blobby1000 Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 My bad experiences of the rental market in Australia are well documented. In order to even things up a bit, and so as not to scare off every potential new arrival: Has anyone had any positive experiences renting property in Australia? What happened? Why was it good? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goochie Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 I just posted this in the other thread but I guess it'll be lost in there fairly soon so here we go again: Our experience was nowhere near as bad as we expected, having read other reports on here. We have a medium size dog which we were expecting to be a problem. Its not. Unless the advert says NO PETS, the agent will be willing to consider it. Dont tick the "allows pets" box when doing a search as that eliminates pretty much everything. None of the places we viewed said they allowed pets in the description, but none of them said NO PETS. We viewed 5 properties in total - Rent is shown on bold. 1) $475 A unit in Scarborough - There were 4 couples looking around, we saw just one of them ask for an application form. We diddnt like the place because the bedroom was pretty much next to the neighbours car parking space and there were too many kids toys lying aout in the communal driveway area (we dont have kids) 2) $500 A house opposit the school in Quinns Rocks - Again there were 4 couples viewing, two asked for an application form. The house was empty and in good condition, We just found the lounge area a bit dark and the master bedroom was a bit small. Great location in you had kids though. Whilst we were there, the agent told us she'd just got the keys to another one around the corner and if we hung about for 10 minutes we could follow her there.... 3) $560....Us and another couple went along with the agent to the other house, it was freshly painted, a good size, bright and airy. The garden was neat and tidy. We took an application form just in case this was the best we'd see. 4) $600 A house near Ocean Keys shopping centre in Clarkson. The house was dark and smelt a bit odd. However the basics were all good and the kitchen area looked pretty new. The garden was a decent size. This is the only one where we found a lot of other people - There were probably 10 other couples there. We spoke to the agent about a few things and found her to be a bit of a snotty stuck-up cow to be honest. I wont name the agent but let's just say they would probably sit next to an agent called Century 22 (if such an agent existed). 5) $600 A small house in Hillarys. A classic case of the smallest house in the best street. 4 bedrooms, only one of which is big enough for a king size bed, all of the others are about the size of what you'd get in a small new UK house as the main bedroom. The kitchen and bathrooms are from the early 90s and the garden is small. However, it is 15 mins walk to the beach and 15 mins walk to the huge Westfield shopping centre. Its also 15 mins drive to work for me. There was just one other person viewing the house. We put this down to the agent who had it being in the city rather than locally. They have no shop and only advertise online. My advice is to go to as many viewings as you possibly can, even if you know you wont like the house. This will give you a good snese of the process and will make it easier to spot the right house when you walk in. You shoul dalso read the posts on here about what is required in an application pack. We included "to whom it may concern" references from our employers in the UK, contact details for our employers here, a print off of our Aus internet banking screen, showing total savings etc. We also wroote a 2 page letter that gave some details on why we had come to Australia, included photos of our house that we'd just sold and a list of "why a dog is a better tennent than a child" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NicF Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 We did. But then we are in Adelaide and were looking to rent in an area with plenty of houses to rent and not too much competition. We saw quite a few houses for rent on the interent but the really nice looking ones didn't stay on for long. My OH looked at a few houses before I got here, including the one we are renting in at the moment. Some weren't in great condition so he ruled them out immediately. For the one we are in he came to the open viewing and he said there was no one else at the viewing the whole time he was there. After the viewing he spoke to me (still in the UK) and I agreed we should apply for to rent the house. He did the application form, submitted it and we got accepted. It was the only house he applied for as well. The house itself is nice, about 10 years old, well maintained, and in a nice area, although it wasn't especially clean when we got it and I spent hours cleaning out all the cupboards before we moved in. The house has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a covered patio area, shed and lawn out the back, and a very large kitchen/family area, is close to the school, playgrounds, a conservation park and various shops. We pay $420 a week for the house, which is about right for the area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 Melbourne Western Suburbs First house we rented - saw it in agents window, new 4 x 2, went in to arrange a viewing, they actually gave us the keys to go and look ourselves for $100 deposit, just had to return them within an hour and got our money back. Put application in next day after looking at a few others, was accepted after 4 hours. Moved in 1 week later. There was nothing wrong with the house just picked the wrong location for us so Second House - saw on internet , new 3 x 2, phone agent on the Saturday, he came out to let us view later that day, we wanted to rent but wanted to be in the next week. He met us again on the Monday at the property with the lease etc for us to sign. He did this because his office was in the East and it was easier to meet us there. Then we decided to go to Perth - wrong move! Back in Melbourne, stayed with friends for a week, found house we liked, new 4 x 2, viewed it on the Saturday, moved in by the next Thursday - So it can be done. I appreciate not every one has a good experience but hopefully this will show that it is not all bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 Try and get a relationship going with some of the agents, my friend called in almost every day and got on first name terms with them - in the end they were letting her know when things came in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Que Sera Sera Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 We went and looked at one house a gorgeous brand new 4x2 and loved it, we were the only people looking at it, we applied for it, and two days later we were told we had it for $400 a week, and when we left we got our full deposit back without any issues. In a sought after area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PontePom Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 We managed to sort our rental out while still in UK Got my brother to view it and check it was what it showed on the pictures We've been here now over 2 years and can see us here for many more years The agent who we first had dealings with was fantastic and only too happy to help They sold the business and the new agents were poor We spoke to the owners of the house and they agreed that they were no good and we agreed to do it alone and cut out the agent I help out and do loads of jobs if needed anything big we do together Works well for us Can't see us anywhere else soon We can just about do what we want Howard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 We rented in Como and the owner of the rental owned the house at the front of us. We didn't realise he was the owner until we complained about a tap leaking and he turned up with some plumbing equipment to fix it. I ended up helping him to fix the tap so we got talking and we became friends with the family. He was a lecturer at UWA and took my degree certificate in to get it ratified. Brought back a certificate from UWA that looked twice as good as my Birmingham Uni one and has stood me in good stead at interviews here ever since. The landlord knew I was out of work so gave me a job helping him paint his house and other properties. I saw him going out with a squash racket one Sunday morning and he asked if I played. I used to play for the Uni side and played at a pretty decent level in the UK. He invited me along for a game with his friends at the Kings Park club. Ended up playing in the same team and winning the league. End of season bash was a trip up the river on one of the other guys boats and a meal in Fremantle whilst the landlords kids babysat our youngster. Me and the wife had been here about 3 months and we were sat on the front of this big cabin cruiser, sailing down the river, sipping champagne. When it came time to move the landlord and family helped us pack our stuff in the hire van and helped unload it where we moved to. We were friends for a long time but have lost touch over the years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairystar32 Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 Our agents are wonderful ... We moved here and was panicking about renting, we were staying with friends. We met up with a lovely lady in the rental and we viewed one property but another person applied and they got it. She then told us one was comming up and we viewed and applied before it had been listed and got it, same with our second home, the tennants agreed for us to have a look before they moved out... Inspections are great and we have the same person over and over, only issue we can say is getting things fixed take multiple asks unless it is an emergency, then they are super quick! I also know another Brit who also use the same agents and they have had the same experience .... have nothing but good things to say. we love our estate agents If they will be as good and nice when we eventually purchase out of the area, remains to be seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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