tiger222

We are planning our move to NSW in August. We have the 100 points that is required to get a permanent. We also have references from our bank here in the US. My husband is the breadwinner. He has a good job here in the US and is willing to continue with it for several weeks while I take the family to OZ to get established.

The question is: Is it better for him to be earning a wage - even if it is in the US - Or should he be present and seeking employment in AUS at the time of the rental application?

Thanks for your input

freebo

Having a job in Australia makes it much easier to get a rental. I'm sure it must be possible to do so without but often rental agents only show the home once a week, in 15 mins to all interested parties and you have to apply there & then. I've seen 70 people looking round the same house at the same time, and about 20 of them queuing to apply, the owner then chooses which applicant they want based on their paperwork. You also need paperwork for each adult who will be living there, even if married (which seemed strange to us). This includes 100 points of ID, i.e. passport, bank statement, employment contract, driving license etc, each not per couple.

A good tip is to have a "pack" containing all your refernces, statements, employment contract etc with you when viewing a property so you can apply there and then. There is so much demand for good rentals (and even for some bad ones) that the real estate agents don’t have to bother to try too hard with unusual cases, and that’s exactly what they do.

Finding a nice rental in Sydney is difficult, even if you’re prepared to spend $1,000 per week. Good properties tend to go immediately.

tiger222

1 vote for "get a job in Sydney first" Having the "good job" in USA won't be convincing enough. Thanks, Freebo

freebo

Just an observation really but a "good job" overseas doesn't tend to carry as much weight as an "average job" in Australia, also when applying for work here. I've heard many people say they struggled to find their first job despite an impeccable CV because lots of employers discount overseas experience. For my part I applied for one or two which I was very qualified for & didn’t get a response, then was lucky to land a “good job” before I got here which started with a recommendation from an ex-collegue from the UK who moved over before me.

Please note, I’m not saying it’s impossible, just much easier if you have local documentation.

Scotty1

We didn't have a job but did have to show money in the bank. However regional NSW is not the same as Sydney and competition for property much less.

tiger222

Scotty -

That's interesting about "money in the bank" is there a dollar amount they're looking for? We're going to be looking for housing in the Central Coast - about 1.5 hours north of Sydney.

Do you think it's better that he's working "somewhere" while I get settled?

tiger222

In our case, OH had a job in Sydney in 2009 which he worked for 6 months before we returned to the US. I'm hoping his Australia experience counts toward landing a "good job" straight off.

We've been told that he can't really apply for opportunities until he's on the ground in Sydney. It looks like that is not your experience though.....

freebo

Nothing stopping him applying but many companies don't seem to take you seriously unless you're already here, I'm sure it varies though, like if he's an emminent brain surgeon I'm sure it'll be no problem

The way I got my job was through someone I had worked with in the UK and who had come over here last year, she reccomended me to the company I now work for, I then had i) Technical exam, ii) phone interview, iii) video interview, iv) psycometric test, v) final phone interview, vi) detailed background check and very detailed references (this was 50(!) written questions to my referees, who had to be previous managers). It took 2 months from start to job offer, and I started work a week after arriving in Sydney.

Scotty1

I showed them enough money in Oz dollars in an australian account to cover the period of the lease and some more. I wasn't specifically asked for this, I just thought it would cover the absence of employment issue and it did. They took a copy of the statement and showed the landlord who was perfectly happy. I would have also been prepared to pay 6 months up front if there was going to be a problem but this again was not asked for and I didn't offer. Not sure about housing on central coast, but I did look regularly on domain and real estate to check out the rental market and to see how long the sort of property I was interested in was around for.
Good luck with the move