Mullso Posted September 6, 2012 Share Posted September 6, 2012 Been in Melbourne 3 weeks now and love it however renting a decent house is a nightmare! Got a budget of $700 pw but finding it really hard to find anywhere nice that's commutable to CBd! Looking for 4 bedroom house min that allows dogs and is in a decent area! Viewed 11 houses last weekend with 3 kids under 4 was not fun and seriously found 1 worth applying for! Which we didn't get despite the actual owner showing us round! Photos are a total con as they show the house a lot of the time when it was first built not now when it has new flats in the back garden! Agents never get back to you to keep you updated and we only have 2 more weeks till our dog comes out of quarantine. Very flexible on area with the exception of going too far I can't get a train or team to work. Wife getting very down about the whole thing Anyone help ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted September 6, 2012 Share Posted September 6, 2012 Which areas are you looking at? Point Cook you would get a lovely property for around $400 which would prob accept pets, SE Melbourne also has some lovely suburbs where $700 per week would get you a stunning house Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sibella Posted September 6, 2012 Share Posted September 6, 2012 We live in Outer Eastern Melbourne which is 40 mins on the train, 30 mins drive (not in peak time) from CBD. We rent a spacious 4 bedroomed plus study house for $630 a week. Lots of great schools in surrounding areas. Look in Warranwood, Warrandyte, North Croydon, Croydon Hills, North Ringwood, Wonga Park etc. Good luck - you sound like us, we have 3 kids and we ended up going for the house first and the area second as we really struggled to find a 4 bedroomed house. But we did get the second one we looked at though. This area is good as the houses are more spacious than ones closer to the city. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Alice2 Posted September 6, 2012 Share Posted September 6, 2012 you are confirming my nightmare. I will be there in 4 weeks time and am really not looking forward to finding a rental. We will also be looking for a 4-bedroom house. Btw, most houses have air conditioning? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jassop Posted September 6, 2012 Share Posted September 6, 2012 I arrive in Melbourne on sep 30th and have seen loads of really decent looking places for 500 a week or less in edithvale, aspendale, Chelsea areas and only 40 min commute - I can't wait to get out there and start looking and I have 2 boys under 6 and a husband and a mother in law!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted September 6, 2012 Share Posted September 6, 2012 Jeez - where you looking at that price! As said before Point Cook is commutable, along with Williams Landing and a lot of the other suburbs in the West. We got a new 4x2, alfresco, 2 living areas, for $340 a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mullso Posted September 7, 2012 Author Share Posted September 7, 2012 Looked at Point Cook and its pretty souless - like living on a brookside estate -mixed reviews on here about it too - alot of peole leaving PC due to high crime - not the place i want to start our new life in Oz also there are very little facilities/ need a car if you want to do or go anywhere and no public transport to CBD. so if I take the car to work then wife is stuck ! Williams Landing not impressed with the area at all Seaholme nice and lovely beach at Altona but only 2 properties for lease and both are not suitable Have more viewing lined up for tomorrow as thats all we do with our weekends! Viewing around Kew / Brighton and fairfeild - watch this space ill let you know how we get on !! Dog comes out of quaratine next Sat so we must have a place by then !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted September 7, 2012 Share Posted September 7, 2012 (edited) Well if you are that desperate! You could take a 6 month lease and give yourselves plenty more time to look around. I dont think many people find their perfect house as soon as they get here, you have to make some compromises. Edited September 7, 2012 by AJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted September 7, 2012 Share Posted September 7, 2012 you are confirming my nightmare. I will be there in 4 weeks time and am really not looking forward to finding a rental. We will also be looking for a 4-bedroom house. Btw, most houses have air conditioning? Please don't worry there are plenty of 4 beds out there between $350 - $450 it just depends where you want to be and which suburb. In the SE you would get a stunning property for that amount, for example for $700 http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-beaconsfield-405838961 http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-mount+martha-408581223 http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-mount+eliza-406284736 Or a 4 bed in Berwick for $470 http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-berwick-405235424 I have never heard of PC being a high crime suburb, I can understand when they were first building the estate as that's when you get the opportunists coming too take the building materials etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Alice2 Posted September 7, 2012 Share Posted September 7, 2012 Hi M2M, thanks. We are looking Caterbury/camberwell/Ashburton area at the moment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wellers and Whitehead Posted September 7, 2012 Share Posted September 7, 2012 We went through the same thing with our cat coming out of quarantine, and had no where to go. We started off in Perth but due to lack of finding accommodation we moved to Sydney where my aunty lives! We stupidly thought how hard can it be to find somewhere to live, so only booked temp accommodation for 2 Weeks!!! We found real estates in Perth so unhelpful. We were in Sydney for 5 Weeks before we got offered a flat. Nightmare! Nobody is in a rush, people don't get back to you, Argh! We didn't and still haven't told our real estate we have a cat, as to start with we were honest about having a cat but just kept getting rejected due to her. I was shocked how hard it us to get property when u have pets! Crazy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sally04 Posted September 7, 2012 Share Posted September 7, 2012 Been in Melbourne 3 weeks now and love it however renting a decent house is a nightmare! Got