thewebweazel Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 For me the Horror stories of Perth's rental market has hit home, I can now understand why some migrants that have spent years planning and working to secure a visa return "Home" only after a couple of months in Perth. I have been in Perth four and a half months and have been looking for a Rental for the last Month and a half (ever since the rest of the Weazel clan have arrived) to no avail. The Whole process is soul destroying, loads of people traipsing through some unfortunate soon to be ex tenants personal space with out a hint of supervision. Stories of 10 or 20 people arriving to inspect a house are true, actually they are pretty much the norm. Mrs Weazel attended a "Viewing" today where there were so many people that they had to wait in line and where taken through the house in batches, after waiting 15 minutes for her turn she gave up when she realised there was not a snowballs hope in hell that she was ever likely to have a chance with any application she might submit! I like to think that we are being realistic in our expectations, we have set ourselves a search area from Carine in the South to Burns Beach road in the North, East of the Marmion and 1 suburb west of Wanneroo Road so as to include Tapping, Wanneroo, Wangara a Darch etc. We are looking for a 3 or 4 bedroom with a lockup Garage and a Garden at least equal to what we had in the UK, very importantly it needs cupboard space. We have set ourselves a budget of up to $600 a week, most of the houses that we have viewed that meet our standard are above $450, note our standards have dropped substantially we even consider avocado bathroom suites and face brick inside walls, electric solid plate stoves and dustbowl gardens :wacko:. Unfortunately (for us) we do have standards in hygiene so some houses are automatically not considered. We have looked at houses that are cockroach infested, one the smelt like baby poo and countless that smelt like dog and that is after the carpets have been so called professionally cleaned, (all rental properties carpets are shampoo cleaned before next occupation) When pointing this out to the rental agent you normally get a half baked answer that pretty much comes down to take it or leave it when reading between the lines. Further more there doesn't seem to be a hint of embarrassment when showing such a hole. Oh how I detest rental agents they look down their noses at you and treat you like trash. When submitting an application don't expect them to get back to you when you have not made the grade, I dunno what happens when you do make the grade........ clearly:biglaugh:. They aren't interested in helping you find a rental the market dictates that they don't have to be, actually the market dictates that they don't have to be polite or civil to you either, some receptionists in estate agents don't even look at you or stop their conversations with Co workers when throwing the rental list at you. I have even had an agent make fun of immigrants Brits in particular at a Inspection. My perception is that there is a lot of lazy agents out there, it seems as if they are not interested in checking UK based references, we have made 8+ applications so far and not one of our references have been checked. One estate agent (house sales) that Mrs weasel had a chat with indicated that landlords are reluctant to take on UK expats as they have a larger tendency to break leases when they decide OZ is not for them. To counter the perception that we might break lease we have offered 3, 4 and 6 months rent in advance but it hasn't helped. We have offered $20 more per week as well, which I am very reluctant to do as bidding just pushes up the rents and makes the whole situation worse, but no luck. I cannot seem to work out what the problem is, is it the 3 children? I made one application for a 3 bedroom house with a study with out even looking at it, offered 6 months rent in advance 2 weeks before the open house and I was turned down on the fact that we have 5 in the Family and that there is not enough room for us. The pictures of the house clearly shows 6 beds and i have now found out that the owner that lived in the house previously has a family of 6. I have rented 6 apartments/houses and owned 2 properties since I was first shackelled to Mrs Weazel (please note it was willingly :wubclub:) and never once have I had to "BEG" for someone to take my money, it is ridiculous. I can honestly say that I have never lost my deposit, actually I have always left properties that I have rented in better condition then the way I received them, but unfortunately I cannot use any of these facts as I last rented over 8 years ago so the UK lettings agencies are unlikely to have any records and even if they did OZ agencies are unlikely to get off their lazy butts to check. So where does the Weazel Clan go from here? Family have been very kind to put us up but there comes a time when the "Homeless" have to find a Home for every bodies sanity. I might just try a holiday rental so I can get an independent checkable Ozzie reference but I'm not really sure that that it is going to help at this stage. Maybe its time to ask the WA state sponsor to be let out of the 2 year agreement and allow me to move to Queensland, hopefully its better there! Unfortunately at this stage the Ozzie Dream doesn't look that great now ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blobby1000 Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 For me the Horror stories of Perth's rental market has hit home, I can now understand why some migrants that have spent years planning and working to secure a visa return "Home" only after a couple of months in Perth. I have been in Perth four and a half