Finding Rental accommodation in Perth is a Nightmare

[bubbe2005]

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

 

I hate false advertisements!!!

[thewebweazel]

Does anyone know how this Option fee thing works? How long can a agent hold your option fee while making a decision ?

[thewebweazel]

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..................... "why a dog is a better tennent than a child"

 

Have you managed to secure a rental yet ?

[Candygirl]

Really sorry to hear this Mr & Mrs W. It sounds a bloody nightmare and someone should give these agents a short stick up the backside. I don't like the idea of them being "POM Bashers":mad:

 

Have you seen anything on Gumtree or in the local papers through a private landlord? Could you have a word with your employer/s and see if they can assist in any way?

 

Keeping fingers crossed that you get something sorted very soon.

[robfromdublin]

Blobby, the 'tricks' are the same everywhere and with any important contract: document everything, make sure you have all agreements in writing, know your rights (most jurisdictions have tenancy rights available online). Our last agents here were terrible, and tried it on with us, but because we had documented proof and didn't let them get away with it we got our bond back in full with just a strongly worded email.

 

You are right in that they are more experienced, so inexperienced renters such as students or kids straight out of home are likely to fall foul of them I suppose.

[fifi69]

I agree that trying to secure a rental in Perth is a hard task. Agents....seen and heard so many horror stories

But touch wood our experience so far has been ok. We managed to secure ours while still in the UK, the first house that we looked at. Friends who are due out this month have also just secured a lovely property, again while still in the UK, it was a case of third time lucky for them, turned down for the first two, but they did get feedback from the agents saying that nothing wrong with them, just the owner choose someone else.

We had our second inspection yesterday and i was here when the agent came, she is the same one who we have dealt with from the start, sorted a couple of minor issues weve had pretty quickly and again asked yesterday if there was any probs.

Going back to securing a rental IMO think of your rental pack as a CV, its competitive out there so you really do need to 'sell yourself'

 

Webweazel i hope you get something soon, it can be done, best of luck

[Kimanda]

I agree that trying to secure a rental in Perth is a hard task. Agents....seen and heard so many horror stories

But touch wood our experience so far has been ok. We managed to secure ours while still in the UK, the first house that we looked at. Friends who are due out this month have also just secured a lovely property, again while still in the UK, it was a case of third time lucky for them, turned down for the first two, but they did get feedback from the agents saying that nothing wrong with them, just the owner choose someone else.

We had our second inspection yesterday and i was here when the agent came, she is the same one who we have dealt with from the start, sorted a couple of minor issues weve had pretty quickly and again asked yesterday if there was any probs.

Going back to securing a rental IMO think of your rental pack as a CV, its competitive out there so you really do need to 'sell yourself'

 

Webweazel i hope you get something soon, it can be done, best of luck

 

That's really good how did you manage to secure a rental while in the uk?

[fifi69]

We had someone view the property for us just to make sure it wasnt a dump, photos & description matched what was on the website, no hells angels living next door etc.

Got the thumbs up on it, so faxed through our rental pack to the agents, agreeing to take it on from the next day, even though OH wasnt arriving for another couple of weeks (still better off than paying out for short term/holiday let or hotel). Heard within 24 hours that we had got it.

 

Past couple of weeks weve been viewing for friends due out soon, agents have not had any issues with this. They did the same as us, faxed through their rental pack, saying they will take it on from this week, even though they are not due out for another couple of weeks. 3rd time round they secured.

[thewebweazel]

Hi Candy Girl, checked the Quokka, Gumtree and newspapers. There are loads of houses out there but there is also loads of potential renters. The problem is not finding a suitable house, its finding a landlord that is willing to give us a go. As for my employer I really don't want them to get involved asking for a reference is fine but anything more then that I feel is asking for trouble

[flag of convenience]

Really sorry to hear this Mr & Mrs W. It sounds a bloody nightmare and someone should give these agents a short stick up the backside. I don't like the idea of them being "POM Bashers":mad:

 

Have you seen anything on Gumtree or in the local papers through a private landlord? Could you have a word with your employer/s and see if they can assist in any way?

