 am
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Default Re: FYI: Renting / Leased accommodation in Aus

I've recently started renting in Melbourne (SE Suburbs) and all sounds fairly similar to what others have said.

Definitely the best option is to get on realestate.com.au first thing daily and see what comes on, also then you locate some agents' websites for the area you're looking in and keep an eye on them.

Advice I had from Aussie friends who rent was to visit quite a few agents and even if they had nowhere you liked the look of view at least one property, that way you have a contact to phone and they are more likely to let you know when they get something new about to come on the market (that's how I found my place in the end, got called the day before it went on realestate.com)

Also I found that when looking at vacant properties it is usually a case of show your passport, hand over between $50-100 deposit for the keys and go and look at it on your own, nice to be able to have a poke around without an agent breathing down your neck.

As Mrs GG mentioned I didn't see one place with a fridge or washing machine included. Some very modern places may have a built in kitchen but be prepared to buy a fridge so don't forget a tape measure to check the size of the 'ole for white goods. If you are shipping your washing machine then the hoses are the same fittings here as in the UK so it will connect straight up with just a change of plug on the electric string.

I never got asked for an agents' fee just a month rent in advance and a month's rent for the bond which as previously mentioned goes to a Government bond agency.

I have heard that in NSW it is common to be asked for a bond by the utility companies when first signing up but that doesn't happen here in Victoria.

All the places I looked at would only accept 12 month tenancy agreements, I never thought to offer 6 months cash up front but the agent said if you were to move out after 6 months they might charge you for advertising but most places are rented out quite quickly so something could be sorted out.

Same in Victoria as Mrs GG mentioned about Sydney, council rates are paid by the landlord which is one less bill to worry about. One thing for when you are unpacking a lot of people don't know ( I didn't) if your removal company offers a free return pickup of packaging use it, the recycling centres/tips here charge per load, depending on what it is I've paid between $5-15 for a boot and back seat full of rubbish. If it's your local council recycling site take some proof of address as they usually give a discount for local residents.

If you have pets make sure you mention it, not all ads say if they will take them or not, and I found it varied between asking for an extra bond to a written undertaking to put right any damage they cause.

Regarding references I had never rented before but the agent I rented through was quite happy with one reference off of an Aussie friend as long as they had known me over two years.

One thing I did find was a lot of agents really didn't want to give out any info unless they had to, using the 'I've just arrived in the country and want some info on renting and how to go about it' seemed to get a grunt and a copy of their rental list thrown across the counter followed by a total lack of interest.

The only two I found who actually sat me down and went through their standard tenancy agreement and all the details were Barry Plant Docherty in Berwick and NR Reid in Glen Waverley. I'm renting through the latter and if anyone is looking in this area would wholeheartedly recommend them, their staff are friendly and helpful and I had a problem this month with a delayed bank txfer from the UK and the delay was no problem at all.

Last edited by Flying Banana; Mar 25th 2005 at 10:48 am. Reason: Spelling
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Old Mar 25th 2005, 12:11 pm
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Default Re: FYI: Renting / Leased accommodation in Aus

Excellent post.......w must have been lucky when we were lookin for a rental cos we had none of the above.

I went to the real estate agents...got the lists then walked round tham and sed I want to see this this and this, and i want to see them today...the ones that came back and sed ok no probs I went to see......they took me, I dont drive!!!

We owned our house in Scotland for 18 years so had no rental references....no probs

House we picked originally was up for $285 a week, I went round the neighbours that night....Oh its been empty for about three months, but at that price no wonder ....hmmm I thot....I went in with a price of $260 a week....accepted that day.....shit i wish i went lower.

Bond was 4 weeks up front....no worries....we will have been here a year in July...rent still the same....on monthly comtracts now tho cos our house is gettin built. One word of advice.....dont let the agents bully u into signing stuff and paying the asked rent........barter thats what Aussies like to do.........Go and ask neighbours how long the property has been available, then use that in your favour and get a good price!!!!
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Old Mar 25th 2005, 12:14 pm
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Default Re: FYI: Renting / Leased accommodation in Aus

forgot to say.......when u r thinkin of buying....if u like a real estate agent but they dont list the property u r after, as long as the sign outside the house doesnt say exclusive agency....u just roll up to ur preferred agent with the address u r interested in and they can then approach the sellers for u
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Old Mar 30th 2005, 10:34 am
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Default Re: FYI: Renting / Leased accommodation in Aus

