trigod

Hi Guys and gals,

Hope you are all well!

We are probably heading to Auckland early next year on a working holiday visa (One benefit of being young! ) We are looking at little 1/2 bed places in and around A/Land to rent for 6months ish?

We have seen some great places for $200 a week that seem reasonable. Can anyone help with all the ins and outs of renting a place, cost of bonds, id needed, good places bad places, agents etc... anything you think would be of help!!! Its just me and the wife so dont need a big place. Although a large living room so that I can indulge in my hobby of 'Interpreting Shakespeare through the art of dance, yeeeeeeeessssssssss!)

Thanks peeps!

P2L

A kiwi friend of mine advised looking on www.trademe.co.nz for rental

Usually shows you on there what is wanted as a bond etc.

sarahw

Usually they ask for 2 weeks rent in advance, 2 weeks rent as a bond and then one weeks rent plus GST as the agent's commission.

Also try the rental section on www.realestate.co.nz

newkiwi

trademe.co.nz or realenz.co.nz
bond is usually two weeks
rent is usually two weeks in advance

some agents ask a "letting fee", this is a waste of money and avoid it if you can

otherwise get the paper first thing (ie before 8) and ring up immediately and ask about properties that look good to you. (i think wednesdays and saturdays have big sections for property rental) most likely you will then be asked to go view the place from the outside and if your still interested ring back to ask for a viewing inside (yeah i know, stupid, but thats how it goes) Have a car handy..

Early in the year is tough, lots of students returning, so dont get disheartened if you lose out on a few places.

not having kiwi references is always tricky, but all the expats manage....

areas depend on your budget, if your young and want to be near the city for going out etc parnell, mount eden, ponsonby, grey lynn, are all good. maybe even green lane, one tree hill.

north shore city or waitakere are cheaper, but farther away..

karonious

'Interpreting Shakespeare through the art of dance, yeeeeeeeessssssssss!)

You can come and sleep in my spare room if I get a private performance of that
And an evening meal thrown in for a cabaret I can invite my friends to
Sorry, can't help at all as we live in Hamilton but I like to support the arts!!

trigod

:scared:

karonious

!!

IainW

We payed around $395 a week for a 2 bedroom place just behind Sky Tower, then $330 a week for a 1 bedroom place out at Titirangi. Both were good quality apartments but not flash. $200 a week in auckland will put you firmly into the damp and/or tiny student 'studio' bracket, unless you're lucky.

trigod

Ahh fair comments, so in your opinion we should move towards a budget of $300-£350 for a reasonably smart place?

What areas apart from those above do you think are nice places to live?

IainW

Definitely right on the rent.

If you don't have kids and want some nightlife then I'd suggest living in the CBD to start with. Commuting is easy because you're travelling the opposite way to everyone else, and you're well placed for pubs/clubs & work opportunities. If you're lucky you'll end up within walking distance to work. It's not pretty, but it's well positioned for getting around. Once you've settled in a bit and got established at work, you can explore the city in more depth and find somewhere that suits.

Remember not to sign up to a long term fixed rental contract. 6 months fixed, becoming variable seems to be the norm in the city, avoid 12 month contracts at the beginning unless you love a place. A parking space can also bump up the rent by as much as $50 a week in the centre.

stacey19

www.allrealestate.co.nz is great for having a smooch at rental prices.

urbanproject

Hiya trigod,

We live in central Auckland and were able to lower our rent as negotiated with landlord to sign a 6 months contract. Seems like in the city 3 to 6 months contracts for places are the norm. I guess we were lucky to find a pretty flexible landlord. Don't forget to ask about utilities: will you get a water bill, how can you reconnect electricity in the place ect ect. The body corporate in our building pay the water and electricity was very easy to reconnect

As mentioned before, trademe is a good place to start looking, and I found Crockers (www.crockers.co.nz) pretty good.

Good luck,

Jen