How difficult is it to find a long term (6 months +) rental in Melbourne?
 

The whole process of finding a long term rental when we arrive in Melbourne is starting to really stress me out. Is it as difficult as people make out?, ie. is there that bad a shortage of rental's in Melbourne?

We arrive December 15th and have 4 weeks temporary accommodation booked (we being myself, wife and one child of 8). We do not, as yet, have jobs sorted which makes things really difficult, not just because of the lack of income, but also because we do not know what area of Melbourne to look for housing as we do not know where we will be commuting to for work. Ideally we hope to pick somewhere commutable to the CDB as we think that will be where we will find work. We plan on renting where we can afford to buy as the last thing we want to have to do is find a school for my son and then have to move him at a later stage.

So can I ask is it really difficult to find a nice place to rent which is reasonable (say $350-$400ish pw commutable to CBD).

Our plan of action is to travel around when we arrive and try to get a feel for the place to pick a suburb to rent in and eventually buy. Is this a good plan? What did you do?

Re: How difficult is it to find a long term (6 months +) rental in Melbourne?
 

Renting is not difficult in Melbourne... just look at some real-estate websites like www.realestate.com.au to see that you'll find something within that price range.
In my opinion, it's ludicrous to buy straight away when you don't know a city well...so, yes..you're doing the right thing.
We've been here nearly 3 years, and it's only in the last 18 months that we have found he ideal place for us regarding jobs, culture etc. :)

Re: How difficult is it to find a long term (6 months +) rental in Melbourne?
 

We found several places within your price range to rent pretty much immediately and were accepted for all we applied for - now living in Mordialloc, Bayside.

Buzzy

Re: How difficult is it to find a long term (6 months +) rental in Melbourne?
 

I would be concerned about the time you arrive ie just before xmas.

Re: How difficult is it to find a long term (6 months +) rental in Melbourne?
 

We arrived in Melbourne 2 years ago in December, so were faced with a similar predicament. We booked into an apartment for a week and started looking at rentals the day we arrived. We found a place, it wasn't a perfect house, but it was in an areathat we ended up buying in.

Iwould get a letter from your bank in UK stating that you have held an account with them, been a good customer and they would recommend for you for rental etc.. we had this and we rented no problem.

Re: How difficult is it to find a long term (6 months +) rental in Melbourne?
 

The key is to identify the area(s) you want to live in beforehand.

Melbourne is a big place so you won't have time to see the place at the same time as finding somewhere. If you are happy to commute then pick regions based on travel time via rail initially. Also, if you want to live near the bayside this again reduces your options. Having done the search myself anywhere in the south-east corner from the City is fine.

There is plenty of property on the market and just like in the UK, it's all about timing. I think the market will be fairly quiet over the festive period as most people don't want the hassle of moving at the same time as doing the normal Christmas activities and it's the main holiday period here.

Good luck.