 

Keeping fingers crossed that you get something sorted very soon.

 

I'm not sure they are Pom bashers as such...they seem to treat all with equal disrespect. Their over inflated position over the past seven or so years has led to this situation. When I came to Perth from Cairns at the end of 97,I found an inner city place that I liked for rent. The agent drove me there,told her I'd take it,paid what was required and moved in three days later.

 

How the situation has changed.Now they are masters although many I find none too bright.Style over sustance. When looking to purchase in 2000,many if not most at the time were unable to give the square metre measurement....They would basicly just stand there like part of the furniture in many instances.

 

I can certainly feel for renters these days. Next door to us was rented out about ten months back. I counted thirty eight folk turn up for the inspection...and missed counting others so the number was greater.

A number stayed back after in an attempt to boost their chances by offereing more. The agent looked totally disinterested and her manner showed she only wanted to exist and not concern herself with anything else.

[Paul1Perth]

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 think it's more to do with they are so busy and it's easy for them to get tenants they aren't going to try to be nice too. There are some good ones around though.

 

I think you will find that a lot of the agents ARE British, as are a lot of the owners and people looking for rentals.

[keily]

my one tip for securing a rental is to make small talk with the agent ...they see so many people go through that when the applications come in they dont know whose who ..but if u have made the efort to talk to them they will remember you and maybe stand a better chance ....well at least that my opinion and its worked 3 times for me .....thank god ive now bought a place ...anyone want to rent in canningvale lol

 

mrs keily

[northshorepom]

I told bare-faced lies this week to 2 estate agents, if that makes you feel any better

:cute:

[rikyuu]

looks like this is the problem;

 

http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/perth-rents-smash-major-capital-cities-20121010-27dtk.html

[Guest cleopatra]

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 !

 

 

 

I feel your pain!!! Thankfully we have our own home now but have had 3 rentals. The last 2 I must say were lovely modern houses with 1 having a fab Property Manager and the other was a private let with a great landlord. However the 1st one OMG. We were there for 15 months while we tried to settle into life here. The house was basic (but clean- especially after I'd got my OCD hands on it) but we went through 5 different property managers in that time as the LL wanted cheaper Property management fees continually.

 

 

The thought of renting in Perth now gives me nightmares. However back to your issue. Your search area is amazing and not to be able to find anywhere is staggering. I do hear you about hygiene standards though - some places you wouldn't let a rat live in.

 

I agree with the other posters. Keep looking for private lets. The West has a RE section with a few houses for private let at the bottom. Also have you thought about driving around area to see if there are any signs FOR LEASE. Sometimes those places aren't advertised on the internet. There was a house 2 up from me who did that. It went within a week and the couple who moved in told us their friends saw it while driving down the road, inspected it for them, they applied and got it. There were no full scale inspections with people packed in like sardines .There was one in Sorrento that went the same way. In fact the agent (Ray White Sorrento) let both properties. Maybe it's their method.

 

I do know the rent went from $375pw to $500pw for the house in my road ouch. But $375 was cheap for this area.

 

The other thing you could do is letter drop houses in the area asking if they are considering renting. If a house has been on the market for a while the owner might want to rent for 6-12 months as a short term fix. i can't find the link to the website that tells you how long a house has been on the market for. Am rushing off to work now so will look later for you. It might be something like OnTheHouse ???

 

There are also the long term apartments in Sorrento opposite the surf club and the apartments at Hillarys Harbour to give you breathing space. They will be expensive but will be nearer Duncraig School. That is some drive from Two Rocks to Duncraig every day.

 

Just to add have you driven along West Coast Drive. There have been some boards with Private Lease outside the houses in the past. They might not be up to your standard though but maybe worth a drive around. North Beach has had some too and I saw a couple on Karrinyup Road - not as far as the shopping centre.