months and have been looking for a Rental for the last Month and a half (ever since the rest of the Weazel clan have arrived) to no avail. The Whole process is soul destroying, loads of people traipsing through some unfortunate soon to be ex tenants personal space with out a hint of supervision. Stories of 10 or 20 people arriving to inspect a house are true, actually they are pretty much the norm. Mrs Weazel attended a "Viewing" today where there were so many people that they had to wait in line and where taken through the house in batches, after waiting 15 minutes for her turn she gave up when she realised there was not a snowballs hope in hell that she was ever likely to have a chance with any application she might submit! I like to think that we are being realistic in our expectations, we have set ourselves a search area from Carine in the South to Burns Beach road in the North, East of the Marmion and 1 suburb west of Wanneroo Road so as to include Tapping, Wanneroo, Wangara a Darch etc. We are looking for a 3 or 4 bedroom with a lockup Garage and a Garden at least equal to what we had in the UK, very importantly it needs cupboard space. We have set ourselves a budget of up to $600 a week, most of the houses that we have viewed that meet our standard are above $450, note our standards have dropped substantially we even consider avocado bathroom suites and face brick inside walls, electric solid plate stoves and dustbowl gardens :wacko:. Unfortunately (for us) we do have standards in hygiene so some houses are automatically not considered. We have looked at houses that are cockroach infested, one the smelt like baby poo and countless that smelt like dog and that is after the carpets have been so called professionally cleaned, (all rental properties carpets are shampoo cleaned before next occupation) When pointing this out to the rental agent you normally get a half baked answer that pretty much comes down to take it or leave it when reading between the lines. Further more there doesn't seem to be a hint of embarrassment when showing such a hole. Oh how I detest rental agents they look down their noses at you and treat you like trash. When submitting an application don't expect them to get back to you when you have not made the grade, I dunno what happens when you do make the grade........ clearly:biglaugh:. They aren't interested in helping you find a rental the market dictates that they don't have to be, actually the market dictates that they don't have to be polite or civil to you either, some receptionists in estate agents don't even look at you or stop their conversations with Co workers when throwing the rental list at you. I have even had an agent make fun of immigrants Brits in particular at a Inspection. My perception is that there is a lot of lazy agents out there, it seems as if they are not interested in checking UK based references, we have made 8+ applications so far and not one of our references have been checked. One estate agent (house sales) that Mrs weasel had a chat with indicated that landlords are reluctant to take on UK expats as they have a larger tendency to break leases when they decide OZ is not for them. To counter the perception that we might break lease we have offered 3, 4 and 6 months rent in advance but it hasn't helped. We have offered $20 more per week as well, which I am very reluctant to do as bidding just pushes up the rents and makes the whole situation worse, but no luck. I cannot seem to work out what the problem is, is it the 3 children? I made one application for a 3 bedroom house with a study with out even looking at it, offered 6 months rent in advance 2 weeks before the open house and I was turned down on the fact that we have 5 in the Family and that there is not enough room for us. The pictures of the house clearly shows 6 beds and i have now found out that the owner that lived in the house previously has a family of 6. I have rented 6 apartments/houses and owned 2 properties since I was first shackelled to Mrs Weazel (please note it was willingly :wubclub:) and never once have I had to "BEG" for someone to take my money, it is ridiculous. I can honestly say that I have never lost my deposit, actually I have always left properties that I have rented in better condition then the way I received them, but unfortunately I cannot use any of these facts as I last rented over 8 years ago so the UK lettings agencies are unlikely to have any records and even if they did OZ agencies are unlikely to get off their lazy butts to check. So where does the Weazel Clan go from here? Family have been very kind to put us up but there comes a time when the "Homeless" have to find a Home for every bodies sanity. I might just try a holiday rental so I can get an independent checkable Ozzie reference but I'm not really sure that that it is going to help at this stage. Maybe its time to ask the WA state sponsor to be let out of the 2 year agreement and allow me to move to Queensland, hopefully its better there! Unfortunately at this stage the Ozzie Dream doesn't look that great now ! You will here... