Hi people
need some help again when we arrrive we will be renting a fully furnished property for 4/5 weeks untill our container arrives then trying to get a long term rental.
I have spoke to a few estate agents and they are saying as we will be looking for long term renta Oct / Nov we will struggle as they are mostly rented out and as the ashes are in Perth in Dec it will make it worse.

We have been offered a 4 bed fully furnished for 5 weeks then they will take all there stuff out and alllow us to put our stuff in it and rent for 2 years for $460 per month. The only problem is it has a small garden very small and i have 2 young kids so looking for better garden but i dont want to be stranded without a house. I know you cant have everything

can you advise of best course of action please

Mick

Hi Mick - your post said $460 per month - do you mean per week? Which suburb is it in and have you looked at schools for your kids, or are they too young yet?

Hi Helen
sorry your right $460 per week
Its in tapping i have my eldest in a school and my youngest in a nursery.
The house hunting is a bit of a mine field though
any advice would be good

Mick

Any particular reason you've chosen Tapping? It's a bit of a long way if you have to get to the CBD. Not too close to a train line. Tapping is a fairly new suburb and in these type of places the blocks are a bit smaller. OK for a couple, but not so good if you've got kids. Houses can be built quite close to each other too. Lots of people very happy living there, and there's quite a few who are members on BE.

Perth suburbs tend to have parks and playgrounds dotted around, but if you have kids it's great to have space for them to run around in at home, set up a sandpit/trampoline/swing, etc. Do you know if there's a park nearby that you could use instead of the garden? Does this rental give you details of the size of the block, the number is usually in sq metres?

Google earth the address... but I wouldn't sign a 2 year lease... coz you can end up paying rent for 2 years in a property you dont want... if you move out early and they can't re let it...

have to compared similar properties in the same area online? Don't know whether thats a good price or not without seeing the house and its location...

i would never sign a 2 year lease. Go for 6 months or 12 if you absolutely have to.

Depends on what you think is a small yard. Most newer suburbs in Perth have very small garden areas. If you are looking for something bigger then look at older suburbs. Even with that the yards are not what I would class as a big garden by UK standards.

The agent (in my opinion) is just trying to maniplute you into signing because of the Ashes. I can see why that would take up holiday lets at that time of year but longer term rentals no. Phone a few more but as other threads have confirmed in the past it is very unlikely you will secure a longer term let at this stage. They want to see you in person and get your application in person too.

Further, how on earth would that agent know what is likely to be on the market at that time of year? How do they know what property is coming on or what tenants are moving out?

Don't be scared into making a rash decision.

If you wanted to secure a long-term let now - do you have friends or family in Perth who could view the property for you to make sure it's okay? If not, then you would be renting totally unseen and it could be awful.

I think most estate agents have online application forms which you can complete from this country. I have spoken to a couple and they didn't have a problem with renting to somebody who isn't yet in the country, but obviously the bond and up-front rent have to be paid as soon as the application is accepted.

If you did decide to go down this route you could rent a furniture pack until your own stuff comes - not sure how much this costs though.

The Ashes will have no relevance to any rental properties, it's only in Perth for a few days, so why would anyone be taking out a lease for any longer? The RE agent is pulling your plonker. Get something for a month or so to tie you over then have a look when you're here. Rental prices have been dropping recently, the overall health of the RE sector is pretty sick in Perth at the moment, so should be a benefit to all those looking to rent or buy.

Don't rent ANYTHING long-term until you are "in-country" - the agent is trying to pull a fast one. The Ashes will reduce holiday lets but will have f-all effect on long-term rentals [how many cricket fans are going to pay approx $12k to rent a house for six months ?]. Get a holiday let for a month - that will be enough time to find somewhere.

Also - $450 a week will also get you a house in a suburb which is MUCH closer to the city than Tapping with more choice of schools and transport links. Nothing wrong with Tapping but it is a fair way out so for anyone working in central Perth the commute is longer. Also, they want a two-year rental - bugger that, if you don't like the area it will cost you $$$ to get out.

Avoid it.