s1mon321

Hi,

We're flying to Sydney on the 24th of Feb and have booked a hotel to stay in for three weeks while we try and find a place to rent. Have heard loads of horror stories of 50 people turning up for viewings with 6 months rent in cash to seal the deal! Is it always a huge hassle, or are there instances where you see a place advertised, like it, and manage to secure it??

Any tips? We'd like to get settled asap.....

Cheers,

Simon

Rich_Lyn

Hi Simon
Succes with rentals depends where you are looking. We have been renting for 18 months in the same place cos when property comes to market it generally goes stright away if it is any good.
Best bet is to contact agents direct in the area you are looking and have them contact you when property is coming up.
The rental market is very tight, and if interest rates go up on tuesday, might get tighter as more people choose to rent than buy. The enrty and exit costs for purchasing in australia are high, so it isnt cheap to buy. (@$40K stamp duty on purchase price of $1m)
Any idea where you want to be?

Richard

s1mon321

Thanks Richard, we're still not sure on area so will spend the first week over there checking out some suburbs that sound quite nice.

Ideally we want to be within a half hour train journey to the CBD and would hope to get a two bedroom apartment for no more than $400 per week. Have seen some great properties, but get the impression that there'd be little or no chance of securing one.

Hope we can find somewhere nice as my Mrs is the one being sponsored and is already very nervous about a new job and culture without extra worries of finding a place!

Any areas you'd recommend for that budget? Have seen some nice properties advertised in Lane Cove, Artarmon, Crows Nest - not sure exactly what these areas are like tho?....

Simon

Rich_Lyn

Simon
Artarmon..er dont think so!
Lane Cove and Crows nest are OK, but very different. Crows Nest has a nice "centre" with plently of cafe's etc. Dont know much about Lane Cove
Have you looked on www.realestate.com.au or www.domain.com.au?
Cremorne, Neutral Bay, are near(ish) to the CBD and nice, but busy if you are near Military Road. From here you can get a ferry to CBD. Then it is not too far to get to the beach on the weekend! Also, some nice cafe's restaurants and pubs here too. $400 p/w? - not sure.

Richard

paddyo

$400 won't get you much in those areas, unless you want a small unit next to a busy road! Also bear in mind, if you get a decent view then you will be paying over the odds for it! Try looking, in order to get more for your money, further to the northwest, the next train line that runs from Epping through West Ryde into Sydney and look in those areas. They won't have the kudos of the North Sydney/Northern Shore suburbs but they are pleasant and good access to the CBD via train and bus.
Use the rental sites suggested and, like me, you will gradually start to get a feel for what you gets for your dollar!

Nevis

Hope you dont mind me coming in on this thread, but this is also something I am worrying about. I will be working in North Sydney, what are the best areas around there that are commutable (short commute)?

Also, another question...............what do you think will happen to the housing market in Syney, i notice you say there will be an interest rate hike next week maybe; are prices still going up or have they stabilised and what are the "predictions" for the future? Sorry, so many questions! We will just probably sell or house here, but i dont want to be priced out of the housing market in Sydney by not buying, and then, if we dont like it, being priced out of the UK housing market by having sold (just incase it continues to rise in the UK)!
Thanks

NickyC

Bear in mind that a new rail line is being built from Epping to Chatswood. It's not planned to open until late 2008 - but when it does it will make North Ryde and the Macquarie Park area much more accessible from the city.

paddyo

Yes, I was aware of that and it will certainly open up some more options.

why

i used to live in st leonards (which is crows nest really) for 5 years in the 80'-90's we rented a house which was a bit shabby..it was fully functional...but just a bit naff...when we looked round it everyone turned their noses up at it....we loved it...it was within walking distance of the shops and the train station and lots of parks cafes' etc it was great there....we loved it there we got married in the garden and we had our first baby there.....

sometimes location,location is all important
we also rented a house in liverpool street at darlinghurst, our neighbours were gays and prostitutes that too was brilliant (in our party days!!!)
I loved the north shore. it's handy for everything

TravellingSi

Hi Simon,

I went flat hunting in those areas yesterday also looking for two bedrooms and it was a bit of a mixed bag. In Artarmon we didn't see more than ten people at any of the properties we viewed; but we walked away from Artarmon deciding we didn't like the area much. Also went to a viewing at Woolstonecraft - 2 train stations out from north sydney for a two level executive flat for $480 and there was a constant procession of people in and challenges of 'I bet I beat you to the agency with my form'. Apart from that place, I haven't seen the crowds of people that I have also heard of, but when we came back six months ago, we limited ourselves to the lower north shore, so I couldn't say what it is like in other parts of the city.

