lisamct

So in a couple of weeks I'll be over in NZ and looking for somewhere to live. Can someone tell me how it works with looking around for rentals.
Do letting agents just give you info and then you go look round on your own or do they take you round to view properties?

I'm just trying to work out if I really need to hire a car as soon as I arrive to go rental hunting as I'm not sure how long it'll take me to find a car I can afford to buy.

Jan n Neil

most take you round, we had a look thru the windows of some unless you are in the middle of a city you will almost certanly need a car straight away. What area are you going to be in ?

Neil

sue1234

Hi, works different with agents, some have an "open day", where the house would be available to view for an hour, so everyone interested in that property goes to view it. Other agents do it to suit you, and depends on weather or not its vacant or occupied, bring references with you, very handy,Good luck. sue

Expat Kiwi

Good places used to go fast so get all your paperwork together beforehand, then if the right place comes along you can snap it up. Don't be afraid to haggle a bit either.

luvwelly

They are nearly all listed and Trade Me. I suggest you look on there and then go around yourself - where you will be met by the agent acting for the owner/or the owner themselves, to show you round. if you are interested they give you an application form to take away and your application is considered lol.

A relocation agent will drive you from property to property (got to do sth for their fee) but in rental market where there can be competition among tenants i.e. more tenants want a property than properties available (particularly if it has good facilities like heating etc,) you'd be lucky to find an agent willing to drive you round - they just meet you there at an appointed time or for the Open Home.

So yes - be ready to hire a car to find the rental.

Often dealing with the owner direct is better as they are the decision maker - make sure the lease you sign is just the standard one where the deposit is placed with a Government agency for the protection of both parties.

sirplug

Just remember, check whether the place gets any sun and if so, when?
Houses get damp in winter and the sun helps them dry out!
Also, do the same as you would in the UK, check how the traffic is at school run time and at peak time, as well as seeing how long it takes to travel from 'home' to work at peak time..........Good luck

lisamct

Yet again thanks to everyone. I was planning on hiring a car pretty much straight away but just wanted to check I wasn't wasting precious cash!!

Jan n Neil I'm going to be in Rotorua. I am planning on buying a car pretty quickly but I really dont have much free cash so it might take a wee while to find one cheap and realiable enough to suit so reckon hiring for a week might be a good plan.

Am Loolah

Try Pauline at Rotorua Rentals she owns the company with her English husband Richard. Hopefully she can help you. I met them at a Property Management conference last year. Nice lady.

saoghalbeag

hey lisa i had the same thought as you re: hire car to find rental - I booked it for today thinking I'd give myself Monday to phone around and arrange viewing times. I ended up checking out a few rentals on foot yesterday (with 4 yo in tow poor mite - wretched weather in ChCh!) and found a place straight away. Will now get to use the car to move stuff in, without having to organise a second hire hooray! I think it'll make it loads easier to get around a few places, particularly if it's competitive and you want to get in quick.

Also: I searched for properties on realestate.co.nz as well as TradeMe.

It seems pretty relaxed here - the agent was happy to hand over keys for me to inspect by myself - I haven't had that happen in Oz since 2001!!! There is also a "Let Fee" which surprised me as the home owner pays that in Australia but the tenant pays it in NZ (one week's rent plus GST). That's if you rent through an agent. I have to put up the let fee plus 3 weeks rent (bond) plus the first week's rent to get into the property.

At least on the Nth Island you won't have to lay awake at night worrying about whether a place has a HEAT PUMP...took me AGES to figure out what the heck they were on about - it's in big letters in nearly every ad. At first I thought it had something to do with hot water (got really worried about standard of living in NZ then...) but when I went into the flat and saw the reverse cycle air conditioning unit on the wall it all made sense... heat pumps, jandles, trundles...what next???

bunnyphobia

I've been in touch with Pauine, via email so far, and she's been really helpful. Does seem that the price of rentals leaps substantially as soon as you include a decent kitchen and a bit of furniture.

Good question about the car hire, Lisa. Where are you thinking of living? Or do you have little preference, so long as it has roof, windows and heat pump?! I know I'm starting to get that way inclined....

bunnyphobia

Ok, I've got the heat pump down. But what on earth is a jandles and a trundle?!!

saoghalbeag

jandles I knew of - another word for sandles, flip flops or THONGS if you're of the Aussie persuasion...

Now a trundle is another story. I thought a trundle was a rollaway bed that stored underneath another bed, but apparently NOT. I was at Countdown the other day and the section of the carpark where they collect shopping trolleys had a big sign above it saying "TRUNDLES"...

Ads that say "NO LET FEE" are also nice... still can't believe they lump that cost on the tenant!!!

lisamct

I did email Pauline but got no reply so who knows, I think visiting in person will be one of my first stops after I arrive.

Not too bothered about what area I live in as long as its an okay one. Really want at least 2 bedrooms as I've already got visitors lined up for early next year! Needs to have heat and I'd like a decent kitchen, insulation and double glazing but I know that might be wishful thinking if I want to pay less than half my wage in rent!

bunnyphobia

We've got the same problem, in that suddenly everyone wants to visit! Which is a shame, as the 1 beds do seem to be much cheaper.

Let me know how you get on

saoghalbeag

You can always put the visitors on a trundle in the lounge