cartertucker Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 We are looking at trying to secure a house rental Please could someone write me 'an idiots guide' to what I should do? Thankyou :notworthy: (Going to view my 1st rental today!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 Have a drink have another down the bottle go and find another bottle buy a tent No seriously: Download the application form before you go, type out a covering letter explaining you have just arrived here blah blah, if you have a hefty bank balance print a copy of this and attach to the application. If you really want the property either offer more rent or offer ex amount up front. Now thinking about it this is what we do in Victoria to get a step up on other people interested on a property, however, I am not sure but I think you may have to pay in WA to submit an application, we don't get that in Vic so we can view 10 properties and put in an application for all of them, so PLEASE check on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicolaj Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 We have just signed a lease for a rental and to our surprise got accepted for both the house we applied for! Only been in Sydney for a month! From my experience, I found the more information you can give them the better. I provided copies of the following: Birth certificate Passports Visa approval Driving licences Medicare cards Letter from OH's employer with details of salary and a contact name/number Copy of agreement with the rental agents letting out our UK property A brief letter explaining why were are in Sydney, we are on a 457 visa as OH was transferred from London to Sydney Full details of our pets Utility bills, gas, electric & water Council tax bill If you were renting in the UK a reference from your letting agent to say you were a good tenant and paid your bills on time and looked after the house If you've sold your house something from the estate agents to say the house was a nice property I found it useful to visit agents in the areas you are thinking of living, chatting to them, ask them what makes a successful rental application, flatter them! I also got a few 'private' viewings, but if you do don't be surprised if another couple of people rock up at the same time! Sometimes this can be better than an 'open house' viewing as you can have a chat to the agent and discuss your needs, they may have other property that is due to come onto the market that hasn't been advertised. When attending an open house, I tried to have a chat to the agent, just explain a little about yourselves, where you are from and why you are in Aus. I think it just helps you to stick in the agents mind, it's about networking. Also if the owner is present, which one was have a chat to them, as a landlord myself it was nice to meet the couple who are now renting our UK home. Basically the landlords are after somebody who will pay the rent on time and will look after the house. (Although, judging by some dumps we went to, this doesn't always follow!) You may also have to agree to sign a 12 month lease as well. Also don't be surprised if you submit and application in a popular area if a rent bidding war takes place. The property we have rented, the agent told me that another applicant had offered and extra $30pw! I refused to match that, I have a budget for a reason! Yet we still got the property even though I would not match the amount. Good luck with your search! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicolaj Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 Moving 2 Melbourne has made a good point about checking out the application form before hand as well. Regarding the bidding war, it really does depend on how much you really want that house or to live in that area. I've heard that competition is very high on the Northern Beaches for units here, and some dirty tactics were played, so it can be a blood bath! I suppose unless you really really want to live in the 'hot' areas then expect a rough time, but if you cast your net a little wider it probably isn't as rough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NowPerth Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Hi. I'm glad you started this thread. I logged on specifically to ask about renting. Firstly, Yes, in WA it seems it is normal to have to hand over money when you apply for a property. If you aren't lucky enough to get it, you get your money back. If you do get it, they deduct the money from your first payment. If you apply and pay a fee for more than one house, you lose the money for the ones that you are offered and turn down. Anyway, questions: How long do landlords normally take to decide who gets the house? We went to one today and there were lots of other people there (was it you cartertucker? in Quinns). Other people were very interested and we want to put an application in. We are going to view some tomorrow. If they take several weeks to decide, and then pick someone else, we wil have lost all that time and could end up without a house in time. If we apply for several, we may lose loads of money which we cannot afford to do. Do they decide the next day? Have we missed our chance by not applying there and then? I've read about bidding wars. Is it normal to offer more than the advertised amount? If someone offers more, but they like our application more, do they come back to us to say how much we need to offer? If you agree to a long lease, is it possible or usual to have break points in case you have to leave early (eg 1 year instead of 2) We probably want somewhere for a couple of years but what happens if in an emergency we end up back in England after a year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NowPerth Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Have a drinkhave another down the bottle go and find another bottle buy a tent Thank you for this advice. After car hunting this morning followed by househunting this afternoon I now have a glass of fizzy wine. Sadly, I'm having to share the bottle with OH. :wacko: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JK2510 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 I agree with what M2M says....... Have the form ready,1 wks rent if required,100 pts ID and if you like it give it in there and then! It's sad to say that taking time to think about is a big no no really...people do not hang around here...We gave ours in on a Monday tea time and was told we would have an answer tues late afternoon.... We had to wait until Wednesday morning as owners live in Europe so time difference etc... Signed the lease Thursday evening,picked up keys on Friday morning. It can all happen really quick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NowPerth Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Thank you. That's scarily fast! Maybe we have missed our moment with todays house then as we are doing the form tonight. It's good to think we won't be left hanging on a string for weeks though. May have to have another glass of wine ...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Que Sera Sera Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Kelly we walked into the Estate Agents and told them our position and what we were after. They then told us what they would require, two references from Australia, if you can get a reference from the holiday home your in I think that helps and give them the name, contact number from someone in Australia who knows you. Mine never got contacted, they seemed happy with my landladies. Matts Offer of employment and I think our bank account details. In WA most Estate Agents do ask for an application fee, this is to prevent you from applying for multiple places.They then take this off your first weeks rent. Good luck Kelly, we got the first house we applied for. BTW on the application it had a section for further information, and I said, we were looking for a long term rental to settle down, I think this may of helped too, rather than saying we are looking at 3 months until we find something else, blah blah blah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennlx Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Oooh, so does this mean that there is no letting agent fee for rentals like there is in the UK? (The £250-ish amount for them to 'credit check' and 'reference check' you - oh and print out the rental agreement for sigining?) Hooooooooooray!!!!! What about renewal fees from agents if you want to stay beyond your initial agreement? They've crept in here in the UK - used to be nothing, but now we're regularly paying up to £100 for the letting agent to call the landlord and check that they're still happy with us as tenants at the end of the fixed term. