Renting.Happy or not?

[landv]

Hi,

We are renting at present.Still got our house in the UK,with good long term tenant's in it.Renting here we feel like second class citizens('cos of the Aussie mind set)But to be honest,firstly me and her have never had it so good socially,(getting out more than when we were lovestruck teenagers)!The other thing is that the house prices are outrageous where we are,and one would have to be a major deekhead to pay what the going rate is here.There is another large issue that would be pertinent to us if we did buy now,like"How the funck are we goin' to pay this Kings ransom at our age?(no spring chick's)Happy and sad are we,as they say!:biggrin:

 

 

I experienced that kind of a mind set in the UK a lot more than here. In the UK people would turn their nose at you when they found out that we were renting and our neighbours who owned their houses always thought they had "more rights than us" by walking through our front garden and voicing they had more rights to park their car on the street.

 

Here I found nobody gives a sh7t whether you rent or own, I work with lots of australians who rent and think nothing of it and even our neighbours who must be in their fifties are renting too.

We will definitely not buy until the house prices cooled down a little, I refuse to take out a huge mortgage and then struggle just for the sake of owning a property. (Don't actually own a property until the mortgage payed off anyway.)

 

In an ideal world, I would like to buy, especially as a baby is on the way, but these prices are just a joke not to mention the huge monthly payments that comes with it.

[missymon212]

Dont know how your rent is calculated but we pay for water and we dont have a pool well not an in ground one anyway (brought our own from uk) and beleive it or not this is not half house we had back home.... but we do live 10 mins walk from the beach...

 

Hi again,

 

We are lucky because it is in our contract that the landlord is responsible for water charges unless we use a very large amount of water. We fill the pool from the water butt. Though with all the rain of late even that remains full!

 

Monica x

[Bobbsy]

I think it's luck of the draw what you get.

 

I'm in the second half of my fifties and we took a conscious decision not to buy down here. I was one of the lucky ones who sold his UK house before the market there collapsed but, even with my equity (and the $2.43 exchange rate we enjoyed) we'd have needed some sort of mortgage to buy. For us it worked better to put our nest egg into getting settled--car, furniture, treats, travel, etc. etc.

 

For us, this decision has worked out. We've fluked onto a nice house with a very nice landlord who actually keeps the letting agent at bay. The owner and his mother accidentally dropped by our first morning in the house (not trying to be snoopy--the letting agent had given him a wrong date for our move and he was planting a tree for us) and he was happy that we invited him in and chatted. Since then, we've become friends and only talk to the letting agent for the formal stuff and direct to the owner for other things. For example, we mentioned in passing that a rainwater tank would help us look after the garden better--and he had a plumber here quoting the next day! He owns an orchard by day and we have a constant supply of delicious apples too!

 

We still have the inspections but we've never heard any complaints--and that's us keeping the house clean but lived in (including a five year old with toys). We actually use the inspections as an easy forum to show them little niggles we have. For example, the plastic on the curtain runners was getting brittle--we showed the inspector this and got them replaced.

 

I know we're lucky and others have worse experiences...but renting doesn't have to be bad. I've not seen statistics but I actually suspect the rental market (at least for houses) is bigger here than in the UK.

 

Bob

[Guest CROWEMAN]

Can I ask what the issue is with inspections please? What do they do?

 

I'm a bit confused as it's mentioned lots on the forum. Most rental contracts in the UK give permission for a 3monthly inspection, it's rarely utilised beyond the first though to be honest, but they just walk around and make sure you're keeping it clean and haven't put fixtures and fittings, pictures etc up on the wall.

Is it different in Aus?

Do private landlords still have proper contracts that protect the tenant still?

 

Where do you want me to start?! Firstly, we've just bought a house in Melbourne after renting for 4 years - sick and tired of letting agents (thick, unhelpful, bad suits and they see tenants as being a nice easy little goldmine when it comes to vacating).