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happycat Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 Mrs Weazel It sounds like a really hard time. We move to Perth in January and we are now dreading looking for a place to stay. Happycat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blobby1000 Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 (edited) Allow me to share some of my experiences in the rental market in Victoria. We initially rented in Melbourne and our biggest problem was having a dog. I wanted to lie but Mrs Blobby insisted on telling the truth and hence we were immediately ruled out of 90% of the market (and even those that allowed a dog insisted on him being left outside, which, obviously, we did not do). The general approach of the rental agent is to open the door and then stand to one side texting. The agent will never get back to you to tell you you have not been successful and will rarely communicate even if you have been successful.. My favourite house we were shown around was a former drug den that had been full of squattors. It was the most disgusting house I had ever seen. The agent informed us that the landlord had increased the rent for this year! As the OP says, never a hint of embarrassment or irony. We eventually settled on a house that turned out to have a leaking roof (never fixed) a leaking garage that ruined everything in it (never fixed, no compensation ever given) and the oldest ever gas "central heating" when I requested in be safety tested I was told "nah, its ok, the landlord vacuumed it 2 years ago" (lets make something clear, people die over here of Carbon Monoxide poisoning in substandard rental properties), needless to say we never used it and froze our nuts off (the 75% of our family with nuts) for a year, honestly I have NEVER been so cold as I have in Australia. Eventually we left the property at the end of the lease and the agent (as is the norm) tried to screw us for the deposit (they failed after 2 months of arguing from me) We moved into our next property. I made an appointment for a viewing, a private one, and when I arrived I found they had decided to throw it open so lots of other people could see it. It was agreed we could have it at $440 a week and as we came to sign they decided they wanted $450 (The same thing happened on the first property) no explanation, they just changed the "4" to a "5" and hoped we would not notice. When I questioned them they said it was because we have a dog. Time moved on and it soon became clear the house was falling to pieces. The roof leaked and when I reported it I was told off for not reporting it earlier (it had not rained until this point) the log burner ( a big reason we took the house) broke as soon as we used it and the agent refused to fix it on account of the fact we had a heating fan (i said to them "we dont want to go for a romantic walk on the beach and come back and sit under a fan" but they were unmoved.....eventually after much arguing they fixed it but it broke again the next time we used it. Then we all developed coughs and swolen glands and it became clear the house was full of mold. Mrs Blobbys wedding dress has been ruined, covered in mold, along with lots of other items. When we reported this the agent suddenly decided our dog breached the tenancy agreement (they had agreed it was OK at the start and increased the rent). They were basically using that to try to shut us up. I told them regardless of our dog they needed to fix the mold. They got a dodgy "plumber" who filled the hole in the ceiling with newspaper and painted the ceiling and we were told there were "no issues with mold" we continue to cough, have itchy eyes and other symptoms related to mold spores. We sleep in the lounge due to not being able to breathe in the bedroom. We gave notice on the house (10 weeks instead 4 in order to be helpful in the hope it won us some favour when we go down the inevitable battle of trying to reclaim our bond). The return we got from the agent is to show tenants round one at a time, 3 times a week. The agent walks in, moves all the kids toys, opens all the blinds (which are broken) turns the washing machine off, moves the shower head so you cant hear the drip drip drip that it has done for a year and never replaces anything...... My point is this. Once you finally get a house, your problems will only just be beginning. I met a Brit today, been here 10 years, she owns a 5 year old house that is falling to pieces, built without proper building regs, leaking, mouldy and needing 50k spent on it to get it right (providing she can find a competent builder). Dont think you can buy a house to end your woes! And remember, some of the most scornful members on here moved out here years ago. Good for them.. They will own their houses now, they will have forgotten what its like to rent. The rest of us missed the boat. Edited October 8, 2012 by blobby1000 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amibovered Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 You will here... So true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catinahat1975 Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 reeding this makes me feel sick. We are coming over in January and have a short term rental for when we arrive(7 weeks) and hope to find somewhere in this time!!!! For us we will look where i find work so maybe not in Perth but Bunbury area. Is this standard for all WA? We don't want much but a house that will stand up to our time in it!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eera Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 As a landlord I find these sorts of stories disgusting when I try to keep my tenants happy. Agents are paid around 8% of the renatal, up to 16% in some cases, and if they're not doing anything to earn that it's really not great on behalf of the lanlord or the tenant. I don't know if you guys are aware, but recently there was a legal victory for a tenant who sued the agent and landlord for persistant non-fixing of things, can't remember the details, it was on a landlord newsletter my agent sent me, but basically the tenant got something like 6 months' rent refunded and some other stuff back. You should have a tenancy advocacy in your local town, please don't be afraid to complain to them if you get no joy out of your agent; you can't be blacklisted for using their services. