cookiestar

We've never actually rented a home before - always owned, but we're planning on taking out a lease when we first arrive in Brisbane until we decide where we want to commit to living longer term.

Will we need references? Since we've never rented before we won't be able to get any from previous landlords? What kind of other people would we be able to get them from if they are indeed required?

Also - 6 month lease-type homes - we're not likely to get one that has basic furniture in it are we? They're generally completely unfurnished (including white goods) I understand? How did people cope with this until their container with their belongings arrived? Current plan is to air freight some basics (crockery, cutlery, towels, bedding) and buy a bed and a couple of chairs, and basically "camp" until our furniture arrives - going by previous experiences, does this sound feasible?

Sorry for the millions of questions Hope some people can share their experiences and help.

Daydreamer123

Try something like Fantastic Furniture, they do packs of furniture for a house, so bed, sofa, table and chairs etc for something like $1000. We should have done that, but instead we tried to live in an empty house with only an airbed till our things arrived, it was terrible!
We didnt bring our white goods with they werent new and we knew we would probably need when we got here, so we bought a fridge and washing machine straight away.
Another option would be to rent the furniture - I havent done this but I believe that you can rent everything you need.
We didnt have a reference, but having jobs lined up helped, we were probably lucky but we got the first the house we wanted.

pompeyblonde

Do a search as this has come up before. However, bascially its money thats the clincher, if you have a bank statement with loads of cash and say offer to pay three months in advance that will help.

get a ref form the mortgage company and job references too, the more the better...

Good luck

TrickyTree

We have never had to show a reference for renting a place (Brisbane) we offered to pay a few months rent up front when we initially came over and suddenly as if by magic most of the red tape and questions no longer seemed to apply.

There are furnished rentals out there but as you say most are unfurnished. Just keep looking at real estate and SEQ rents for ideas.

http://www.realestate.com.au/

http://www.seqrents.com.au/

dave99

All you need is cash, money talks. With no references just show a bank statement proving you have money to cover rent and they will be glad to have you, its always worked for me in the past

slipshot

Ditto for us. We stayed with family for the first two months though. However, when I lived here before I rented all stuff from Complete Rentals - big chain who handle everything for you. Did enough but they like long term deals and if you have stuff arriving you will pay through the nose for a short rental.

Better to buy limited stuff to survive upon arrival and maybe rent a few key things but to reduce the cost. Live frugally for a few months and then your container will be here.

And always ad on about 2 weeks after the container lands before you receive it - with delivery delays, customs, AQIS etc it all takes time...

Dreamy

We used a friend who works for the Aussie Government and OHs boss for references, but they never contacted either.

We found writing 'willing to pay 3 months rent upfront' at the top of every rental application page to be more than adequate

We bought a telly, kitchen stuff, a fridge and beds.. and beanbags. Suffice to say if I never sit on another bean bag it will be too soon.

SamSi

Our agent never bothered checking our references either. I've acted as a referee for some friends and the agent did actually ring me but literally all they asked was how long I'd known them for and in my opinion were they trustworthy. So nothing to panic over. For the furniture etc - personally I wouldn't bother air freighting anything, it's so expensive. I reckon it's better to ship your stuff from the UK say 2 months before you fly, beg borrow and steal stuff from friends/family to survive on whilst you're still in the UK, pack some towels and picnic plates/cutlery and bare essentials into your luggage (even if you only have the 20kg limit instead of 40) to use when you get to Brisbane and with any luck your container should arrive not long after you do so you won't have to go without for too long. Or, if it's delayed you can perfectly acceptable household basics from Kmart, Big W etc for next to nothing. We initially went to Brisbane and my regret was not packing more household stuff into my luggage - I packed far too many clothes most of which I never wore.

K14

If you're rented unfurnished then you usually get a cooker and sometimes a dishwasher (if it's built in) other than that you have to get your own fridge freezer washing machine etc.

We bought some cheap cutlery/crockery from Woolies over here ($56 for a box of plates, bowls, glasses cutlery) and a couple of cheap saucepans etc. We survived with a few camping chairs $10 each and camp beds until we got our stuff. Oh and a cheap camping table and chairs set.

Was sooooo nice to see our furniture when it finally arrived!

Good luck.

cookiestar

Brilliant. Thanks so much for the very helpful replies. We'll have a pretty healthy bank balance when we move, so will offer to pay 3 months rent upfront.

Living with the basics will be difficult, but it's good to hear that others have managed doing this.

kar-kier

I would def agree with the poster to said to ship early and live with minimum till you leave - your own home with next to nothing in it is much better than somewhere totally strange and empty. We lived with family for 3 months - true it was utter hell, but our container was delivered the day after we got the keys to the house!

ramlmmjem

We've just found somewhere furnished through http://www.realestateowners.net.au/search.asp
although I was asked for an employer's reference. (Maybe three months rent in advance would ovbiate the need or I think they would then have gone for a UK-based reference via email.)

We'll stay there for 6 months (which halved their normal weekly rate) and then look for somewhere unfurnished once the furniture arrives.

Anyway, the site is for owner renters and you remove the estate agent hastle (one said to us they couldn't rent 'sight unseen' - not sure whether that meant they wanted us to see the property or they wanted to see me!).

Good luck.

Alistair