paisleylass Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 I've read many horror stories about huge competition for rentals with dozens of people turning up to open house viewings. Once in Brisbane, I'm going to be looking for a long term rental, possibly on my own a lot of the time after hubby starts work. Is it OK for me to view alone, taking along his ID? (that's the stupid question!) Are there particular areas that are massively popular and get more competition, or is it a general scrum everywhere? And types of houses? Most likely we'll just want a 2 bed townhouse, preferably in or near Northgate. As I'll be out of work the first few weeks, will I be at an advantage being flexible with viewings? Are there even individual viewings? I've heard of individual appointments turning into open house! I'll be putting the pack together as I've seen suggested many times, I'm sure this will help, but with 6 weeks to go am already pulling my hair out with stress! Cheers :wink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest GeorgeD Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 You can go to viewings on your own, but your husband will need to sign paperwork in person to actually apply for the lease. Viewing doesn't need any ID. Go see lots. www.realestate.com.au usually has a list of open houses on a particular day. You'll get a feel for what's out there. Some which look OK in pictures can be spectacularly poor when you get tehre, so keep your options open. In terms of how viewings work...most are open houses, so there is a half hour or fifteen minute time slot on a Saturday morning that the agent will be there and people just turn up. I went to a few where there was just us and another couple, and I've also been to others where there were 40-50 people crammmed into a 3 bed house with five reps from the agency taking in all the applications as people walk through the door! Some people fill out the application form before going to see the property - just because you want it and are willing to pay for it, the lessor may not want to give it to you...they look at your employment status, references, etc. It's an attempt to see the risk of you damaging the place and not paying rent. The term you want it for may help or hinder you, for example, if most people want it for 6 months and you want it for 12, then it may go in your favour. You can sometimes arrange private viewings, but these are less common. You'll find Saturday morning is the busy time for all of this, but perseverance, phone calls and getting to know some of the agents will get you private viewings. It also pays to do a bit of leg work around the area you want to live in. We got a rental property when we drove past the building and saw the sign outside...it wasn't being advertised as the previous tennants had just handed in their intention to leave. The onsite manager may be marketing the property rather than a traditional estate agent. We got in quick, viewed it there and then and were accepted immediately. Your flexibility won't necessarily help you with viewings...believe it or not, we spoke to a number of agents who didn't want to arrange a viewing during the week as they had already advertised an open house at the weeeknd, so they knew people would be turning up then, and going out with you means two visits for them, the poor things having to work for a living! If the property still has tennants in it, there are rules regarding notice and how often they can have viewings, so they tend to use the Open House method rather than arrange all separate visits. Some areas and types of property are indeed more popular than others. Same goes with time of year. For example, when the University terms are starting, a huge number of students descend on the city looking for accommodation near their campuses. We were looking in Jan/Feb when we got flooded in West End. This was also the start of the Uni year, so there was a huge demand for rentals in Brisbane due to displaced flood victims, tradies coming in for flood repair work, and the normal student influx. You may find that 12 months on there is another peak in demand as many of the rentals come up for renewal at the same time. I don't think Northgate is near any of the big campuses, so that should be less of a problem there. Don't be put off by lots of people being interested. You may be a better option for the lessor. You may want it for a more appropriate length of time, and you may be more financially viable. You may also find that the people lined up at the door with completed application forms do that for every house they go to see and have handed in 10 applications that morning...so even if the lessor does want to lease to them, they may decide to go elsewhere, so if you do want to rent a property, don't be put off by what other people are doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paisleylass Posted September 20, 2011 Author Share Posted September 20, 2011 Fantastic detailed reply, thank you! Very helpful indeed. I am quite enjoying 'window shopping' for rentals, just dreading the reality and pressure of having to find a place, though we do have a short term place booked for 4 weeks. May as well go for a 12 month lease if that helps! Hopefully it won't be too crazy in November and we won't have to take a nasty place out of desperation! As I won't be working at the start there'll be plenty of time to fill in applications ahead of viewing anyway. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kernow43 Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 I've read many horror stories about huge competition for rentals with dozens of people turning up to open house viewings. Once in Brisbane, I'm going to be looking for a long term rental, possibly on my own a lot of the time after hubby starts work. Is it OK for me to view alone, taking along his ID? (that's the stupid question!) Are there particular areas that are massively popular and get more competition, or is it a general scrum everywhere? And types of houses? Most likely we'll just want a 2 bed townhouse, preferably in or near Northgate. As I'll be out of work the first few weeks, will I be at an advantage being flexible with viewings? Are there even individual viewings? I've heard of individual appointments turning into open house! I'll be putting the pack together as I've seen suggested many times, I'm sure this will help, but with 6 weeks to go am already pulling my hair out with stress! Cheers :wink: There are loads on the Redcliffe Peninsula and rates have dropped greatly! Look at Real Estate .com.au Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest GeorgeD Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 May as well go for a 12 month lease if that helps! It should help with most, but there may be others who only want a short term lease as they hope they can increase the rent sooner if the market recovers a bit! Generally speaking, most owners would prefer longer term rentals as it ensures there are no gaps in the income. Try and get to know the area you are looking in as much as possible. A 6 month lease might be better to allow you to move sooner if you don't like it. If this is your first time living in Brisbane you might not want to tie yourself to one area for any longer. At least you can be flexible with 6 or 12 month leases. