Hey, as per other thread we arrive next Wednesday!!!

We will be staying with friends and travelling round for the first month, but after that renting until we find somewhere to buy. Can anyone rec any good rental companies/agents? What is the "score" when it comes to renting out there... also how much would we expect to pay for a two bed property - flat/house not really bothered as just renting etc...

thanks

K xx

Excellent! Bon voyage!


Going on our own experiences of renting in Melbourne, I'd steer well clear of RUN Property and speak to the guys at MICM.


Rental is much the same as it is in Britain. One thing I like is that your bond (deposit) is not held by the landlord or agency but a Government Agency. As for prices, this will vary from suburb to suburb, but if you look at the MICM website, you'll get a good idea of what's on the market.

Good luck!


--paj

thanks, that is fab, i will have a look at that website.

LH x

This is our experience of renting, we were looking for a two bed flat or house in Hawthorn (15mins from CBD by train) - but perhaps is different in the outer suburbs. We found the system is quite different to the UK. In that the rental agencies don't take you round places you either have to go to an open for inspection, or you can give them a deposit for some properties take the keys and make your own way to the property and then take the keys back for the deposit (you normally only get an hour to do this). Our experience was that places where agents have the keys are the not so good places (if they have the keys they are normally empty so means they haven't yet managed to rent out, and the rental market is very strong in Melbourne so places tend to go quick). Open for inspections are often on the weekend or towards the end of the week, so if you start your search on a Monday like we did the first few days can be frustrating. I reckon the easiest way is to use www.domain.com.au which show when the open for inspections are on, and work out so you can see a load on a Saturday (also buy The Age on a Saturday morning and in the Domain section that summarises all the open for inspections). When you go to see a place (you will need photo ID to be let in) you are often viewing with about 30 other people (well in the area we were looking and for a 2 bed) and at the end if you like it you fill in an application form you can hand in on the day or fax in later. Then the agency a day or so later somehow decides from all the application forms who will be the best tenant (so is not like in England where normally you see a place, if you like it you put down a holding depost while they check your references and then you get the flat unless references dodgy), so we submitted for three places and was rejected on all of them despite offering to pay 6 months rent up front, we had a reference in Melbourne from when we lived here before but our other references were from the UK so maybe that had something to do with it. Apparently what people do is on the forms they offer more than is being asked for to secure the place. Is a frustrating system especially if you are in a hurry to rent as is all this waiting around to see if you are accepted and you don't know whether to keep looking or not. Really the rental agencies did nothing for us as tenants so have no advice as to who are good etc.

We got ours in the end as it was a private rental with no agency involved so the landlady showed us round liked us and we wanted the flat so we sorted it then and there. We pay $1300 a month for a two bed unit. Prices are advertised as per week normally - for a two bed in the area we were in, prices ranged from $260 per week to $340. All the places we asked 12 months was minimum contract (if you break this you have to pay readvertising costs and until they get in a new tenant often). Also most of the places are unfurnished this means not even a fridge (they do have a cooker but no fridge or washing machine - in adverts washing machine facilities often means two taps in the wall to plumb a washing machine into).

Was watching myhome on the tv and they were talking about a new website www.1form.com.au that lets you fill in an online rental application form and send it to the agents. Not sure what exactly happens or which agents support it but thought it might save some people having to fill out lots of application forms

Haven't used it myself so can't comment on how good (or bad) it is

Cheers,
AL

http://www.realestate.com.au/cgi-bin...n&snf=rbs&a=sf