 

 

Good Luck

Edited October 11, 2012 by cleopatra
Added something

[flag of convenience]

looks like this is the problem;

 

http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/perth-rents-smash-major-capital-cities-20121010-27dtk.html

 

You beat me to it. It doesn't look good. I can see the bubble expanding once again in house prices with interest looking to be heading downwards. Just makes it worse when the bubble finally bursts....

[rikyuu]

They'll keep on finding ever more inventive ways not to let that happen..... Restrict land, reduce homes built, increase immigration, give money away etc etc.

 

Sent from my HTC EVO 3D X515a using Tapatalk 2

[thewebweazel]

I feel your pain!!! Thankfully we have our own home now but have had 3 rentals. The last 2 I must say were lovely modern houses with 1 having a fab Property Manager and the other was a private let with a great landlord. However the 1st one OMG. We were there for 15 months while we tried to settle into life here. The house was basic (but clean- especially after I'd got my OCD hands on it) but we went through 5 different property managers in that time as the LL wanted cheaper Property management fees continually.

 

 

The thought of renting in Perth now gives me nightmares. However back to your issue. Your search area is amazing and not to be able to find anywhere is staggering. I do hear you about hygiene standards though - some places you wouldn't let a rat live in.

 

I agree with the other posters. Keep looking for private lets. The West has a RE section with a few houses for private let at the bottom. Also have you thought about driving around area to see if there are any signs FOR LEASE. Sometimes those places aren't advertised on the internet. There was a house 2 up from me who did that. It went within a week and the couple who moved in told us their friends saw it while driving down the road, inspected it for them, they applied and got it. There were no full scale inspections with people packed in like sardines .There was one in Sorrento that went the same way. In fact the agent (Ray White Sorrento) let both properties. Maybe it's their method.

 

I do know the rent went from $375pw to $500pw for the house in my road ouch. But $375 was cheap for this area.

 

The other thing you could do is letter drop houses in the area asking if they are considering renting. If a house has been on the market for a while the owner might want to rent for 6-12 months as a short term fix. i can't find the link to the website that tells you how long a house has been on the market for. Am rushing off to work now so will look later for you. It might be something like OnTheHouse ???

 

There are also the long term apartments in Sorrento opposite the surf club and the apartments at Hillarys Harbour to give you breathing space. They will be expensive but will be nearer Duncraig School. That is some drive from Two Rocks to Duncraig every day.

 

Just to add have you driven along West Coast Drive. There have been some boards with Private Lease outside the houses in the past. They might not be up to your standard though but maybe worth a drive around. North Beach has had some too and I saw a couple on Karrinyup Road - not as far as the shopping centre.

 

 

Good Luck

 

Hi there thank you for your reply and ideas Cleopatra! For me just being able to share my frustration on PIO has made it more bare able

[thewebweazel]

Woohoo great news since the last time this whinging Pommie/Saffa was on PIO. The Weazel Clan has found a House to rent, our application was accepted by the LL and we were offered a lease. Option fee has been Paid and we move in at the end of the month. How we did it? Looked on line in the Quokka found the only house being offered for rent in the Area, went for a viewing, had a long chat with the Rhodies that were moving out. Put the App in, with a long letter introducing ourselves and promising to look after the house. Along with the offer of 6 months rent up front and $20 extra a week seems to have done the trick! I really hate to say it (seeing I don't believe in it) but it seems to be pure luck! According to the LL she had 8 eligible applications that she could go with, but she liked Mrs Weazels introduction letter. Would we be able to do it again .... who knows, we certainly don't have a magic bullet here!

 

But wait for it there is even more good news Mrs Weazel landed herself a fantastic job for 3 months with one of the Utility companies in the CBD! I am so Proud of her!