I wouldn't wish the bus queues of lane cove on my enemy (no trains there), crows nest seems quite nice, loads of restaurants, but the walk to the nearest train station is a bit far, at least for me.

Just an update on the invisible chatswood-epping line, I believe we are looking at early 2009 now
With $400 I reckon you are going to struggle finding anything decent with two bedrooms on the north shore train line area, further south than Artarmon. If you can afford a bit more, say, $450-500 you could probablly afford Kirribilli (live there now - very nice), McMahons point (used to live there - also very nice) both ten minutes by train to the city. I can also vouch for Balmain which is okay in the $450-500 area and 20 mins by bus to the city. Also if you work in the city then the commute from Neutral Bay or Cremorne is okay, although the buses get pretty full; we have friends who lived there and liked it, it is also a bit cheaper.

I would also go with what Paddyo said about some of the suburbs on the northern line, definetly worth a look; they are a longer commute than the lower north shore, but cheaper.

Finally, if you have a week spare when you get here, then pester the agents to show you the properities midweek, I found they will do it if you persevere, then you can avoid the impulse decisions you might make when you have competition.

paddyo

Cool to have someone on the ground looking right now, will be interested to see what you end up with. Keep us posted as this is exactly the stuff we really gain from.

s1mon321

Thanks so much for the info, its great to get first hand experience!!

I think ultimately it all going to be down to public transport. Ideally, for our first six months in Sydney we'd like to be car free - so access to work and amenities is very important.

We'd like a nice area, but aren't too bothered about the 'oh you don't live there do you' unless its a crime hotspot or something!!

In the end, I guess our budget could be stretched for the right property and I'm guessing a few viewings in our original price range might let us know the true picture of what you get for your money.

So did you find anything you liked??

Like the idea of mid-week viewings and we can be quite decisive when we want to be, so I guess we need to take a good look at the areas prior to viewings so that we can make quick decisions.

Do you need to have references to hand to make things go a bit quicker??

I will look at some of the other suburbs mentioned with interest.

Good Luck

Simon

@boy

Correct.
and backed up by todays article...
Tenants face fallout of further rate rise
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/...973740501.html

Rich_Lyn

Hi Simon
Try Roseville, Killara, Gordon, Lindfield. You should get 2 beds for <$400 pw. 30 mins north of the CBD by rail or road, 20-25 mins from Beach.



Richard

TravellingSi

We didn't get anything on this weekends visits, but we have plenty of time to find somewhere we like.
On our first arrival in Sydney (on working holiday visas), the agency wanted charachter references for both of us and a copy of our bank statement to show we could pay the first couple of months as we didn't have jobs when we arrived.
On our second 'new' arrival on 457 visas they were happy with a copy of a job contract and again the bank statement, our last tenancy agreement from the UK also seemed to help. The biggest delay for us whas getting the bond money together, with the limit on ATM withdrawals if took us a few days to withdraw the amount and then buy the bank cheque they always insist on.

On the subject of public transport vs car ownership, we have managed very well for a couple of years in Sydney not owning a car at all. Back in Surrey we had two cars and the bills to show for it (living in an idylic english village is great until you need to commute). Being car free in Sydney is what has allowed us to afford somewhere a bit more expensive to live with semi decent views and we can walk home across the harbour bridge, or go by ferry underneath it which is a nice way to finish a day at work. If you want to go out of the city, then car rental is quite cheap and there is an hourly car rental scheme www.goget.com.au which looks good although I haven't tried it yet.