Hi

We moved to Sydney in Dec and its turning into a nightmare. We are trying to find somewhere to live and the problem is with 15+ people going for any decent property we don't seem to be high on the application list with no credit history here. We even offered to pay 6 months in advance and were declined.

Also each application required submission of bank records/passports etc - a little worried about submitting these to different estate agents.

Any advice on how to get around this?

Thanks

Deep breaths. We had a similar experience when we arrived, astonished at the competition for places. What we found useful...

1) Get friendly with the agents - that way you may get to hear about places before or as they come onto the market. That may also allow you to explain your situation (can move in quickly; they tell landlord that you're a nice family etc) and the Agent may also be able to tell you what to do to get the place (e.g. offer $50 more or a year long contract). That worked for us.

2) Have written references with you on each visit. We had three references from friends in good positions vouching for us. As we were renting in the UK we got a reference from the Agent handling our property saying we were decent folk, well maintained house, good to deal with etc. If you've sold in the UK perhaps get a reference email from your Agent. The Agents here appreciated that as it allowed them to move things along quickly.

3) Have details (phone numbers, emails addresses, bank accounts etc) of all contacts with you - bank, friends etc.

4) If you can then offer slightly more (doesn't need to be much) or a longer contract that's likely to help.

5) Be flexible on what you are looking for and the area - if you can.

6) Don't panic. We looked at over 35 places and became less fussy as we went. Also learned how to play the game. The first property is the hardest. You will find one.

Good luck.
Col

Renting in Brissie is a nightmare, and I just couldn't cope with going via Realestate - the agencies treat renters like dirt here. May be different in Sydney. What I did was drive round to find housing estates I liked and asked directly at the managers office if they had vacancies coming up. Sometimes you can work out potential estate locations on realestate.com website. This worked really well for us (got a hit first one we checked) and we competed with no-one for our property. Not as nice as a standalone house, but far less painful

What he said!
You'll get there!

Good Luck
When we was looking for rentals 20 odd people would turn up to viewings it was a nightmare but just keep at it and something will come up.

Well said Haggis you've summed it up really.

OP: Don't feel despondent. Few people get over this particular hurdle with ease. It has to be one of the most stressful stages of migration: getting that place to call home. So much rests on securing the property first. Don't give up - your lucky break will come

Here, have some "get a new home" k....

As said above I think it's a numbers game and as you get more experienced you become more perceptive. Like with any transaction, research and a bit of patience are the key. It's important to keep your chin up though and play to your strengths because you're committing to a 6 to 12 month contract and you don't want to weaken your position for the sake of saving a week or whatever of looking.

I sympathise with you. That is the real problem with accomodation here. When I was looking, I was turning up to viewings that were attracting 60 or 70 people. Keep trying something will turn up.

Talk to people that you work with as lots of them have investment properties - cut out the agent. That's how I managed to get one. Problem most rental properties are completely empty so you have to furnish it from scratch.

Sympathies, most stressful.

Another thought...

The last rental we had, we got because I managed to wrangle a viewing before the Open For Inspection. Not saying it works every time, but in our case it helped.

I had registered with that particular agent and got their email updates. The morning the house was advertised I got the email and rang the agent straight away. They told me that the OFI was for the following Thursday. I couldn't go on that day and so kind of pleaded (I have young children and work committments, blahdihblah) and they agreed to show me through on the Wednesday. I struck up a nice conversation with the agent on that day, we put in the application that evening, OH went to OFI the next day and we got it! Agent did say that she didn't foresee any problems with our application being accepted but as the OFI had already been advertised, they had to go through with it. Goes to show that getting on the agent's good side helps a bit... Not always though and most REAs are still scumbags

Absolutely agree - we had a rental for our first year - newly arrived, no credit rating (very healthy bank balance though...) no references as we'd owned for years in the UK.

Struck up a relationship with an agent, scored a viewing before the OFI had been advertised (crucial) met the owners - who for reasons best known to themselves, liked the look of us - and moved in a week later.

We'd only looked at half a dozen before that - pretty lucky I know, but getting tight with the agent is the best thing you can do - worked just the same when we bought. We offered and had it accepted before the OFI.

I think it important to point out that the folks facilitating inspections at weekends are not usually the agents, they're usually just hired bodies. We also secured our latest rental on a private inspection with the agent who approved us off hand without deferring to the owner.

More thoughts on this from someone who's secured a rental only six weeks ago. I would say the following advice from others as well as personal conclusions worked for/helped us:

1. Build relationships with the EAs.
2. Get references from everyone you can think of including your EA in the UK if they are renting your property out over there on your behalf.
3. Produce a good covering letter for each application describing your "desirable tenant" credentials.
4. Get advance viewings if possible.
5. Show bank statements and offer 6 months advance payment.
6. Be well-presented and make sure your kids are well-behaved at viewings.
7. Stand positively out from the crowd at every possible step of the way.
8. Be very organised and methodical.
9. Don't be too desperate to accept any property or one at too high a rental price. There's no point in grabbing something that's going to make you unhappy/poor for the next 6+ months.
10. Take rejection on the chin and don't be put off by it or take it personal. Learn from it if you can.
11. See this as something that nearly every new migrant to Australia struggles with.
12. Don't give up - work hard towards your goal and have faith that you'll find and secure the right home in the end.

Good luck

I think arriving in December was probably unfortunate timing to add to your woes. It is definitely not a fun part of the whole process. Australia is full of immigrants and we all arrive here without credit history so don't worry about this.

The first week we were here we felt like we kept just missing out on place, but that is because we were looking at the wrong time of the week, had just missed open houses and most decent houses will go the first time they are open.

After that we focused on open house listings on Thurs / Fri only and worked out which ones we would view that Saturday.

We put together a pack of information and a covering letter about ourselves, we included bank statements, job offers, a two line letter from the agent renting out house in UK and of course our id. You need to get over your concerns about providing this if you want to get anywhere.

The other thing I did if I saw a house I liked was to more or less cut and paste my covering letter into the online enquiry form about the house. I think all the agents returned my query and we lined up private viewings, I do recommend trying to get private viewings rather than do the open houses. We managed to get quite a few and that is how we did find our house in the end.

Good luck.

I believe your tips helped me. Thanks