Coppock

Hi, bit of an odd question maybe, we're looking for somewhere to rent next year for a month or two whilst we get our bearings after the move, get a mortgage etc. We are ideally looking around the Gold Coast in Qld, we don't mind being nearer to the mountains, but i'm struggling to find somewhere that's similarly priced to what we rent here in the UK.

We are in a 3 bed semi, nothing special, for £600 per month. But everything I see on realestate.com.au is looking at starting at £600-£700 per month...

Is this down to a poor exchange rate? Am I looking in the wrong place? I just would have thought the houses i've seen would have been around £500 per month, not £700 per month - just seems a lot for what it is... maybe the photos don't do too much justice!

Thanks guys!
Jen

bcworld

You say rent for a month or two...are you actually looking at rates for short term rentals or are the numbers you're quoting for 'normal' rentals you've seen on the web?

Bear in mind short term rental costs are likely to be much higher than for longer leases. You won't be able to rent any of the places you see on realestate.com or domain for a month or two I don't think.

Also yes, converting to pounds doesn't make much sense, especially at the moment with the ex rate the way it is.

Coppock

I'm not sure, I was thinking of a 6 month lease initially? I suppose we could do a 12 month but would be happier with a 6 month instead.
We'll be running our business in the UK still so will initially be earning £s when we move until we begin to break into the aussie market more which is why I was looking at conversions.
Are there any other places for long stays/6 month rentals?
thanks
Jen

bcworld

You should be able to get 6 month rentals for some of the places on the big realestate sites.

£700 pcm is about $250 pw. I'd consider that pretty cheap for a 3 bed place...I'd be pretty wary of anything under the $300 mark to be honest. Doubtless the pics on the web will be as flattering as possible.

Wendy

I'd agree, look at $300+ per week.

One thing to bear in mind, you won't have to pay rates on a rental. So whilst you may think it's dearer than the equivalent in the UK, you don't have that to pay extra

sa2uk2oz

when we arrived here on the gold coast, we were paying $380 a week for a unit (3 bed 2 bath) in a lovely complex,which at the exchange rate then was about 600 pounds a month . That was 3 and a half years ago, and the same unit rents now for just over $400 a week with the current exchange rate that now equates to about 1000 pounds a month. It seems more expensive due to the exchange rate at the moment.

ABCDiamond

Based on average UK Full time wages; £600 per month is 31% of the average full time wage.

Using that same 31%, the equivalent Australian property here should be $1,748 pm or $403 pw

Here are a few sample Median weekly rents for 3 bed houses in the Gold Coast area, at Sept 2010
$475 Broadbeach/Mermaid Bch/ Nobby Bch/Rialto
$400 Gold Coast City Council Area
$380 Gold Coast North
$355 Mt Tamborine
$300 Beaudesert/ Cedar Vale/ Innisplain/ Kooralbyn/ Lamington

Some parts of the Gold Coast are very popular areas, (Gold Coast being what it is) and may be priced higher for what they offer than in other non major tourism areas.

Chortlepuss

Rental in QLD is very expensive - don't compare to UK as seems relatively more expensive here at the moment. If you don't need to commute to Brisbane, Tambourine is lovely and you will get more for your $ the further out you go. Don't know GC rentals, but pain free commuting distance from Brisbane will cost $400-$450 plus for 3 bed house. I've been shocked by the quality of some of the rentals here, so you need to look around and don't believe all you see on Realestate - they're skilled at making silk purses out of sow's ears!

Coppock

Hi, thanks for the replies. Funny enough I looked at houses for sale in Mount Tamborine and surrounding areas but didn't check the rentals.
Thanks for the heads up about rates being included! That makes it all add up a little more nicely... plus here in Wrexham houses tend to be about £100-£200 per month cheaper than most of the UK so I guess I was getting a little greedy!
We're hoping to move next spring so fingers crossed the exchange rate will swing back in our favour a little before then!

I've seen a few nice properties in and around Mount Tamborine for around £800-£900 per month based on the current exchange rate, so it's at least a good starting point for how much we're going to have to put away for when we move (or look at buying as soon as we get there).

Is the rental procedure similar to the UK?
i.e do you apply for the house (charged here about £200 for the application)
once approved, pay one months deposit with the first month up front?
Are there any other costs to factor in?

Thanks everyone!
Jen

curly

I think renting is expensive over here, we pay $485 a week (1,280 GBP a month). We're on the Gold Coast in a 4 x 2 house.

I think you'll find rentals on Mt Tamborine very few and far between I've just looked on realestate.com.au and there are only 2, 3 beds atm there. One is 1,187 GBP (per month) and the other 1,004 GBP.
To achieve your monthly estimate you'd be looking at rentals for $300 a week, I don't know of any that cheap. Rentals here are always quoted as a weekly charge. Even 2 bed units are usually around $330 a week.

When applying you will need some ID in the form of Aus driving licences (preferably), bank statements, birth and marriage certificates, references, passports etc. You will need to pay a 'bond' which is usually one months rental. You normally then pay the first two weeks prior to receiving the keys.

ABCDiamond

When looked at in GBP £, I think everything will appear expensive now, but only because of the value of the £ these days.

$485 per week was only £840 per month not that long ago.

How do the Gold Coast rents compare to similar properties in the UK's top tourist locations ?