Nat12

Hello,
I was after some advice for those who have alos gone down the Student visa route.
My hubby is due to start his course end of Jan and also I will also look for my 20hrs work.
At the moment we are staying with family in Melbourne and we would love to be able to rent our own place eventually but my question is how easy is it to rent as a student.
I should also mention we have a 3yr old son and we dont have loads of money to pay 6 months rent in advance or anything.
Do you think estate agents would consider us as we will be on a fairly low basic wage?
Most places I have seen for where we will be living (for the size we need 2/3 bedrooms) are going for around $200-$250 a week.
Does anyone have any advice or experience they would mind sharing? Just a bit worried we are going to have to continue living with family longer than I thought and really wanted to get my son settled in etc asap.
Thankyou in advance.
Tasha.

jayr

I really don't think your student visa will be an issue and I don't think many agents will ask for 6 months rent up front either.

Owners ahve the right to decide who lives in their property and you will need to fill out a form setting out your basic circumstances. Clealry, they will prefer someone with "better" job and income if such a person also applies but I really don't think you'll have any real problems.

As long as you can find somewhere in your budget then you will only be "competing" against people with a similar budget.

Don;t foregt you'll typicall need to put down 4 weeks bond (deposit) and 4 weeks rent in advance. Some places only require 2 weeks and 2 weeks and you can normally pay rent either 1 week or 2 weeks in advance after that.

werty1

We are on a student visa, and our visa type wasnt an issue when renting, as long as they get their money thats all they care about!
We pay $270 a week for a 4 bed 2 bath house but were previously paying $240 for a 3 bed 2 bath unit.
We obviously had to pay the bong and 2 weeks rent upfront but they didnt ask for anything else extra.

Good Luck

E3only

I came here as a student.Different situation coz was unmarried, shared with mates.

As long as you can show some money (savings) - it should not matter if you are on student visa.

Thing is - you would know rental market is tough (well sydney is, melb might be different).

But as others say - wont be surprised if you are asked for in advance rent. Don't offer tho.....

All the best. Keep us posted.

werty1

I have a friend in melbourne who struggled to find a rental as there was so many people going for each one so he did offer to pay 6 months upfront just to give him a better chance of getting the house!

E3only

Totally agree. Competition is hot at the moment....

Nat12

Thankyou for the replies.
So basically as long as we can pay the rent it shouldnt matter.
I guess that is all I am worried about, being able to afford to pay all the bills, rent etc and put food on the table on only 40hrs a week between us.
Finding it very hard living with family at the moment until we are sorted so was hoping as soon as I get a job and hubby starts his course we would be able to move out.
Its nice to see that other people have managed to do this on that budget as we havent got any extra money or savings what are they lol so nothing else to delve into apart from what we will be earning!

E3only

Nat,

This is the thing. 300 a week for me is not the same for you. As you as you can adjust to a lifestyle within your budget - you will be ok. Hard work now for rewards later I suppose.

Regards to renting - you gotto think from the viewpoint of the landlord too. As I said, competion is fiere at the best, so you are competing againts people with full time jobs etc. So you going to have to make some sacrifices.

When I came here, I had 6k in the bank and 20 hours job as a student. Living with mates (4 of us). Of course we did not get the best of places to live as students but thats the sacrifice we made.

I am not trying to be negative, but just go for inspections and see the sea of people wanting to rent. It will ease (they say but I dont agree) due to interest rate cuts here.

So, hang in there, expect some sacrifices and it will only get better - Trust me on that.

jayr

Bloody students and their bongs...

mandyp

Hi Tasha, welcome to Oz. . .how you settling in so far??

As everyone has said, the student visa will not hinder you guys from securing a rental. Don't know if there are any gated complexes where you are but they can be a bit easier to get?!!

You need 100 points of ID to get a rental, things like Australian drivers licence, passport, bank statement, pay slip, birth certificate, car rego etc. . will make this up for you.

Good luck
Mandy

Nat12

Hiya Mandy,
Finding it a bit difficult here if Im honest......
I think it will be different once we are in our own place etc which is why Im so eager to find out as much as I can!
But realistically thats not going to happen until end of Jan once I can get a job so just got to grin and bear it until then.
We are opening a bank account in the next week or so so that will be sorted.
Have been looking at jobs was thinking would be best to work while hubbys home to avoid childcare costs as not cheap is it.
Have been googling childrens homes etc as I did a lot of support work in the uk so was hoping I might have a chance but not much is coming up on that.
I guess once hubby starts the course etc then we will start getting into a bit more of a routine which will be good.
Have found some good playgroups though and one is free! and also a cheap creche at the leisure centre where he can go and I can drink some tea in peace lol!
Hope you and your family are keeping well.
Tasha

mandyp

I'm sure it won't be easy living with your in-laws. . .very difficult living with people when you've been used to your own routine. Fingers crossed that its a quick couple of months.

Children's homes probably won't come up with anything. I've lost the list i had found as we've changed computers. . .try searching non-profit organisations like Spiritus and churches of christ care, not sure for definate if they are Australia wide or just Queensland.

Also search for youth worker or residential care worker as this is the job position it will be. If I were you, I would apply for jobs just now or even apply for your blue card just now, as this can take up to 4 months to come through and you won't be able to start with out having at least the suitablility (i.e. police ) checks done. I don't think it costs too much to get it, though if you don't apply yourself, your employer may pay for it.

Good luck.
Mandy

Nat12

Thanks for that Mandy will go have a look now