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 I totally agree with the Perth story, that is the reason we did not stay. The housing was shocking and well overpriced unless you wanted to live out in the sticks on a brand new estate which was still a building site. Maybe it was where we were looking but there was so many people in the same position as us not being able to find somewhere that it ended up we couldnt even get holiday accommodation unless we took a minimum 2 months and we were moving about every few days. There were so many on the internet already let but the lazy agents didnt bother to take them off. I wouldnt agree with the Melbourne comments, we have now rented 3 all brand new houses, never had any problems, apart from being broken into in one, but you cant blame the agent for that! maybe we have just been lucky, but Blooby is painting a really bad picture, surely if the houses were that bad you would have noticed something when you went to view. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JK2510 Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 I'm very sorry to hear this....this is exactly why we are staying put in this rental....fingers crossed something will come along soon....incidentally do houses between the $550-$600pw mark attract less at viewings? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wellers and Whitehead Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 reeding this makes me feel sick. We are coming over in January and have a short term rental for when we arrive(7 weeks) and hope to find somewhere in this time!!!! For us we will look where i find work so maybe not in Perth but Bunbury area. Is this standard for all WA? We don't want much but a house that will stand up to our time in it!!! Think it is an Oz thing!? We have a nice flat but it does have bits of mould etc. renting is a nightmare, but can be done with persistence. In Perth, the agents were sooooooo unhelpful, rude really. Think its Coz we were british (it would appear from our experience they prefer to rent to their own..WA people). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wellers and Whitehead Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 I totally agree with the Perth story, that is the reason we did not stay. The housing was shocking and well overpriced unless you wanted to live out in the sticks on a brand new estate which was still a building site. Maybe it was where we were looking but there was so many people in the same position as us not being able to find somewhere that it ended up we couldnt even get holiday accommodation unless we took a minimum 2 months and we were moving about every few days. There were so many on the internet already let but the lazy agents didnt bother to take them off. I wouldnt agree with the Melbourne comments, we have now rented 3 all brand new houses, never had any problems, apart from being broken into in one, but you cant blame the agent for that! maybe we have just been lucky, but Blooby is painting a really bad picture, surely if the houses were that bad you would have noticed something when you went to view. With regards to 'if the houses were that bad you would have noticed something when you went to view'. I have a friend who rented and in the end broke the lease due to many reasons about the house, but mainly the mould. They didn't notice it when moved in but as the weather changed it became worse, children asthma for worse etc.they got an independent specialist in who took moulds readings etc and confirmed that the mould was impacting on their health. The agents got their own specular but he was shocking. She was prepared to fight at a tribunal to get her money back (bond) but didn't have to as the pics and report she submitted from her specialist did the trick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blobby1000 Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 I totally agree with the Perth story, that is the reason we did not stay. The housing was shocking and well overpriced unless you wanted to live out in the sticks on a brand new estate which was still a building site. Maybe it was where we were looking but there was so many people in the same position as us not being able to find somewhere that it ended up we couldnt even get holiday accommodation unless we took a minimum 2 months and we were moving about every few days. There were so many on the internet already let but the lazy agents didnt bother to take them off. I wouldnt agree with the Melbourne comments, we have now rented 3 all brand new houses, never had any problems, apart from being broken into in one, but you cant blame the agent for that! maybe we have just been lucky, but Blooby is painting a really bad picture, surely if the houses were that bad you would have noticed something when you went to view. Well I can assure you Im not making it up. Im not generalising. Im writing about our own experience. Oh, and I did not notice the mold and leaks because it was summer when we looked round the houses. You cant really say "I dont agree!" you can say "our experience has been positive" but I cant really see how you can disagree with my comments unless you have proof Im just making it up!