a budget of $700 pw but finding it really hard to find anywhere nice that's commutable to CBd! Looking for 4 bedroom house min that allows dogs and is in a decent area! Viewed 11 houses last weekend with 3 kids under 4 was not fun and seriously found 1 worth applying for! Which we didn't get despite the actual owner showing us round! Photos are a total con as they show the house a lot of the time when it was first built not now when it has new flats in the back garden! Agents never get back to you to keep you updated and we only have 2 more weeks till our dog comes out of quarantine. Very flexible on area with the exception of going too far I can't get a train or team to work. Wife getting very down about the whole thing Anyone help ? Trying to secure a rental is a game, it helps if you get friendly with the agents ( unfortunately!) the quality of rental is generally not the best, however your budget would usually throw up some decent places. Out of interest I checked highett with your budget and came up with some lovely houses available to rent. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mullso Posted September 8, 2012 Author Share Posted September 8, 2012 hi all thanks for all the help advice and links we have had a better day today after viewing 7 houses we are applying for 2 so fingers crossed one will say yes ! had a generally long commute on most projects in the uk so would be nice to have one less than an hour - ill let you kniow how we get on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piglet1 Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 I checked some areas in Malvern with that budget and a few 4BR houses are going for $600 with a huge garden/backyard. We viewed almost 20 properties before getting our current place! Good luck with your application! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Alice2 Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 hi all thanks for all the help advice and links we have had a better day today after viewing 7 houses we are applying for 2 so fingers crossed one will say yes ! had a generally long commute on most projects in the uk so would be nice to have one less than an hour - ill let you kniow how we get on Mullso, can I ask how you managed to view as many as 7 in a day? Thought viewing times were set and usually at the same time? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anya Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 Try this, hopefully fits your requirements? http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-camberwell-408319247 Good luck :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoandJon Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 If you're looking in the Camberwell area then no wonder - try out a bit further and you should be fine: Blackburn, Laburnum, Mitcham etc are all very very easily commutable on the Belgrave/Lilydale line (and my favourite local vet is based in Forest Hills) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 Mullso, can I ask how you managed to view as many as 7 in a day? Thought viewing times were set and usually at the same time? Thanks. No they are not at same time, it is often the same agent going round the properties in an area so would not be possible to be at same time. The key is being organised, pick the ones you want to iew the night before, make a note of the times and how close they are together. If you do have a clash of properties in different areas, then you will need to make a choice. Get the application form for the ones you are most keen on in advance and prefill it in. If you like it, then hand it in on the day. Put together some rental packs, ID, job offer letters, bank statements and put on a cover letter explaining why you are such a perfect tenant. Don't panic, it is daunting, it was probably the thing that scared me most too. But it is not so bad once you get organised and we didn't have that much trouble even with pets in tow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rikyuu Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 (edited) you are confirming my nightmare. I will be there in 4 weeks time and am really not looking forward to finding a rental. We will also be looking for a 4-bedroom house. Btw, most houses have air conditioning? Don't worry too much about finding something, it depends on the area you are looking. There's always going to be competition for inner CBD locations and short commute locations, but in the outer suburbs there are hundreds of 4 bed houses around $350pw. The process is made to be difficult though, you'll be made to think there's stiff competition as there are viewing days which are spread out so that several people turn up and you feel you are in competition with them. It's not first come first served, you have to submit your application and it can take anything from a couple of days to 1 week+ for them to review it. You are only suppose to apply for one at a time as your application states you'll take any property that's offered to you. Once you've been accepted and everything is signed, there's a little note in your agreement which says they landlord doesn't have to let you move in on the agreed date! It's all to make you think rentals are like gold dust and agencies/landlords are gods. However, one look on Realestate.com confirms there's lots available. A lot of landlords are in negative equaty, negatively geared or max'd out on the mortgage so will be glad to get someone quick with a good financial background. So put together an information pack with your application inlcuding proof of past rental/mortgage payments with no arrears, past bill payments, income, bank balances, references etc. Yes you are presenting your entire financial life to someone you don't know, but it can help. Most 'rental only' houses (ie. not lived in by the owner) will not have aircon as they are built to a cost, some will have it in the main dining area only, a few will have the whole house, but they may attract a premium. We managed the first year with 3 mobile aircon units (only 150GBP each) to take the edge off the heat and our current rental has a big unit in the main area, which we blow around the rest of the house with fans and we have one mobile in the main bedroom. It's fine apart from 1 or 2 sticky nights, but that's in Melbourne, where it generally cools down at night (to about 25C). Australian houses are generally not built for hot or cold weather. Most still have single glazing, little loft insulation, gaps around doors and black roof tiles. Some recent builds may be built to more energy efficient standards if the landlord has paid the extra, but neither of our new build rentals have. Edited September 9, 2012 by rikyuu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mullso Posted September 10, 2012 Author Share Posted September 10, 2012 hi to view 7 in one day takes a very methodical well organised partner ! we started at 10am and planned out a route> its not easy as at times you end up having to make a choice as some of the ones you want to see are viewing at the same time.! we ended up flying east and west and east again then south but if you plan it it can be done ! today was a better day as one of the agents has phoned my MD for a reference so fingers crossed we may have a chance of getting a home !!