chrisshelley Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 Can anyone give me advice regarding renting an apartment I keep emailing estate agents but they never reply we are emigrating to Darwin in March 2016 visas are all sorted etc I just want to know how long does it take to get the keys to a place I don't want to do it over the internet coz I want to check the areas out etc. Once I like a place and paid up how long does it take for all the paper work to go through and get the keys as we want to stay in a hotel till we get our place but I don't want to be a waiting weeks in a hotel blowing money needlessly. Thanks for any advice massively appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bungo Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 Most people will find somewhere and be able to move in withing about threee or four weeks. Hotels or other short term accomodation is going to be necessary. Try not to think of it as needlessly blowing money, it is not needless, it is definitely something you need to factor in to the overall expenses of migration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paisleylass Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 No need to stay in a hotel. Try stayz.com, the rent will be higher than a long term let but properties are furnished and include bills. We rented a small standalone house in Kedron north of Brisbane for a few weeks. It was well located and helped us explore the area and work out where was good to rent long term. In fact the rent wasn't much more than our long term house :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 They wont be interested because its not till next year that your are coming. Best just booking a couple of weeks in short term accommodation and sorting it out when you get here. If you apply for a place it only takes a few days for them to do reference checks etc and let you know if your accepted. No point stressing about it now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 As others have said they won't be interested until you have arrived unfortunately and even then agents hardly ever get back to you, it's you who has to chase. Usually if an agent chases you over here it's because the property is rubbish and they can't find anyone to take it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumpingjellybean Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 Can anyone give me advice regarding renting an apartment I keep emailing estate agents but they never reply we are emigrating to Darwin in March 2016. It is pretty pointless emailing them now. As they are not going to hold or reserve anything for you. Rentals are snapped up pretty quickly, and you really need to view them first, put your application in, be accepted and then pay your bond. You will also need to show 100 points of ID when you hand in your application. To do all that you need to be in the country. You won't need to blow money in a hotel. Try cheaper places like motels, backpacker hostels and caravan / on-site cabins in a caravan park. You could even camp cheaply whilst your stuff is in storage. I am in Sydney, but to give you an example of a time frame: Thursday morning I saw a rental online I liked, so I contacted the real estate agent and asked to view it the next day. Friday morning at 9.00am I viewed the rental. Friday afternoon I gave the real estate agent my application form and reference Saturday morning I gave the real estate agent my proof of ID Real estate agency closed on Sunday Monday afternoon I got an email from the real estate agent saying my application had been accepted. Tuesday morning I paid the months bond, two weeks rent in advance and picked up the keys Tuesday afternoon I moved in. So the whole process from start to finish took six days. Of course it may take you longer to find somewhere you like - that is the bit that takes the longest I reckon. Once the process starts with the real estate agent, it is normally pretty quick as long as you are organised in regards to submitting your required paperwork. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 It is pretty pointless emailing them now. As they are not going to hold or reserve anything for you. Rentals are snapped up pretty quickly, and you really need to view them first, put your application in, be accepted and then pay your bond. You will also need to show 100 points of ID when you hand in your application. To do all that you need to be in the country. You won't need to blow money in a hotel. Try cheaper places like motels, backpacker hostels and caravan / on-site cabins in a caravan park. You could even camp cheaply whilst your stuff is in storage. I am in Sydney, but to give you an example of a time frame: Thursday morning I saw a rental online I liked, so I contacted the real estate agent and asked to view it the next day. Friday morning at 9.00am I viewed the rental. Friday afternoon I gave the real estate agent my application form and reference Saturday morning I gave the real estate agent my proof of ID Real estate agency closed on Sunday Monday afternoon I got an email from the real estate agent saying my application had been accepted. Tuesday morning I paid the months bond, two weeks rent in advance and picked up the keys Tuesday afternoon I moved in. So the whole process from start to finish took six days. Of course it may take you longer to find somewhere you like - that is the bit that takes the longest I reckon. Once the process starts with the real estate agent, it is normally pretty quick as long as you are organised in regards to submitting your required paperwork. That was quick, mind you Townsville was for us as well, Melbourne on the other hand only have open for inspections once a week so if they hold them on Saturday and you arrive on a Sunday you may have to wait nearly a week and then if the agent cancels or doesn't turn up, or you don't like the house you may have another week to wait. Then you can have 10 people turn up to the viewings so you may not even get them. I don't know for Darwin but I would book short term accommodation for at least 2 weeks. If you were heading to Melbourne I would have said 5 weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teejams Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 If you have several people viewing and applying for each house you want to rent, how do you stand a chance on securing it, if you are all in the same position? I have contacted several agents ...... And no, no one ever replies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisshelley Posted September 1, 2015 Author Share Posted September 1, 2015 Thank you all for ur advice it's been very helpful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 If you have several people viewing and applying for each house you want to rent, how do you stand a chance on securing it, if you are all in the same position? I have contacted several agents ...... And no, no one ever replies! As advised to the OP, they will not reply if you are not even in the country, even then it is hard to get agents to respond. You have to be here, attend the viewing apply and then it is up to the owner who they decide. I dont know where you are going but there is not quite as much competition as there used to be so there are not usually loads of people viewing a property now unless its in an area where there is not many decent properties Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bungo Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 If you have several people viewing and applying for each house you want to rent, how do you stand a chance on securing it, if you are all in the same position? I have contacted several agents ...... And no, no one ever replies! They are there to let properties and you are not in a position to take one. The rental market is not like the