 

Here's my tuppence:

 

1. Photograph EVERYTHING when you move in. Scuffs, stains, scratches, black marks on walls, dying plats in the garden. Just fill an entire DVD up with digital pictures and post it back to the agent. Make sure you get an email confirming receipt. Don't be shy - it may just get your bond back for you

 

2. Be absolutely ruthless with agents when something goes wrong. Don't think that they're your friend. They're not. They work for the owner, not you. Pester them. Make their life a misery - they can be absolute b$%^ards for not returning calls but will try and screw the life out of you when you vacate -they suddently find their mobile then.

 

3. Get the place professionally cleaned by a cleaner on the agents list. It won't cost you any more, but may save you a lot of hassle. We've rented 2 apartments at the upper end of the market (750pw and 850pw) in inner Melbourne. The check out inspections are ruthless - so be on your game.

 

4. When hit with a bill (which they'll attempt to remove from your bond) for anything they please, don't just do the stiff upper lip thing and accept it. If you've got a legitimate concern, tell them immediately and refuse to sign the bond release paperwork. They tried to screw us in our last apartment for the following (and I'm not joking):

 

* a moth under a tv unit (presumably died after the professional clean 2 days prior)

* scuffs on the walls where suitcases are stored (walls heavily scuffed already)

* fingerprints on stainless steel light fittings

* a mark on a cream carpet - already their when we checked in but not detailed on the inventory (convenient, huh? We took a photo thought when we spotted it).

 

Net result is that they try and stitch us for 1 weeks additional rent from our bond = 750 bucks. And they're aggressive with it. Issue for them is that they'd kind of forgotten about the DVD full of photos and the fact that I'd done my homework on the way bond returns work in Aus. I immediately spoke to Consumer Affairs Victoria about the strongarm tactics and they advised without hesitation to call the Agents bluff and see them in the Civil Administration Tribunal (VCAT). I really fancied a bit of a scrap and told the Agent to bring it on - only advising him (and his jackass 'client) the day before that there was the little issue of the DVD that they'd overlooked and which was in their files. Outcome = full bond returned. Every cent.

 

Sorry for the long response but I feel its important to warn newbies to Oz that there is this underbelly in the rental market that catches a lot of people out. BTW, this isn't just restricted to fringe agents - the 'Big players' are the absolute worst. I won't mention them by name on here, but beware of letting agents in flash cars and i-phones.

[basil]

Thanks, I have to say though none of that is really much different to the rental market here in the UK.

 

It is only very recently the UK has intoduced the deposit protection scheme whereby deductions have to be mutually agreed, even then though it's really all about the inventory and it's damned hard work trying to get the agent to do the 'check in' anywhere near as thorough as they do the 'check out'.

They always want to whizz around on move in and have you sign off that all is perfect, but on check out they don't want you present even and take days to assess the place.

 

The place I'm in now i noticed the key list was incorrect and their were chips on 2 of the toilet seats the day after I got the keys (and hadn't even moved in)....yet they wouldn't adjust the inventory. Seriously who chips a toilet seat before they've even moved in and then calls to cover up their damage? I'm just going to replace it before they charge me some crazy designer retail cost and admin fee to do so and accept next time I need to be even more thorough on check in.

[Guest GandL]

Renting- all we know is that we could never afford a four bed/ twobaths /double garage new house in the UK. Renting is okay provided you look after the house.

:biggrin:

[Guest Alka]

This is a great thread!

 

Up it goes!

[Guest Anya]

I am renting and very happy. Feel like a first class citizen too (well I certainly don't feel 2nd class, so there)...lol

 

Have rented for the past 20 years (due to our expat life). First time renting in Melbourne. Had one inspection from the RE agent. He spent just around 2-3 minutes inside and inspection was over pretty quickly. We had a two week notice with time given for inspection.

 

PS: Have to add, the apartment is in a better condition than before. I am cleanliness-obsessive *embarrassed look*

[Guest Anya]

Where do you want me to start?! Firstly, we've just bought a house in Melbourne after renting for 4 years - sick and tired of letting agents (thick, unhelpful, bad suits and they see tenants as being a nice easy little goldmine when it comes to vacating).