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calNgary Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 I agree with the above post, in that id sign up for 6 months the first time around,,, after approx 5 months the agent will ask if you want to sign for another 6 months anyway so its not like you have to go through the whiole process again. Signing for 12 months first up when your unsure of areas is risky, at least with a 6monther if you get the neighbours from hell.,lol, you have the option to move on after 6 month and arent tied to stay for 12. Cal x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paisleylass Posted September 21, 2011 Author Share Posted September 21, 2011 Ah cool thanks, will be mindful of what the owner wants and maybe plump for 12 months if the house is exceptional and there's a lot of competition - maybe an extra few $ rent offered would be a better clincher tho. I love the look of Redcliffe but it's too far and I believe public transport is poor, so we need to be more accessible unfortunately! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaz36 Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 I agree with the above post, in that id sign up for 6 months the first time around,,, after approx 5 months the agent will ask if you want to sign for another 6 months anyway so its not like you have to go through the whiole process again. Signing for 12 months first up when your unsure of areas is risky, at least with a 6monther if you get the neighbours from hell.,lol, you have the option to move on after 6 month and arent tied to stay for 12. Cal x I would second this as we had a nightmare with our first choice of rental as it was dealing with the owner for repairs rather than the agent and it was only on meeting him we realised he was not of the opinion that anything was urgent, so on moving in and finding out there was no hot water, and the aircon didnt work, (lots of other things as well but too many to go into) we refused to move in and threatened him with the RTA and luckily got our agreement cancelled and got our money back. This put us off so that on our next choice of rental, we only signed a 6 month lease, just in case, even though we loved the house. Turns out, the 2 dogs next door bark incessently every night for hours at a time, so we are not renewing the lease. We move into another rental next week and now that we know the area and where we want to be, and after checking out the neighbourhood at various hours of the day, we are happy to sign a 12 month lease this time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaz36 Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 Hopefully it won't be too crazy in November and we won't have to take a nasty place out of desperation! As I won't be working at the start there'll be plenty of time to fill in applications ahead of viewing anyway. Cheers! Both rentals we have signed have insisted the lease ends in November, to ensure they get it let out at the end of our lease, as apparently November/December is the busiest period for rentals. Where abouts in Paisley are you from? My parents have had businesses in the west end for over 20 yrs, and 2 of my sisters lived there too. I was in Glasgow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paisleylass Posted September 21, 2011 Author Share Posted September 21, 2011 Sounds like it may actually be double crazy when I'm looking around then ( Shaz I'm originally from England, live in Hunterhill in Paisley. Can't wait to get out. There are some lovely neighbours around here and some real idiots too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joob joobs Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 Shaz I'm originally from England, live in Hunterhill in Paisley. Can't wait to get out. There are some lovely neighbours around here and some real idiots too! Not far from me! I'm in Priesthill, just next to Silverburn. ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paisleylass Posted September 21, 2011 Author Share Posted September 21, 2011 Not far from me! I'm in Priesthill, just next to Silverburn. ) Represent! I shop at Silverburn now and again, great TK Maxx and a nicer Debenhams than Glasgow ) Gonna be swapping Silverburn for Chermside in a few weeks :eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joob joobs Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 Hopefully I won't be far behind you.... just need 457 visa to be approved and we'll be on our way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest GeorgeD Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Represent! I shop at Silverburn now and again, great TK Maxx and a nicer Debenhams than Glasgow ) Gonna be swapping Silverburn for Chermside in a few weeks :eek: They don't have TK Maxx over here :sad:. And parking at Silverburn is easier than Chermside (yes, I know how ridiculous this sounds, I've been to both and it's true!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paisleylass Posted September 22, 2011 Author Share Posted September 22, 2011 No TK Maxx, but Trade Secrets looks quite similar! I will miss TKs either way ( Hubby nearly always parks us in the multi-storey at Silverburn - as it's hidden away at the back lots of folk don't think to use it so there's usually space. Maybe we'll live in Chermside and just walk it heheh! Nah, Northgate is still the fave - well, it looks nice on Google street view, we'll see whether it lives up in real life! Best of all the train frequency seems akin to (or better than) Paisley Gilmour Street - hohoho! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest GeorgeD Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Trade Secrets is more like TJ Hughes on Trongate (I think that's shut now!) Not quite as much higher quality stuff as TK Maxx, but definitely worth a rummage! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paisleylass Posted September 23, 2011 Author Share Posted September 23, 2011 I love TJ Hughes too! Got new curtains for renting our house out for silly low prices. Yeah I think it's gone now - I lived in Liverpool before which was it's flagship location. London Road must be dead now ( Lots of people don't like TK Maxx but I love it, I've found some genuine one-off bargains, some of my favourite clothes & kitchen bits are from there. It does take patience ;o) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyW Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 We got our offer accepted on our rental! Happy days!!!! :biggrin: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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