Crikey!

Hey all, hope you are keeping cool and not melting in the UK heatwave (for those of us sat in our un-air conditioned offices!)

Just doing a bit of background on what to do with regards to renting in Bris. We are moving over in September (yike!) and decided to rent for at least 6-12 months before we buy our new home. We'd be grateful if anyone could give us more info on what is expected in terms of references (from employers and a character reference??), thatwe keep hearing about, and what the general craic is , that'd be much appreciated. Also if anyone knows any good/bad letting agents then a heads up would be really handy.

thank u kindly, have a great week y'all!
xx

ridds

I rented in Brisbane for years and was never once asked for a character reference... but maybe times have changed! A list of what I've always found useful to have on hand for estate agents (becuase they often ask for different things):

1. Statement of employment / salary slips... if you're not working at the time, a statement of employment from your previous employer stating how long you worked with them, in what position and (ideally) leaving salary. You may also have to supply details of your previous employer(s).
2. Current bank statement(s)
3. Drivers licence
4. Car rego number
5. Medicare number
6. Reference from previous landlord / letting agency, or copy of mortgage / rates statement if you owned your own home
7. Copies of water / electricity / gas / phone bills from previous property
8. Pet registration details (if you have a pet)

Being an immigrant, they would probably also *require* you to present your passport and visa. (Drivers licences are generally accepted as photo id for PRs.) If they do ask for a character reference, what about having a copy of the stat decs from friends / supporting letters you had from your visa application? That would probably do the trick.

The Residential Tenancies Authority (RTA) and the Real Estate Institute of Qld (REIQ) have loads of info on their websites to help Qld tenants understand their rights and obligations. (I'm assuming from your blog you're going to Brisvegas, if not there are similar bodies in each state.)

HTH

Crikey!

Hey thar - cheers for that list the OH will be impressed, he loves a checklist! I was wondering if our stat decs would be suitable for character refs, esp as they took such an effort to pull together !! We are just starting to get prepared and pull things together before the big move so that really helps.

Yep we are heading to Brisvegas, just looking into areas on our maps and we have one of those great "where to live" guides we got off the web which has been really helpful getting used to names and where places are. I think ideally we are looking north/north east bris suburbs - we have family in Redcliffe and Sandgate, but until we physically get there we just don't know. Whereabouts are you based? Any preferences/tips for the 'burbs?

Thx again!
x

ridds

I've lived all over... Albion, Kangaroo Point, Morningside, Newmarket, Indooroopilly, Toowong, Tennyson, Milton, Ascot, Clayfield, Capalaba, Gumdale, Spring Hill, Everton Park, Aspley to name a few! We'll be heading back to Sherwood (western suburbs), and hopefully staying put for a while I've not lived up in the "far north" but Sandgate and Redcliffe are nice areas - there seems to be a few people on here who live that way so they might be able to give you a better idea. The best advice I can give is to book some short term accommodation, drive around and see what takes your fancy, then try renting for a time to see if you actually like it. Sounds like this is kind of your plan anyway, so good on you!

Cheers

Crikey!

Blimey - you do get around, dare i ask why the many moves, it take it they haven't caught up with you yet! People do seem to be spread out all over, sure there is already plenty of advice in here somewhere if i can be bothered to search for it Your advice is happily received, can't wait to get started but bit scared at the same time!

We have our third member of the family doing porridge in quarantine in Sydney for our first month, so we are hoping to get something sorted by the time he comes out - can't wait to give him his first aussie beach-walk! We are looking at areas that have good doggie facilities, which the Bris council web pages happily provide - they have also been super handy.

Can I ask how long you have been in Bris and how you find it there? What do you like best about living there? Good luck with your move to Sherwood, say hi to the sheriff for us
xx

Centurion

If you move here from the UK the above long list will not be required. Usually all you will need is confirmation that you are employed (and thus able to meet the rent demands- reference or contract mainly proof of salary and ongoing employment). Better still if fund permit then simply offer to pay rental say 3/6 months in advance and you could just waive the need to produce anything.

The agent will not need to see a drivers licence/passport or heaps of previous statements like your mortgage statement from the UK. All they want to make sure is that you can pay the rent and are not a bunch of hoons. If someone asked me for my medicare number for example to rent a house I would tell them to get lost!!!

Agents do vary but dont sweat it - they are more interested in getting a property rented than checking documents that they are not entitled to see.

ridds

Sorry, didn't mean to imply that you needed everything on the list above - different agents ask for different things so I always find it easier to take everything along and then you're not scrabbling around trying to find a piece of information that they want that you don't have with you.

Crikey!

Hey thx for further tippage and good points on agents why can't things just be straight forward eh? One of your comments does concern me as neither my husband or I have jobs to go out to in Aus. We weren't planning on getting one as soon as the plane touched down, although we know the clock will be ticking. As we have the dog in Sydney we figured we might have up to a month where we couldn't commit to starting work straight away. Is this going to cause us major probs trying to rent??

No worries Ridds on the large list, these documents are useful for all sorts! We are of the opinion ourselves that it's better to be overprepared, 'cos they always seem to want the one document you don't have on you!

Be safe be seen!
x

Ozzy dog

Hi,

We rented in Brissy (Bayside area) about 18 months ago.

We were required to pay bond and six months rent up front as hubby didn't have a job at the time, (he is self employed Carpenter.) Basically we were told, you will have to pay upfront. Other than this no probs.

Good luck

Tracey

JaneandJim

If you have a large bank balance to show the agent then you won't even have to pay any rent in advance. Most people don't have jobs when they first arrive.

Your biggest problem will be deciding where to live and then finding a suitable place there.

Good Luck,
Jane