about renting a house/apt in NZ
 

I have got my PR, and been planning my landing probably from this Oct.
At the beginning, I would rather want to experience more cities in NZ. Maybe, I will stay in each major city for three months, before I make my decision of settlement.

However, some friends told me that short-term rental is not easy to get. Most of time, landlord wants to have half-year or even one-year contract of rental. Is this information true? what's the best way to get rental of three-months?
In the meantime, I don't want to purchase furniture at the beginning. Is furnished apt/house easy to be rent?

Many thanks.
Maxx

Re: about renting a house/apt in NZ
 

Hmmm, if you are thinking of short term renting you might want to revise the plan to buy furniture. The costs of starting a new tenancy tend to be at least a week's rent to the agent, plus all other associated moving costs, so this could be a very expensive way to see the main cities. It's also quite a hassle with rentals being hard to find in both Auckland and Christchurch.

Re: about renting a house/apt in NZ
 

you could look at holiday lets or serviced apartments

Re: about renting a house/apt in NZ
 

It's nice to have your quick comments.
Yeah, I noticed the similar problem. If I could expand my rental to half year for a furnished house/apt, do the options become bigger?

Re: about renting a house/apt in NZ
 

thanks for your advice. It looks holiday lets or serviced apartments are relatively expensive.
Do all houses for rental have no furniture?

Re: about renting a house/apt in NZ
 

you could ask for a deal on the rent for holiday home if you want to stay for more than a few weeks

Re: about renting a house/apt in NZ
 

We've always taken a short-term rental giving only three weeks' notice. However, we've lived in the places for more than six months. But if you're moving around so frequently then holiday rental seems the best option, but these can be expensive as you say. Unlike Oz, NZ hasn't many purpose-built flats which you can rent for short periods.

What you could do is find out about the holiday parks in the places you wish to go as they have furnished cabins or flats there which you can rent out for short periods of time. They are also much cheaper than the short-term holiday places in town. Takapuna has a holiday park in Northcote which is minutes from town.

Re: about renting a house/apt in NZ
 

If you are on your own, maybe consider flat/house sharing. These are usually fully furnished and more amenable to a shorter lease. Have a look at Trademe for examples.

Re: about renting a house/apt in NZ
 

You could base yourself in a city and do a few days in each other area to get a feel for the different places

Be a lot cheaper to have a base and do weekend or weekday trips

Re: about renting a house/apt in NZ
 

Thanks for your advice. I have a family with me, including a 3-years old girl. After reviewing all the advice, I decided to have a base then. It's easier to rent a house with a one-year contract then

Re: about renting a house/apt in NZ
 

Thanks. I have decided to follow your way, which is pretty much the same advice from others.
By the way, for a long term rent, is it easy to find a furnished house?

Re: about renting a house/apt in NZ
 

A good way to get an idea of what's available is to search on these websites.

Real Estate, Houses for Sale, Rentals, Commercial and Businesses for sale at Realestate.co.nz - Realestate.co.nz

Buy online and sell with NZ's #1 auction & classifieds site | Trade Me

Best you know that it is much more difficult to secure anything from overseas before you arrive - if that is your plan.

Re: about renting a house/apt in NZ
 

From what I have seen your best to focus on unfurnished and use places like the warehouse to initially "camp".

Others will probably have suggestions on budget places for furniture etc.

We had family and friends decultering batches so did ok for short term needs.

Re: about renting a house/apt in NZ
 

AirBnB?

Re: about renting a house/apt in NZ
 

I agree with the above, you're better off not restricting yourself to furnished places as these may well be hard to find. Most rentals seem to be unfurnished.

If you're planning on living in NZ longterm then buying furniture may well work out cheaper and easier. Have a look at what's available in the areas you want to live in and compare prices.
It'll also give you more choice when it comes to choosing somewhere. There are plenty of threads on the [lack of] quality in NZ housing stock so limiting yourself to furnished may well mean you end up somewhere completely unsuitable especially if you have a 3year old - I'm thinking mould, damp etc