[Guest nickandpip]

OK. Im seriously stressed now, hubby completed KPMG tests and although a very kind couple have offered they house to us for a few months in Hillarys, Perth, if he gets the job, I have 3 big dogs coming out and we will need to rent. Now obviously there will be help with finding somewhere as a relocation package which would confirm our seriousness in staying in the country backed up with Ozzy KPMG references, is this going to be enough? I have no issue with my dogs staying outside at night, not my fault if they creep back in when Im asleep tho!! Hillarys looks a great place and the school system from start to finish has been highly recommended so Im really positive, except our dogs will only be doing the 30 days quarentine so we have a maximum of 3 months to find a permanent rental with garden and access to dog walking beaches...anyone got one!

[Mullso]

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 !

 

Not much better here in Melbourne either mate ! We actually got told the reason we could not get a rental was not because of the dog it was because we had 3 children under 5 ! We were amazed ! After 5 weeks and countless rejections even as far out as Point Cook my company got us a relocation agent !

 

Now alot of comments on here will say they are a waste of time but ours was good - a pain in the a*** but good it makes a difference how you are percieved when you go to view and youre not just someone else looking for a rental. They see you in a different light - ie if your company can afford an agent you must be good for the rent ! Or maybe its something else but honest it made a difference.

 

We finally got a home about 3 weeks ago in Forest Hill - a suburb we knew nothing about but has proved to be lovely - along its a long trip into CBD for me I get the chance to chill.

 

By the way the Ozzie dream is a myth - its just living somewhere a bit warmer with the same **** to deal with every day !

[Mullso]

OK. Im seriously stressed now, hubby completed KPMG tests and although a very kind couple have offered they house to us for a few months in Hillarys, Perth, if he gets the job, I have 3 big dogs coming out and we will need to rent. Now obviously there will be help with finding somewhere as a relocation package which would confirm our seriousness in staying in the country backed up with Ozzy KPMG references, is this going to be enough? I have no issue with my dogs staying outside at night, not my fault if they creep back in when Im asleep tho!! Hillarys looks a great place and the school system from start to finish has been highly recommended so Im really positive, except our dogs will only be doing the 30 days quarentine so we have a maximum of 3 months to find a permanent rental with garden and access to dog walking beaches...anyone got one!

 

 

Use your relocation agent - and keep on thier case - get your paperwork in place prior to viewing - have a letter of intro of who you are etc - use 1Form its saves so much time ! Good luck and let noone kid you its gonna be easy ! Its not its a bloody nightmare!

[Guest JK2510]

In WA you are only allowed to keep a maximum of 2 dogs on the premises...you will have to apply to the shire you live,they visit your house for inspection etc...I know very little about this but I'm sure someone else will be along who knows more details.

[thewebweazel]

Not much better here in Melbourne either mate ! We actually got told the reason we could not get a rental was not because of the dog it was because we had 3 children under 5 ! We were amazed ! After 5 weeks and countless rejections even as far out as Point Cook my company got us a relocation agent !

 

Now alot of comments on here will say they are a waste of time but ours was good - a pain in the a*** but good it makes a difference how you are percieved when you go to view and youre not just someone else looking for a rental. They see you in a different light - ie if your company can afford an agent you must be good for the rent ! Or maybe its something else but honest it made a difference.

 

We finally got a home about 3 weeks ago in Forest Hill - a suburb we knew nothing about but has proved to be lovely - along its a long trip into CBD for me I get the chance to chill.

 

By the way the Ozzie dream is a myth - its just living somewhere a bit warmer with the same **** to deal with every day !

 

One thing I do know, its actually illegal to to discriminate prospective tenants with children, unless the house you are applying to rent was the LL principal residence or the LL lives next door - Nuts :wacko:. If you are discriminated against I reckon it would be a up hill battle to prove it!! Yeah I agree the Ozzie dream is definitely a myth but I suspected that before I arrived :biglaugh:

[klm081]

I'm so glad your story had a happy ending, however I am now terrified even further about finding a rental in Perth!