Reassurance about renting

[TravellingKatherine]

I move to Adelaide in 6 weeks time and am now trying to get my head around renting somewhere.

I'm coming on my own and the enormity of what I am doing it beginning to hit me and make me worry (probably unnecessarily). Reading about open inspections and the competition is stressing me out. Sounds silly but just reassure me that it's not going to be impossible to secure somewhere?

I've been looking at domain and realestate for ideas of what is available, and I assume I just need to trawl round all the estate agents when I arrive and book into inspections? I will write a short covering letter, I'll have a letter of employment for agency nursing work, and proof of funds. Does anyone think I'll need anything else?

I have had terrible experiences of shared houses here in the UK so renting somewhere of my own sounds much better to me, as I'm sure people will suggest I look into shared houses.

[NicF]

You don't need to book in to open inspections you just turn up.  The competition varies depending on where you are looking and what you are looking for.  It been a while since we rented but my OH was the only one at the open inspection for a nice, newish 3 bed house.  I would get in contact with a few real estate agents that have properties for rent in areas you like the look of and find out from them what the competition is like.  You can also tell a bit from how long properties stay advertised how much competition there is.  Areas where properties seem to go on then off really quickly will be more competitive than those where properties are still advertised a month after they first appeared.

[Guest]

As has been said,  no booking. Its all open houses here and you just rock up within the allotted time (usually half an hour or so) and look round, ask Q's and if you like it, be prepared to fill out an application there and then, especially if there are lots at the open and handing in applications. 

Once you arrive, if you have an idea of areas you want to look out, go check them out to get a feel for them and either rule them in or out of your search. No point going to opens in areas that don't work for you. 

Lots of rental opens tend to be in the evenings on weekdays (Mon-Thurs) and some weekend mornings. Be prepared to sit and work out the timings, travel to get between them etc. Prioritise your viewings. 

I know someone who was renting their apartment (2nd/top floor) and it was a neat tidy small 2 bed place with a laundry and parking space. Quiet and set back from a not busy street. Took them a month to find a tenant after 3 or 4 opens. And this in Glenelg south 2 blocks from the beach which is usually very popular. I know they were a bit more choosy in who they rented to and preferred a professional couple or 2 women friends sharing IIRC. 

If you have areas in mind, I'd get to know some of the agents that you'll be dealing with in those suburbs and perhaps going in in person to begin with to a few of them, then calling them a couple of times a week to see if they have anything new coming up not listed online yet etc. Be keen, read reviews on the letting agents before you rush ahead as I hear/read some horror stories from tenants. 

 

[Yelverton]

If you have been renting in the UK it would be a good idea to bring a reference from your current letting agent or landlord. If you own your home, a mortgage statement is worthwhile.

Have a read of this http://www.realestate.com.au/advice/renting/5-tips-secure-dream-rental/

or this http://www.realestate.com.au/advice/7-ways-win-over-a-landlord/

Good luck with your search

[TravellingKatherine]

Thank you so much for this. I'm pretty certain I'm worry about nothing. Think the whole move is stressing me out.

[Johndoe]

If it's only your (bad) experiences of sharing housing and not particularly an aversion to it per se, keep your eye on Gumtree and local FB pages as there are (in my area at least) plenty of shared housing with your own fully furnished room for less than $150 a week.................some even with ensuite. If I was flying solo, that's the way i would go until I got established

[Winneth]

You got all the necessary documents that they will check: references, employment, proof of funds. They will ask for ID and your passport number will do when you fill out the application.  Yes, there will be a lot of people and rental inspection times are only 10 to 15 minutes long. Usually 10 mins. 30 minute duration for inspections are for house sales or a whole new block of apartments is being rented out.  

You'll get a feel of the place pretty quickly as soon as you walk in. Make sure you have a list on your head as well on what you want to have so that you can see as many properties as you can.  Saturdays are usually the day where you have to navigate through rentals after rentals so be prepared for that. 

If you look into those real estate websites and then find the place you want to rent, it will be wise to "send an email" to the agent because if you are registered, you'll be updated if the scheduled inspection is cancelled or moved to a different time slot. 

Also, most agencies are now using 1Form. It's an online application form created by realestate.com.au. If you use this, you can submit as many applications as you want. Instead re-writing your information over and over on paper forms. Doesn't hurt the hands so much. =)