erm1983

Hi all

Brand spanking new UK-based member and no idea if I will get some handy replies, but please please give some advice if you can spare a min.

My fiancee and I intend to emigrate to Sydney in 2015 post our wedding and keen to know good areas to live and the cost of living.

Key questions...

1. is $500 p/w the norm for a nice 1 bed apartment in a good neighbourhood?

2. Is that cost affordable with 2 incomes; in our case an entry level office based job combined with a middle management level job in a corporate? Seems very expensive in comparison to UK incomes even taking fx rate into account.

3. We love walks, cafes, relaxed bars, decent bistros/restaurants, the water...any tips on suburbs/areas to aim for? From past holidays we were thinking mosman, paddington, neutral bay, rose bay etc

THANK YOU so much for your help in advance!!

Ed

Bermudashorts

To your questions in same order:

1) I thought this was a bit light for a budget for the areas you have in mind. But a quick look on one of the property websites like www.domain.com.au and you can soon see what is available. I searched on Mosman and there were 32 options under $500.

2) I think property is expensive in Sydney compared to most parts of the UK yes. Whether it is affordable for you would depend on your income.

3) Manly might be another nice option for you.

Dorothy

What visa will you be moving on?

erm1983

Hi guys

Thanks for replies.

I have dual citizenship luckily so visa not an issue.

What I am really trying to distinguish is whether the rent is relative to salaries?

In the UK, for the same amount in £ you could get a damn flash 2 bed pad in a nice area in most cities!

On other tips would be appreciated!

Thanks

Bermudashorts

What do you mean "whether the rent is relative to salaries".

It is pretty easy to look up some rental prices online. A rule I always thought made sense was no more than a third of your take home income on rent or mortgage payment.

paddyo

The rent prices in the UK or anywhere matter not, its Sydney you will be living in so adjust your expectations for that. Oh....and forget about Value For Money, Australians just do not understand that concept.
I also don't understand the 'rent relative to salaries' bit, not sure what you are trying to say there.
I think that you could easily find a 1 bed apartment/studio for $500 in most areas, do look on Domain for guidance but do NOT believe the photos. Also, they will NOT let you 'pre-book' a property or rent one without first seeing it in person, it protects them and you.

asher

rents are expensive in Sydney and the rent depends very much on where you want to live, inner areas are more expensive seaside areas are more expensive.
if you move out of the city and commute you will get a cheaper place.
Sydney is massive outer areas can take an hour by train to commute.
a one bed in the inner east can be 750 dollars a week look at the train lines and search around them

take a look on domaine.com.au it will give you a bit of an idea but remember if there arent photos of every room it's usually because the rooms not shown are not so nice!

JDAD84

Hey,

So my husband and I came out and thought we'd done our research on properties and prices, but we found it such an uphill battle when we actually started looking for a rental. We were looking to live around Macquarie Park/Epping areas which aren't half as in demand/up market as the likes of Neutral Bay and Mossman.

One thing you need to get your head around very quickly is the fact that in Oz they don't have half of the standards to maintain as they do in the UK, we viewed 10 properties that were under $550 a week and every single one of them was 'extremely' dated with blue/brown/orange tiles in the bathroom and very similar in the kitchen.... the most you can hope for is fresh paint and new carpets.

Because Sydney properties are in so much demand the owners dont have to do a great deal to keep them updated as people will still pay the money even if it's not had a fresh overhaul since the early 90's.

After looking for a while we realised new build properties were the way to go, there are so many areas developing around on the north side of the harbour you just need to be realistic with what you get for what you want to pay.

Through the forums we were recommended looking into Rhodes and Meadowbank for a good value unit. We managed to view, sign for and get the keys to a unit in Rhodes within one afternoon.

We rent a 1 bedroom apartment with an allocated secure car parking space and lockup storage cage. The standard of the unit is very high and we pay $480 per week. With all rentals in Australia you are not liable to pay the council tax or water rates so you just need to sort your own gas, electric and telecoms. We've got a 6 months lease at the moment, it has given us enough breathing space to find out where we can realistically afford longer term, and to be honest we are probably going to move out of the city either west or south as you can get double the space for the same price.

Comparative to earnings, well that all depends on your standard of living, but if you look at the current % you pay out for rent in the uk compared to your income it roughly works out the same.

I'm pulling in around $110k per year.... my husband is only just starting to earn and we are very comfortable with our rent, we also have a lease car and and we've managed to do quite a lot of activity over the past couple of month so i would say if you are earning $80k between you and don't live an excessive lifestyle you would more than manage the cost of basic living whilst still enjoying Sydney.

You may want to just rethink your choice of location for where you want to live when you arrive, just until you find you're feet and work out real cost of living when you settle, that's just my advice though as we tried to do it all when we first arrived and we just werent being realistic.

Hope it all goes well for you though, and get in touch if you want any help!!

Manda

erm1983

Thanks so much for your detailed reply, really helpful!

Ed

old.sparkles

Not true - would depend on the terms of your lease. Paying water usage is very common, and paying the service charge can also be included in the lease agreement although not as common

Beoz

All bullocks. Sandra

Rents are in good proportion to income if you are comparing London to Sydney.

Use the bloody search function

Have been looking the past few weekends to up size and up grade.. staying around the Eastern subs. Cream of the areas.

Whilst agents in Sydney do group viewings on Saturdays, we've had calls on the Monday asking if we are interested. We had one agent this week give us a second viewing. This was unheard of 3 years ago. You just had to put your offer in via online ASAP then repeatedly call the agent.

For a renter the market is so much better now than what it was, and so many dumb ass landlords have mortgaged themselves to the max they are willing to secure anything.

carolinephillips

Not true in some areas- my friend is desperately trying to find a 4 bed house, and there are so many people wanting those that they often go before the first official inspections. Only in one case was the landlord not so quick to take people, and I have a feeling that they were Chinese and wanted Chinese tenants, as they rejected all the offers from the 5 groups of white applicants that went through on the same day as my friend.
Slightly different situation to wanting an apartment, I know, but if you look at Domain, or Real, or in the local papers, many of the properties they are advertising say "leased" or "under contract."

Beoz

Supply and demand hey. I'm sure for the poster and his/her fiancée a 1 or 2 bedder should be an easy snap.

paddyo

You do not pay the water rates, as a tenant you only pay the water usage...which is different. Same for Strata Fees or Council Rates...they belong to the property owner.

old.sparkles

Again depends on your lease agreement - mine includes water supply charges and water usage but I don't think it's common. But to say it never happens is wrong.