Picked up a leaflet a couple of days ago, which highlighted a website some may find useful? Might be a bit of an idiot's guide, but a starting point for people considering NSW:

http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/re...terenting.html

GG
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Old Mar 30th 2005, 10:49 am
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Default Re: FYI: Renting / Leased accommodation in Aus

Also apartments carry a Strata Fee , which basically counts as some sort of maintenance on the building, this can be $200-300 per quarter, however when renting the landlord pays this.
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Old Mar 30th 2005, 1:41 pm
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Default Re: FYI: Renting / Leased accommodation in Aus

Another tip for anyone moving in to a rental property - when you first arrive check EVERYTHING against the inventory/contract, and if you have a digital camera take photos of every little mark, and every nook and cranny. A friend who rents out a couple of units gave me this tip - she said take loads of photos, keep them on disc, then you can prove what the property looked like when you moved in. Could be invaluable when reclaiming your bond.
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Old Mar 30th 2005, 2:01 pm
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Default Re: FYI: Renting / Leased accommodation in Aus

Originally Posted by Geordie George
Hi all,

So, having got here, I thought I'd share what I've newly-learnt about renting a place in Australia:

Rental places are advertised on a daily basis. You pick up a list of properties from agents' offices. (So don't be surprised if you get asked to come back for information regarding rental properties; it just means they've not printed the list for that day off yet.) Rental prices are shown in $ per week, not per month.

Viewings are an en-mass affair: the agent arranges with the tenant an agreed date/time (often on a Saturday) and everyone interested in that property turns up at once and has a look around. Obviously designed to keep the disruption to the tenants to a minimum, but it means that the sense of competition amongst potential new tenants is fierce. Keen potential tenants may employ tactics designed to put others off (comments like, 'It's a bit small' or 'There's not a lot of natural light', to get you to see only the negative aspects of the place and stop you applying for it - thereby reducing their competition). Of course, such tactics have never been employed by the GG's, who are honest people and would never resort to such measures.

If you're interested in a place, you apply for it. If it's a nice place, so do three other people. It's then entirely up to the landlord as to who s/he decides they want to move in. The points below are useful in helping swing their decision, if you can provide the things at the time of application.

If you were renting a property in Britain, bring copies of references from the agent/landlord. If you rented more than one place, multiple referees are required, so bring 'em all! (If the UK agent tries to fob you off that they ordinarily only provide references to named others, rather than providing an open reference, explain the situation and try to convince them otherwise!) These will be checked, but it helps speed up the process.

If you are planning to get a house before getting a job, make sure that you have copies of recent bank statements available showing that you can cover the entire rental period. Ideally, this should be for an account that you're not using for day-to-day living expenses, as then they can see that the account won't be depleted just by living.

To get a house taken off the market and ensure that the agent doesn't show it to other people while your references are being checked out, you pay a holding fee of one week's rent. If your application is successful, it counts towards the rent during your tenancy; if it's unsuccessful, it's returned to you. Should you change your mind whilst the property is off the market, the agent returns the money to you minus one day's rent for each day the property was off the market.

Once your application for a place has been deemed suitable, you pay a bond (four week's rent), the rent and (if applicable) the agent's fee. I have yet to see an agent's fee of above $15.

At the moment, we're at the 'just lodged our application and had the property withdrawn from the market stage'. It's all looking good, as we met the owner of the property and, as he was British (you move 12,000 miles ...), he liked us. So, having got here on Saturday, we'd found a place to rent by Friday. A pretty storming week by all accounts. Of course, it helped that we'd pre-decided which area we wanted to live in before we left the UK (Glebe, Sydney) and had booked our first few days in a hostel in that area to acquaint ourselves with it and check we like it (which we do - I don't care what anyone says about the inner-West 'burbs, Glebe is ace! ); made the search area a lot smaller.

Of course, this is just our experience. Others might be able to share more, especially if this is just Sydney-specific info? Still, I thought it might give a few pointers.

Hope it's useful to someone and not just me rambling on to myself (as usual, I know ).

Nichola

Cracking thread - many thanks for taking the time
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Old Mar 30th 2005, 6:04 pm
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Default Re: FYI: Renting / Leased accommodation in Aus

Originally Posted by Pollyana
Another tip for anyone moving in to a rental property - when you first arrive check EVERYTHING against the inventory/contract, and if you have a digital camera take photos of every little mark, and every nook and cranny. A friend who rents out a couple of units gave me this tip - she said take loads of photos, keep them on disc, then you can prove what the property looked like when you moved in. Could be invaluable when reclaiming your bond.
Good advice too.

M
 

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