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Alice2 Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 Good luck mullso. Hope you good news soon. Thanks all for your info. It has provided me with some comfort and I will stop stressing about it now And rikyuu, good to know air conditioning units are available at £150 a pop. Yippee! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mullso Posted September 13, 2012 Author Share Posted September 13, 2012 Still waiting for agents to let us know if we have a house ! They are useless !!! How hard can it be ??? We passed the acceptance test so just ask the bloody owner if he is interested in having us as tenants !! AAARRRRGHHH Driving us mad ! Dog out of quarantine this weekend and despite phone calls and emails requesting politely for an update they still havent got back to us !! Looking for kennels now but all full so far as its half term holiday !!!! So once again we wait ......... I can see why this is a logical and tested process the whole renting game but it would help if the agents got off their arses and did thier jobs ! I called one lady and she said yep all looking good there are 2 applicatiosn in / following day there were 3 and yesterday there were 4 / I called back yesterday and the owner will accept dogs but not a big dog !!!! What difference does it make ???? A dog will either destroy stuff or it wont it has NOTHING to do with the size of the dog !! I have young kids and a german shepherd do you really think I would put the 2 together if she was a dangerous dog or a dog that destroys things !! God it makes no sense. Both my wife and I are so depressed about the whole thing and its certainly not making the Oz expereience a pleasant one ! Dont get me wrong I love it here but this is a real issue ! I did think we could start this process prior to coming out - but forget it - agents will a) not contact a UK Phone number and you HAVE to BOTH view a property to be accepted! So you have to be in Oz So i am now looking at paying for my 2 bed rental as the company duration has now expired AND looking for a holiday let that allows dogs so thats approx $400 Per day UNTIL I can get an answer from an agent and find a house New arrivals please beware ! We didnt expect it to be this hard ! Advice I have recieved since this nightmare is get your company to get you a relocation agent - too late for me but by the sounds of it speaking to work mates - thats the way we should have gone - its a nightmare on our own ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 Still waiting for agents to let us know if we have a house ! They are useless !!! How hard can it be ??? We passed the acceptance test so just ask the bloody owner if he is interested in having us as tenants !! AAARRRRGHHH Driving us mad ! Dog out of quarantine this weekend and despite phone calls and emails requesting politely for an update they still havent got back to us !! Looking for kennels now but all full so far as its half term holiday !!!! So once again we wait ......... I can see why this is a logical and tested process the whole renting game but it would help if the agents got off their arses and did thier jobs ! I called one lady and she said yep all looking good there are 2 applicatiosn in / following day there were 3 and yesterday there were 4 / I called back yesterday and the owner will accept dogs but not a big dog !!!! What difference does it make ???? A dog will either destroy stuff or it wont it has NOTHING to do with the size of the dog !! I have young kids and a german shepherd do you really think I would put the 2 together if she was a dangerous dog or a dog that destroys things !! God it makes no sense. Both my wife and I are so depressed about the whole thing and its certainly not making the Oz expereience a pleasant one ! Dont get me wrong I love it here but this is a real issue ! I did think we could start this process prior to coming out - but forget it - agents will a) not contact a UK Phone number and you HAVE to BOTH view a property to be accepted! So you have to be in Oz So i am now looking at paying for my 2 bed rental as the company duration has now expired AND looking for a holiday let that allows dogs so thats approx $400 Per day UNTIL I can get an answer from an agent and find a house New arrivals please beware ! We didnt expect it to be this hard ! Advice I have recieved since this nightmare is get your company to get you a relocation agent - too late for me but by the sounds of it speaking to work mates - thats the way we should have gone - its a nightmare on our own ! Have you followed the advice you have been given? Planning ahead, rental pack, befriending agents etc. I have never heard of anyone having quite so much trouble and wouldn't want all newbies to be scared witless! Relocation agents just drive you around. I am a landlord and I wouldn't take a big dog either but might consider a small one, this is my prerogative. One landlord refused to consider my cat, I guess they don't like cats, no point stressing over why. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mullso Posted September 13, 2012 Author Share Posted September 13, 2012 Got packs / enroled on 1form for speed of processing and befriended agents (wife has especially) - did covering letter introducing myself and family / got certs showing dog has been trained to UK kennel club standard etc etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mullso Posted September 13, 2012 Author Share Posted September 13, 2012 Hey Guess what ????????? Another unsucessful application came through today ! Back to square one ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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