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cartertucker Posted December 15, 2011 Author Share Posted December 15, 2011 :arghh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Que Sera Sera Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 Oh no that doesnt sound good, whats the matter Kelly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Que Sera Sera Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 Oooh, so does this mean that there is no letting agent fee for rentals like there is in the UK? (The £250-ish amount for them to 'credit check' and 'reference check' you - oh and print out the rental agreement for sigining?) Hooooooooooray!!!!! What about renewal fees from agents if you want to stay beyond your initial agreement? They've crept in here in the UK - used to be nothing, but now we're regularly paying up to £100 for the letting agent to call the landlord and check that they're still happy with us as tenants at the end of the fixed term. Your quite right, Id forgotten about that, we fortuantly only rented for 18 months while we waited and waited and waited for the visa, but yes you are right they did charge for all those things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shellybr Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 Not all rental agents in WA look for a deposit. We saw two houses and got the one we wanted. Neither of the agents took the application fee and the one we are renting with is Peards which is quite a big one here. We wrote the speil about wanting somewhere to settle and had my husband contract from work which I think helps. Our landlady at the short term rental offered to be a reference and then luckily my brother and his gf live in Sydney so we gave them and another friend in Adelaide as references. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudi Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 One tip I was given by an estate agent was to always take your shoes off at the door!! This gives them the impression that you are someone who will respect the house apparently!!!!! Pre warn the kids if you have them so it seems like it's a natural thing for you to do (even if it's not!!!) Love Rudi x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NowPerth Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 :arghh: :hug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NowPerth Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 One good bit of news and one bad ...... First, the good news. The agent told me today that they are normally quick to pick a tenant from the applicants. On the house we looked at, they aim to decide within 48 hrs. Now the bad. The real estate agents generally close from before Christmas until after New Year. I'm all in favour of staff from all walks of life having a holiday. However, the pressure is now on to find a place within the next 8 days instead of next 3 weeks. :arghh: I'd better get on the phone and arrange some more viewings ....... At what time can we start on wine again? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cartertucker Posted December 15, 2011 Author Share Posted December 15, 2011 Been to a viewing this morning & am hoping & praying to secure it....So feeling anxious now I am filling in the application form now....Any last minute advice please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cartertucker Posted December 15, 2011 Author Share Posted December 15, 2011 One good bit of news and one bad ...... First, the good news. The agent told me today that they are normally quick to pick a tenant from the applicants. On the house we looked at, they aim to decide within 48 hrs. Now the bad. The real estate agents generally close from before Christmas until after New Year. I'm all in favour of staff from all walks of life having a holiday. However, the pressure is now on to find a place within the next 8 days instead of next 3 weeks. :arghh: I'd better get on the phone and arrange some more viewings ....... At what time can we start on wine again? Im feeling your pain :hug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cartertucker Posted December 15, 2011 Author Share Posted December 15, 2011 Who did you Guys put for personal references? Did you put people here in Australia, or back in the Uk? Also, do we put different ones for each applicant (ie: me, my hubby & my 18 year old son?) :unsure: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cartertucker Posted December 15, 2011 Author Share Posted December 15, 2011 We went to one today and there were lots of other people there (was it you cartertucker? in Quinns). No, it wasnt me at that viewing! :laugh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cartertucker Posted December 15, 2011 Author Share Posted December 15, 2011 Any good tips on the covering letter please?? :wideeyed: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Que Sera Sera Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 I put the same references for all of us, and I put local names of people I "knew" There were a few I "know" from in here that I have "known" for years now :wink: Just make sure you warn them they may get a call. Good Luck Kelly has the lady on PP got back you yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest VickyMel Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 No seriously:Download the application form before you go, type out a covering letter explaining you have just arrived here blah blah, if you have a hefty bank balance print a copy of this and attach to the application. If you really want the property either offer more rent or offer ex amount up front. Now thinking about it this is what we do in Victoria to get a step up on other people interested on a property, however, I am not sure but I think you may have to pay in WA to submit an application, we don't get that in Vic so we can view 10 properties and put in an application for all of them, so PLEASE check on this. I don't know if renting is easier these days in Melbourne but there were very few people looking around when we went. Every place we applied for came back and said yes - a couple of them even agreed 6 months (which we wanted) rather than the 1 year they wanted. One of the places was still vacant 2 months after we saw it. This may have been because it was a 2 bed flat rather than a house? We did not need to pay for the application in VIC - and applied for several anticipating competition and wanting somewhere yesterday. We bought over with us a letter of recommendation from our previous landlady - and from the estate agent selling the flat we were renting about how great we had been. We were asked to supply a copy of OHs job offer and we also showed a bank statement. We also gave refs for people we knew overseas and in Australia - none were ever contacted. The whole process was very stressful - OH does not do looking for anything very easily and we should have looked further - but we might have split up if we had done :yes: also hence the desire for 6 months which we did not get in our first choice flat unfortunately! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 We are looking at trying to secure a house rental Please could someone write me 'an idiots guide' to what I should do? Thankyou :notworthy: (Going to view my 1st rental today!) good luck, Happy christmas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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