 

Here's my tuppence:

 

1. Photograph EVERYTHING when you move in. Scuffs, stains, scratches, black marks on walls, dying plats in the garden. Just fill an entire DVD up with digital pictures and post it back to the agent. Make sure you get an email confirming receipt. Don't be shy - it may just get your bond back for you

 

2. Be absolutely ruthless with agents when something goes wrong. Don't think that they're your friend. They're not. They work for the owner, not you. Pester them. Make their life a misery - they can be absolute b$%^ards for not returning calls but will try and screw the life out of you when you vacate -they suddently find their mobile then.

 

3. Get the place professionally cleaned by a cleaner on the agents list. It won't cost you any more, but may save you a lot of hassle. We've rented 2 apartments at the upper end of the market (750pw and 850pw) in inner Melbourne. The check out inspections are ruthless - so be on your game.

 

4. When hit with a bill (which they'll attempt to remove from your bond) for anything they please, don't just do the stiff upper lip thing and accept it. If you've got a legitimate concern, tell them immediately and refuse to sign the bond release paperwork. They tried to screw us in our last apartment for the following (and I'm not joking):

 

* a moth under a tv unit (presumably died after the professional clean 2 days prior)

* scuffs on the walls where suitcases are stored (walls heavily scuffed already)

* fingerprints on stainless steel light fittings

* a mark on a cream carpet - already their when we checked in but not detailed on the inventory (convenient, huh? We took a photo thought when we spotted it).

 

Net result is that they try and stitch us for 1 weeks additional rent from our bond = 750 bucks. And they're aggressive with it. Issue for them is that they'd kind of forgotten about the DVD full of photos and the fact that I'd done my homework on the way bond returns work in Aus. I immediately spoke to Consumer Affairs Victoria about the strongarm tactics and they advised without hesitation to call the Agents bluff and see them in the Civil Administration Tribunal (VCAT). I really fancied a bit of a scrap and told the Agent to bring it on - only advising him (and his jackass 'client) the day before that there was the little issue of the DVD that they'd overlooked and which was in their files. Outcome = full bond returned. Every cent.

 

Sorry for the long response but I feel its important to warn newbies to Oz that there is this underbelly in the rental market that catches a lot of people out. BTW, this isn't just restricted to fringe agents - the 'Big players' are the absolute worst. I won't mention them by name on here, but beware of letting agents in flash cars and i-phones.

 

Completely agree with all of the above - cannot stress how important this advice is to all newbie renters.

[rockola57]

Something ive been thinking long and hard about tbh,im 47 she 43,not in S.A yet,house to sell here with a "decent" amount of equity,but not hundreds of thousands like some people.

I honestly dont fancy living in "someone elses house",BUT do we want to take out a mortgage at our age that is twice what we have now when were in australia??????????

We have nobody to leave a property to anyway,only neices/nephews.

But i think we have fallen into the UK mindset(i dont think its only oz)that if you dont own your own home your a no-mark.

Elsewhere in europe renting isnt seen in the same way it is in the uk.

BTW we still havnt decided!Rent and enjoy our equity,or buy and no doubt struggle with bigger bills etc? We "were" hoping to go and "wind down",if we buy i dont think that will be the case,decisions decisions eh!:confused:

Exactly Pabs.We still got our house at home in UK,makes a big difference to the way we are thinking.If we sold it,then i suppose we would buy here.Just not at present as we dont want a huge mortgage at our age.ATB Mate.

[rockola57]

 

if we were treated with respect it wouldnt bother me and OH renting, but weve been treated awful... the way they speak to you and how they inspect the house making you feel like you should kiss their arse just for being there... we have a house still in the UK with a lovely lady in it .. we look after her as she is doing us a huge thing by staying there and paying our mortgage until house sells..... why cant we have the same curtersey here... i cant believe how ill treated renters are and how they make you feel like ya a drain on the society!!!!!

Carbon Copy of our situation, i :biggrin:agree totally.