oz bound

Hi, hoping to be in Adelaide Aug/Sept 2008 and just wondering of those of you already there,

did anyone manage to arrange a long term rental from the UK to move into on arrival?

We are keen to get a house sorted asap as less stress for the kids. Don't fancy booking into a holiday rental for a few weeks as so expensive.

any opinions and or advice?

thanks in advance,

ob

Wendy

I'm afraid I couldn't get anywhere before we got here. Although I didn't try too hard as we decided that we'd have a bit of a holiday when we arrived so ended up staying at Adelaide Shores Caravan Park in a 4 bed cabin.

We managed to get a rental and moved in 2 weeks of arriving though, so it wasn't too bad. Although there are cheaper alternatives to them, but we were right on the beach and had a fantasic time there (even though it was winter)

All I can suggest is that you contact a few rental agencies and see if they can help - only problem is that you will be tied into a 12 month contract and without seeing the house may get something that's not entirely suitable for you - big gamble as they are really good at making places look better than they are!.

Here's what on offer at the minute on realestate.com http://www.realestate.com.au/cgi-bin...at=&p=10&o=def

E-mail some of the agents and see what they can do for you

Mipik

I would guess that it would be very difficult to arrange.

Not a very good idea either as you might end up in a place that you hate or are paying way too much and stuck there for a long time.

We have stayed in a furnished apartment for the first 4 weeks and it did give us enough time to find the rental we have been happy to live in for the next year.

mattandjulia

Yes we arranged ours from England. We emailed the agent and explained our situation. We managed to get someone to visit the house and see if it was ok as a rental. It was a brand new house so nothing much could have been wrong with it anyway. We did offer three months rent in advance until we got here and it worked for us. They had never done this before.

Need any more info just ask.

Julia.x

Roo1

Short term rentals are quite reasonable, you know. They are cheaper than a caravan parks and don't tie you into a contract like long term rentals do.
From 40 GBP a night, they can work out cheaper than a hotel.
J xx

happyboy

The Immigration department can offer you On Arrival Accomadation (OAA) as an alternative, think you have to give them 6 weeks notice prior to landing.

I believe the OAA is quite basic and only last for 12 weeks, but its cheap and its a base for 3 months, which would allow you to "suss out" the area for schools etc, etc.

I think they (Dima) also arrange a meet and greet at the Airport if you don't know anyone here.

Good Luck with everything.

SirDigbyChickenCaesar

We rented from the UK in Adelaide no problem, was a bit of hassle scanning all the documents ect in but the estate agent was really helpful, apparently the decision is down to the person who owns the rental. Offering three months in advance or signing up to a 12-month contract won't hurt, although we didn't have to do that (we had a six-month). When you get here there's not much more than you'll already find on realestate.com.au and domain.com.au, apart from what are listed in the back classifieds in the local paper (without pics). Don't bother trying to get anything really far in advance as the market is moving really quickly at the mo - there's quite a lot out there but it comes and goes quickly. And whatever you do, don't tie into a place for ages just cos the house looks nice - the areas are really really different and you don't get the local stuff on every corner that are taken for granted in the UK (eg, a pub). The OAA sounds like a great idea to get your bearings, we weren't eligible for that.

Roo1

Yes, you are right DIMA can provide a meet and greet service and you can take this up without booking the OAA. I've met a few of the Volunteers in recent times and they really can't do enough for you. They turn up with armfulls of leaflets, maps and forms to fill out for Medicare etc.
Its a great service.

Hills Boy

We booked a holiday rental (in Moana) from the UK for a couple of months. We didn't fancy arranging a long term rental from the Uk for the same reasons as Mipik mentioned. The holiday rental we ended up in was OK, but not great, but we know we were only there for a couple of months. The advantage that holiday rentals have over longer term rentals is that there is much less paperwork to sort out. In the end we bought a house six/seven weeks after we arrived, so the holiday rental route was perfect for us.

Hills Boy

oz bound

Thanks everyone,

Thats our biggest worry if we were to arrange before arrival that it turns out to be a dump and we are stuck with it.

We had heard about the OAA but had forgotten about it! It might be the best option for us.
It would allow us time to find the best area for us, plus school catchment areas etc. It's all so complicated!


Thanks again guys you've all been really helpfull

ob

TeenaChris

Hi Julia

We have just been given our SIR visa and have booked our one way ticket for June 29th 08. We are abit worried about renting and what to do as we are shipping our dog out with us so we need to find somewhere where we can have him too.. Could i have the details of the agent that you used as short term rental sounds good to us (just incase we don't like the area or we want to by quicker than we plan)?
Thanks
Teena

mattandjulia

Hi Teena

SorryIt wasn't a short term rental it was for 12 months. The agent that I am with at the moment said to me the other day that if anyone from England sees something that they like that they should contact them and it would be up to the owner if they would let it for six months instead of 12.

Julia.x

mary1967

Can you use the OAA service if you're migrating on a 176 state sponsorship visa?

Wendy

Yes.

http://www.immigration.sa.gov.au/sit..._onarrival.php

mary1967

Things are looking up