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VERYSTORMY Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 Have you considered going further afield? In mandurah it is a lot easier. Normally you ask the agent to show you a property and your budget would get a very nice place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 I guess like everything there are good and bad agents (I do feel for those who have had bad experiences in finding a rental). My friend however, had a good one with agents .. so they're not all bad. The came over and were in holiday accommodation for 4 weeks, by the end of it they'd secured a rental property, they certainly looked at some bad ones but the agents were great ringing her up when something came in. I'm not discounting anyones experience but not all agents are bad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JK2510 Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 Think it is an Oz thing!? We have a nice flat but it does have bits of mould etc. renting is a nightmare, but can be done with persistence. In Perth, the agents were sooooooo unhelpful, rude really. Think its Coz we were british (it would appear from our experience they prefer to rent to their own..WA people). I don't agree with this...we had a very nice agent....I'm sure they're not picking on us British people. Rentals are really tough in Perth...I guess that has been the same for the last yr...not really showing any signs of improvement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 Well I can assure you Im not making it up. Im not generalising. Im writing about our own experience. Oh, and I did not notice the mold and leaks because it was summer when we looked round the houses. You cant really say "I dont agree!" you can say "our experience has been positive" but I cant really see how you can disagree with my comments unless you have proof Im just making it up!!! Excuse me! I did not say you made it up - they way you put it sounded like the whole of Melbourne was like that. If I do not agree I will say I do not agree Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blobby1000 Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 Excuse me! I did not say you made it up - they way you put it sounded like the whole of Melbourne was like that. If I do not agree I will say I do not agree I had a silly argument with someone on here a few weeks ago and it all got right out of hand. I have therefore vowed to be more sensible. So I will just make one more small comment on this. Im just saying you cant disagree that we have had a bad time with agents and houses. I cant say the whole of Melbourne is like what we have experienced. And I am glad your experience has been better, good even. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goochie Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 On the flip side, 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" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewebweazel Posted October 9, 2012 Author Share Posted October 9, 2012 (edited) Have you considered going further afield? In mandurah it is a lot easier. Normally you ask the agent to show you a property and your budget would get a very nice place. Yup Queensland LOL. I wouldn't miind living in Mandurah but it is a Tad to far to my work in Morley. Mrs Weazel expects to work in the CBD, my Twins are in Glengarry Primary school and my eldest will enroll in Duncraig HS at the end of the holidays. Plus our family live in the Northern suburbs. One of the major reasons why we moved to Perth was the fact what we already have a support network so moving SOR would make impossible to take advantage of Family Edited October 9, 2012 by thewebweazel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicolac34 Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 This is why despite the fact our 2 bed unit is bursting at the seams now my sister has moved in we won't be moving into another rental. We we are obviously one of the lucky ones - rented directly from the landlord through Gumtree. Lovely landlords if a little happless, but they are straight round if anything needs doing and even repainted the bathroom ceiling without us even mentioning it needed doing. We did consider renting somewhere bigger, but the more I hear of agents and viewings (also held at the most inconvenient time of the day if you're working full time!) the more I'm set on sticking it out with less space until we can buy something of our own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robfromdublin Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 I can't understand why people let agents get away with this. Is there not a tribunal in WA that you can take them to? Won't fix something? Take $50 off the rent for loss of amenity. Won't give your bond back? Take them straight to the tribunal. Take pictures when you move in AND move out. Keep all correspondence in writing (or email). Fill out entry & exit condition reports in full. It's not rocket science. Everyone knows there are dodgy letting agents the world over so it's just sensible to assume they'll try to scam you and document everything. As for getting a rental in a tight market, well that seems to be the luck of the draw. We've had no problems in Brisbane, but it seems Perth is a different beast altogether. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blobby1000 Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 I can't understand why people let agents get away with this. Is there not a tribunal in WA that you can take them to? Won't fix something? Take $50 off the rent for loss of amenity. Won't give your bond back? Take them straight to the tribunal. Take pictures when you move in AND move out. Keep all correspondence in writing (or email). Fill out entry & exit condition reports in full. It's not rocket science. Everyone knows there are dodgy letting agents the world over so it's just sensible to assume they'll try to scam you and document everything. As for getting a rental in a tight market, well that seems to be the luck of the draw. We've had no problems in Brisbane, but it seems Perth is a different beast altogether. Have you tried to get a bond back yet? Whilst it may not be "rocket science" you must appreciate that the agents are masters in their fields, the rest of us have to learn the tricks as we go along. