PandaQueen

Hello, everyone!

I am a British citizen coming to Australia in September on a Working Holiday Visa. My partner, an Australian citizen, is coming with me, and we are wanting to rent a place.

I'm REALLY worried, because apparently it's really hard for overseas people to rent despite my partner being Australian. The people I have spoke to says I should wait until I'm there, but we'll have no where to go. I've booked us into a hotel for 4 days, but I'm worried we won't find somewhere by the time we need to go. We're moving to Adelaide.

If anyone could give me advice, I'd be grateful.

What I also need to know, is, what evidence will I need? I currently have these:

1) Proof of Income (I can take my job with me) - technically it is self-employed, so will I have to show any particulars? I don't have an accountant, so all I have is bank statements of the money going in monthly.

2) Driver's license (UK) - my partner can't drive.

3) References from my bosses (I have 2 of them).

It's worth mentioning I haven't officially paid rent as I've lived with my grandparents for 3 years, though I did live at university on my own for 1 year about 4 years ago.

My partner will not have a job until we get there. I make about AUD$3050 a month, not including bonuses (though my bonuses aren't big), and my bosses sort out the tax, etc, so I have not much to do with it.

Is there anything else I need?

Thank you so much!

Zen10

We didn't have any problems renting when we moved to Adelaide. We took a short-term rental to start with which we were in for about two or three months, and then moved to a long-term place. You could think about doing something like that.

jackieh23

If you make $3050 a month (gross or net?) either way, it won't go far. Perhaps consider sharing?

Have a look on www.gumtree.com.au for rentals & house sharing. DO NOT SEND MONEY in response to any advertisement. Sorry for shouting but some ads are scams and people have been sucked in. I obtained our rental property in Adelaide through gumtree -private arrangement was great.

As you are on a working holiday visa, consider house sitting as well. Means looking after someone's property and pets but save a heap of money.

A few sites to start you off:

http://www.trustedhousesitters.com/h..._to_country=AU

http://www.aussiehousesitters.com.au/

Relating to what landlords/agents require - they want to be happy you can pay your rent. Therefore proof of funds or the ability to pay is required. One agent said to me - "Whatever it takes - bank statements showing regular deposits; a big chunk of money in an account etc". The landlord we had in Adelaide went on gut feeling - he trusted me (and vv) and I never did provide anything to show I could pay, even though I offered to provide documentation....

KJCherokee

Check out Gumtree - lots of rentals on there where you deal directly with the owner and not through an agent. Always best to negotiate directly with the boss, much more likely to find one who will accept you for what you are rather than demand you stick to the rulebook.

GarryP

It's really hard for indians and asians to rent. And aussie too, to an extent. Basically it's down to stereotypes and strangely Brits have a good reputation for keeping the place clean and not annoying the neighbours. So make sure you look quiet, tidy, and keep the aussie partner quiet.

Took me longer than 4 days, more like 6 weeks to find the right place, in amongst other stuff. Has a short term holiday let, which should be cheap at this time of year.

Just gave the agent a look at my aussie bank balance at the inspection, no hassle.

No interest in who you are IIRC

References from landlords are obviously better, but its more a paper chase to make it look like the agent has been doing some work, so don't sweat it.

Find a rental agent in the area and you usually find a 'rental application form' on their site, that will show you the obnoxious level of information they look for. You will likely find you will need a printer to go with a laptop you take with you. I got a multifunction inkjet jobbie when I got here so I could print out forms, copies of references, etc. as well as fax the form (yep, some of the agencies are that ancient).

Oh, and they will usually offer a 'switch services' thing to deal with taking up electricity, gas, water, etc. - personally I didn't bother since I could research and pick the best options, rather than being stuck with whoever was paying them the most backhander. And as far as broadband is concerned there is a wrinkle with Telstra. You can get a landline, but if you have no credit history they won't give you broadband. But getting the landline is enough credit history to then get broadband - so either get your BB elsewhere, or wait a short while and then apply for BB after they recognise you exist.

asher

check out domain.com and realestate.com too

you can always stay in a backpackers hostel for a couple of weeks. i wouldn't rent anything sight unseen as most places look hugely different in real life.

Few places want to rent for less than 6 months but there are some 3 month rentals occasionally

PandaQueen

Thanks for all your responses, guys!

The only problem I am having is that I need an apartment quickly, because of my job (it's a work-at-home job) and need internet and a direct phone line. I'm really unhappy about moving because it has suddenly become so complex. I seriously was naive, but I thought it would only take 4 days to sort out an apartment!