UK where it can take a little while to get a property let, decent properties will go straight away in Australia. Agents willl focus on clients ready to move now. When you are here, you have to market yourself. Landlords want to know you can pay and will pay and that you will look after the property, you need to do what you can to demonstrate that. Proof of income, references if you have rented before etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumpingjellybean Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 I have contacted several agents ...... And no, no one ever replies! My initial contact is never by telephone. I always email them from the “Contact / Email Agent” link button, for example the blue button shown here: http://www.realestate.com.au/property-unit-nsw-manly-416572589 Good strike rate. 9 out of 10 agents contacted will reply to me by email (my choice of contact) within 24 hours......and the 10th one that doesn’t reply; I will follow up with 48 hours later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumpingjellybean Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 If you have several people viewing and applying for each house you want to rent, how do you stand a chance on securing it, if you are all in the same position?! Some you win and some you lose. But with the aim of securing a rental quickly; you need to ensure that you are the best candidate. To buoyancy your application: Dress smartly for the viewing - first impressions count towards a lot still. Be polite to the Real Estate Agent (REA) or Landlord in all dealings written and verbal Have all your paperwork organised and ready to go at a moments notice. You can scan everything and hold as a PDF in your hotmail account or whatever, and then you have this ready to email to REA immediately. If possible, offer to pay extra rent (two or three months) in advance. Most rent is paid fortnightly or monthly in advance when you first sign the contract and pay the bond. By offering to pay extra rent, you are proving to the RAE that you are a serious candidate and also financially sound. I have never done this but it works for a lot of people. If you have pets, offer to sign a separate lease agreement for them and also offer to pay an additional pet bond. This shows you are a responsible owner. In our pet lease we have signed an agreement for regular carpet shampoos and regular flea treatments. Things that can help your application are: Rental history or past mortgage payment history – that shows regular past payments. In my most recent application, I could prove in writing and via a bank statement, that I had paid rent on time every fortnight for five years. Written reference from previous real estate agent or landlord Written character reference or even police check to prove you are an upstanding member of the community, blah blah blah :smile: Be positive. Tell the REA what they want to hear. Play the game. I have moved many times and am usually successful in securing rentals; even when up against several other people viewing. You also have more chance if you go for houses with unusual features, as that makes them harder to rent out, as less people want to live there. So instead of being up against ten other people you are only up against two. Years ago I lived in a house that had 100 steep uneven steps from street level up to the front door. Very few people want to climb 100 steps, and it had been for rent for over one year until I rented it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skani Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 If you have several people viewing and applying for each house you want to rent, how do you stand a chance on securing it, if you are all in the same position? After you have viewed the property you fill out an application form and supply the information requested such as proof of income, referees etc. The owner then decides which of the applicants should be offered the property. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buzzy--bee Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 Rental history ..............Written reference from previous real estate agent or landlord These can be hard to get if you haven't rented for a while however some short term accommodation providers, especially those that deal in the immigrant market, will provide one. BB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinkestlady Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 It is pretty pointless emailing them now. As they are not going to hold or reserve anything for you. Rentals are snapped up pretty quickly, and you really need to view them first, put your application in, be accepted and then pay your bond. You will also need to show 100 points of ID when you hand in your application. To do all that you need to be in the country. You won't need to blow money in a hotel. Try cheaper places like motels, backpacker hostels and caravan / on-site cabins in a caravan park. You could even camp cheaply whilst your stuff is in storage. I am in Sydney, but to give you an example of a time frame: Thursday morning I saw a rental online I liked, so I contacted the real estate agent and asked to view it the next day. Friday morning at 9.00am I viewed the rental. Friday afternoon I gave the real estate agent my application form and reference Saturday morning I gave the real estate agent my proof of ID Real estate agency closed on Sunday Monday afternoon I got an email from the real estate agent saying my application had been accepted. Tuesday morning I paid the months bond, two weeks rent in advance and picked up the keys Tuesday afternoon I moved in. So the whole process from start to finish took six days. Of course it may take you longer to find somewhere you like - that is the bit that takes the longest I reckon. Once the process starts with the real estate agent, it is normally pretty quick as long as you are organised in regards to submitting your required paperwork. We've just had the exact same experience. We got to Canberra on 4th August and planned to stay with my sister and family for 4 months before looking for a rental. However, we felt so settled right away and I have secured a job so we decided last week to start looking. We saw a house we liked, swung by to do a recce, loved it. We went to the open viewing on Saturday morning,loved it more. Applied Monday at the estate agents directly with all documentation and ID required. Got accepted today (Wednesday) and are on our way to sign the lease papers and put down 4 weeks bond and 2 weeks rent upfront. So easy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 As others have said, it's virtually impossible to get a rental before you leave, so just book temp accommodation and start looking when you get here. Once you find a place, the process is much faster than in the UK. When we arrived in the UK, we were in the last week of our holiday flat booking by the time we found a place. We saw it on a Wednesday and assumed we'd be able to move in on the Monday, because that would be the turnaround time in Sydney. The estate agent looked shocked when we suggested that - impossible! In the end we had to stay an extra week in the holiday flat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumpingjellybean Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 These can be hard to get if you haven't rented for a while however some short term accommodation providers, especially those that deal in the immigrant market, will provide one. True. But in that case you just get a good reference from someone. And if you don't have either; then you just make sure that your application shines in other places. You promote the positives you don't highlight the negatives. You play the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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