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rikyuu Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 OP- I don't know if you can try Melbourne instead. Lots of nice 4 bed, new rentals (ie. fairly modern) for about $350pw. The process is the same pain, making you feel in competition with everyone, but there's plenty advertised if you don't need to be within 20km of the city. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landv Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 Allow me to share some of my experiences in the rental market in Victoria. We initially rented in Melbourne and our biggest problem was having a dog. I wanted to lie but Mrs Blobby insisted on telling the truth and hence we were immediately ruled out of 90% of the market (and even those that allowed a dog insisted on him being left outside, which, obviously, we did not do). The general approach of the rental agent is to open the door and then stand to one side texting. The agent will never get back to you to tell you you have not been successful and will rarely communicate even if you have been successful.. My favourite house we were shown around was a former drug den that had been full of squattors. It was the most disgusting house I had ever seen. The agent informed us that the landlord had increased the rent for this year! As the OP says, never a hint of embarrassment or irony. We eventually settled on a house that turned out to have a leaking roof (never fixed) a leaking garage that ruined everything in it (never fixed, no compensation ever given) and the oldest ever gas "central heating" when I requested in be safety tested I was told "nah, its ok, the landlord vacuumed it 2 years ago" (lets make something clear, people die over here of Carbon Monoxide poisoning in substandard rental properties), needless to say we never used it and froze our nuts off (the 75% of our family with nuts) for a year, honestly I have NEVER been so cold as I have in Australia. Eventually we left the property at the end of the lease and the agent (as is the norm) tried to screw us for the deposit (they failed after 2 months of arguing from me) We moved into our next property. I made an appointment for a viewing, a private one, and when I arrived I found they had decided to throw it open so lots of other people could see it. It was agreed we could have it at $440 a week and as we came to sign they decided they wanted $450 (The same thing happened on the first property) no explanation, they just changed the "4" to a "5" and hoped we would not notice. When I questioned them they said it was because we have a dog. Time moved on and it soon became clear the house was falling to pieces. The roof leaked and when I reported it I was told off for not reporting it earlier (it had not rained until this point) the log burner ( a big reason we took the house) broke as soon as we used it and the agent refused to fix it on account of the fact we had a heating fan (i said to them "we dont want to go for a romantic walk on the beach and come back and sit under a fan" but they were unmoved.....eventually after much arguing they fixed it but it broke again the next time we used it. Then we all developed coughs and swolen glands and it became clear the house was full of mold. Mrs Blobbys wedding dress has been ruined, covered in mold, along with lots of other items. When we reported this the agent suddenly decided our dog breached the tenancy agreement (they had agreed it was OK at the start and increased the rent). They were basically using that to try to shut us up. I told them regardless of our dog they needed to fix the mold. They got a dodgy "plumber" who filled the hole in the ceiling with newspaper and painted the ceiling and we were told there were "no issues with mold" we continue to cough, have itchy eyes and other symptoms related to mold spores. We sleep in the lounge due to not being able to breathe in the bedroom. We gave notice on the house (10 weeks instead 4 in order to be helpful in the hope it won us some favour when we go down the inevitable battle of trying to reclaim our bond). The return we got from the agent is to show tenants round one at a time, 3 times a week. The agent walks in, moves all the kids toys, opens all the blinds (which are broken) turns the washing machine off, moves the shower head so you cant hear the drip drip drip that it has done for a year and never replaces anything...... My point is this. Once you finally get a house, your problems will only just be beginning. I met a Brit today, been here 10 years, she owns a 5 year old house that is falling to pieces, built without proper building regs, leaking, mouldy and needing 50k spent on it to get it right (providing she can find a competent builder). Dont think you can buy a house to end your woes! And remember, some of the most scornful members on here moved out here years ago. Good for them.. They will own their houses now, they will have forgotten what its like to rent. The rest of us missed the boat. So very true Blobby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 It is exactly the same in Melbourne, they have so many people desperate for a rental the agents don't need to go out of their way to be friendly. I have worked with numerous agents and been to so many OFI I've lost count and I can say 98% of the agents I worked with didn't give a toss. In fact thinking of all the agents now there are only 3 that stand out. The photos they show on realestate half of the time look nothing like the property, or they will have hidden the fact that there is a huge factory outside. Good luck Mr/Mrs Webweazel hope something comes along Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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