I looked for private short-term rental on Gumtree, but there was only about 3 suitable finds, and I haven't heard back from them which makes me think there's none left! *Entering panic mode*

I have enough money to get a nice apartment in the city in Adelaide and proof to show my income, etc, so I'm hoping that will be enough for the agents. Hoping it will be quick. But, as your advice is making me consider this is not the case, I turned to short-term and can't find anything

So stressful!

Pollyana

Being " on the ground " and talking with agents face to face will be a lot better than dealing from a distance. Rent somewhere for the first few days as a holiday let and be prepared to extend it, but you may find somewhere good quickly once you are here.
A phone line might be in, or might take a while, they aren't fast here, but you can get mobile broadband dongles and mobile phones fast so at least you can get online quickly.

Bring photocopies - certified if possible -of the main ID paperwork, then at least you won't need to run around sorting that out.

Zen10

Also, when you take a place, go around on the first day and take pictures and videos, all time-stamped, with forensic attention to detail of everything in the property, from skirting boards to the inside of the oven and behind the sink. Then tell the landlord/agent that you have made a full record of everything for your own records. It might not be needed, but believe me, it might be and you'll be glad you did it!

old.sparkles

Are you looking for furnished or unfurnished - we booked a holiday let for 4 weeks through homeaway. We also picked up a wifi hub that is rechargeable but not a lot of data allowance - we're in Adelaide and you would be welcome to it if it would help (needs recharging obviously but saves an initial outlay for the dongle). In terms of budget, the holiday let was around $600 week including utilities. Now we're in a standard rental average costs are around $2k month

scrudu

Hmmm ... have you considered that on top of getting an apartment that you'll have to sort out a landline and an internet connection? These will definitely take longer than 3 days to complete. You may have to look into using public internet facilities (e.g. libraries, some public buildings, some streets) and using a mobile phone for the first while.

Not trying to put you off, but it's very doubtful you'll find a place and be moved in within 4 days. It's an owners world out here, and you'll likely be offered to come to viewings which are set up for 1 or 2 days a week. Basically you go to domain.com.au/realestate.com.au and "register your interest" quoting your local mobile number. Once a viewing is organised, you'll receive an sms telling you when the viewing is organised. We found it near impossible to get an agent to come outside of the official viewing times to show us rental properties.

It also depends on when the property is actually available. Usually rental properties are shown in the last 2 weeks of tenancy so the place may not be available until a week or two after you view it.

In short, you can hope for the best, but if you really have to start working 4 days after you arrive here, I'd suggest trying to find an alternative for where you can work.

The advice that others have given r/e holiday rentals is spot on. They are more likely to be available immediately, will be furnished and may have internet organised. Most rental properties here are unfurnished, so you may not be ready to move into one after only 4 days on the ground.

KJCherokee

At the end of 1998 we moved back from Brisbane to Adelaide. I was working in Myanmar at the time so SWMBO packed up everything in Brisbane and had the removalists put it in storage in Adelaide whilst she drove down to her parents in Sydney for Christmas. I flew into Sydney, then on Boxing day we drove across to Adelaide and booked into a hotel for the night. Next day (27th Dec) we started the round of agents (those that were actually open!) looking for a rental, because if we didn't find something we could move into by 31st we wouldn't get our stuff out of storage until after I had to fly back to Myanmar. Believe it or not, we managed to find somewhere - not a great place, but adequate, down in Clapham on Springbank Road, and stayed there for 4 months (well, SWMBO did - I was there for a fortnight in that time!) until we moved into the house we bought in Blackwood.

So quick short term rentals are (or were) possible - as long as you are not too fussy!

Mike at Taree

How many GB of data will you require for your work at home? With pretty good coverage nowadays you can always go with a prepaid mobile plan with the likes of Aldi Mobile (available nationwide even though Aldi stores aren't in SA as yet) and get unlimited mobile phone calls plus 5 GB of data per month for $35.

If you have a smartphone such as a Galaxy S-whatever you can set it as a WiFi hotspot and work your laptop or desktop off that at quite acceptable speeds for most business applications.

So you don't need to be hard wired into ADSL.

Alfresco

Internet dongles will be the best bet if there's a good signal.

spouse of scouse

Whatever you do, don't panic! Try airbnb, I entered 1 month from 12 September but you just adjust the dates to suit yourself. Lots of private rooms with internet etc, and one 'garden flat' under someone's house that is less than $300 a week, including internet, electric etc. Looks like about a 20 minute bus ride into Adelaide though. Good luck! https://www.airbnb.com.au/s/Adelaide...-2013&guests=2

Ooops, meant to add that I've used airbnb for holiday rentals around the world and have never had a problem with them. They also hold onto your money until after you've arrived at the place, so you can tell them if you're not satisfied. This might be a good option for you as the accommodation is furnished, right down to the linen and towels, so you know how much you're up for while you look for a permanent rental. Hope it helps a bit.