Pollyana

Some people have had great experiences with gumtree, BUT we have also had people report ripoffs. No-one is saying don't use them, but be careful if handing over money for a property that you haven't even viewed
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=724646
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?p=9529776

calliope

I would book a holiday place first and then find the long-term place when you can view it yourself. Rentals in Australia can be pretty nasty. Like anywhere else I suppose.

Zombikiller

Is 3 or 6 months rent upfront the norm?

We'd be struggling to get 6 months rent built up prior to going!

Would 3 months upfront cash secure most places?

Bermudashorts

You don't necessarily have to put cash up front, other than bond and first rental payment that is. If you can prove funds or that you have jobs then I wouldn't assume you need to pay up front at all. Play it by ear first.

Zombikiller

^ Thanks

:sunglasses:

Cartingente

Try looking for rental websites to list you house if you havent already done so. One i can think of is www.erento.co.uk
and i'm sure there are many more where you can rent your house if you type in a search on google.

balkanghost

And if you want something even cheaper for a few days or week the Claremont Hotel in South Yarra on Toorak road is good value (Google it), the cheapest place I could find when in Melbourne from bush, great for public transport on train line to SE and beach suburbs and 5 minutes from city.

Yes, as others say don't event think about renting from offshore, check out websites etc., then inspect and haggle...... many property investors maybe desperate for renters.....

Pollyana

Beware though. Renting from offshore can mean being stuck in a rental or suburb that turns out to be awful when viewed in reality. Also if renting privately check your landlord is working within State laws. My ex had a private landlord, no bond, cheap rent - and NO maintenance, the guy did nothing for 12 years - no pest control, fuse box so old it was illegal, cracked floors and water pipes, even had his own stuff stored in the spare room!! When I realised he could come and go as he liked - including letting himself in cos I was too sick to answer the door! - I swore never to rent again without protection from the State body, RTA for Queensland.

skinnygeorge

Have to agree, we almost jumped into a place we had viewed. I was a little bit wary and hesitated. The very good friend we were staying with said lets go for a drive down there. He pointed out some little details which lead him to believe that some of the other properties may be inhabited by those who do little by day and much by night shall we say. Certainly in Qld if many of the properties have old free newspapers spread over the drive, Odds on its a rental area. And here we took a couple of weeks running around viewings. Its probably worth loosing a couple just to get some experience. We loved the look of one place, It had thick cream coloured carpets! throughout. Two boys+ Queensland rain, Whats the chance of keeping/getting those clean at the end of the lease.

Rudi

The problem with Gumtree is that anyone can post anything on there. Sites like Stayz and Take-a-break are more regulated and property managers have to provide evidence of who they are etc before they are allowed to list a property. Sadly there have been too many scams on Gumtree.

As others have said, it really in not advisable to rent a long term rental without having seen it. It's the sort of situation where an agent will palm off an absolute lemon to you. A short term rental for 2-6 weeks is your best option and then you can take the time to look around for something longer term.

Love

Rudi
x

Margaret3

We booked a caravan site before arriving, we ended up extending the stay to about 5 weeks (I think?), coz we were struggling getting rented accomm.

The caravan site, let us pay weekly after our initial two weeks booking, but clarify this if you go down this route (as I think we were just lucky the person working in it was an expat).

Margaret3

Dont think its the norm, but gets you a better chance of getting into the rental market, we did the six months up front thing, but write at top of application whatever you can afford, perhaps two moths up front.

Also have evidence of employment (if any), bank statements, and if you have sold property in u.k, have a photo and evidence of the sale, get your paperwork in order to give better chance. Also go round estate agents and see if you can get an application and fill it in beforehand with your paperwork and hand it to the estate agent the day you inspect. (not all agents will give you an application before inspection but some will).

Margaret3

plus 2

suzyambrose

No to sound stupid but how do you get on if you go for a rental but you aren't working yet so no evidence of employment and you're renting out your house in the UK? Im a bit of a worrier so the prospect of applying for rentals with no paperwork to show is making me a bit uneasy

Bermudashorts

You need to put together paperwork, there is no escaping that. We put together a rental pack which included a cover note explaining why we would be good tenants, ID, bank statements, job offer letters and a letter from the agent who is renting out our UK home saying what a nice well maintained house it is.

In your situation you could include a reference from the UK agent you rented with, make sure evidence of savings is prominent and highlight in your covering letter that you have ample savings to cover rent for X months and perhaps offer to pay some in advance. Don't worry, you won't be the first new immigrant that is looking for a house without having work lined up and plenty manage it.