Rentals when we first arrive??????

[Guest purplerdt77]

Hi we are hoping to come over early 2012 but we cannot believe the prices of short term rentals and dont really want to part with in excess of £4000 of our savings. I have looked at many options camping, log cabins, even family rooms at back packers which we think is the worst option, we are thinking my husband may have to come over and find a rental and then myself and my daughter will follow on. Does anyone have any other ideas of rentals etc

[howard]

We've been here a week and are staying in a short term property - you can stay up to 3 months here and in order to get bank accounts etc you will need an address.

[Tamara (Homes Down Under)]

Hi,

There seems to be a bit of a misconception that furnished rentals are expensive. It's true that they cost more compared to an unfurnished rental but a long term unfurnished has plenty of add on costs.

 

Lets say that you rent a decent unfurnshed rental in a comparable area, comparable size etc as a furnished home.

Your bills may be:

$400 rent

$20 internet

$30 satellite tv

$15 water

$40 electricity

$30 gas

$20 garden / pool service

$20 phone

 

Total: $575.00

If you were to pay $700 per week for a furnshed home that's only $125 more than you will pay for unfurnished home and you don't have to worry about

 

$ maintenance / repairs

$ appliance repairs

$ insurance

 

You also get a home. A proper home not a challet in a caravan park. If you look at the price of challets in a park you will be shocked!

 

Most furnished rentals like Roo Rentals, Margaritasplace and Auseelife are booked solid because they offer such good value for money compared to other accommodation and then there's the added benefit of trhe assistance that is offered to new migrants....airport collection, help with admin, advice and and references etc.

 

Hope that this helps with your decision. It's best to keep the family together when you make the move.

 

Tamara

[Guest purplerdt77]

I think $700 is far too much too pay out for an initial cost and as I said to lose in excess of £4000 to start with is far too much of an expense

 

$400 rent wanting to pay $300 or less only need 2 bed

$20 internet I can live without this at home to start with till we get settled

$30 satellite tv not bothered for sat tv leaving the uk to get away from tv

$15 water

$40 electricity

$30 gas

$20 garden / pool service definately dont want a pool and i will look after the garden myself only want a small outside area

$20 phone

 

So thats $295 a week more I think thats a lot of money.

[Guest Guest75]

Totally in agreement Tamara.

Most Cabins caravan parks are now around the same tariff as furnished rentals.

[Guest purplerdt77]

The thing is we dont want a holiday home type place we want something cheap and cheerful to we get organised, we dont want detached with a pool, this isnt a holiday its a put you on place.

[likesshopping]

The OAA (on arrival accommodation) sounds like it would have suited you - it was basic accommodation offered to migrants from the goverment.......unfortunately, its a service they no longer offer.

 

If you dont might roughing it for a bit and you're on a really tight budget - then, you could always think about bringing a tent and camping it for a few weeks?

 

Hope you find something to suit you soon

 

 

Sarah

[Guest purplerdt77]

It wouldnt bother me being in a tent but I would have all our luggage some of which is worth money so camping is out unfortunately, but thanks for the idea,

[sueoc]

I stayed at a furnished rental for 2 weeks when we arrived here 3 yrs ago,and it was the best decision i could have made.Gave us time to find a rental whilst not worrying about buying Beds,fridges,chairs etc etc.If you come here and go into an unfurnished rental,you are straight into spending big bucks,as they supply virtually nothing,bar a cooker.No washing machine,no fridge,no kettle,no cutlery,plates etc etc.And the other thing,unfurnished rentals are often real dumps at the lower end,so like anything else,in the rental market over here,you really do get what you pay for.I'd advise anyone coming over to go furnished initially,you really need that to get to know what to look for,and where to look.Best Luck.

[ajford]

go on internet and google you might find cheaper ones, but at the end of the day i would rather pay that bit more for few weeks and have somewhere to feel settled while i get sorted. there is always hostels and put your luggage in storage.

 

lisa

[Tamara (Homes Down Under)]

It is unfortunate that OAA accommodation has been discontinued.

I have had a number of families that have moved to my homes after a short period at OAA. The last family described it as...well, I can't possibly put their comments on here but their best desciption was "prisoner in cell block H"!

I moved here 4 years ago and stayed in short term accommodation. I thought that it was expensive until i moved into my own house and the reality of the bills kicked in.

 

One thing that you really need to take into consideration is that there are some areas that you would not like to rent in. They are cheaper...but they can be "dodgy". It is so important to start out your new life in the best possible way. You have already ticked every stress box there is and if you make life difficult for yourself right from the beginning saving a couple of hundred Dollars...my opinion is that this is a mistake. You will soon find out that Australia is very expensive and the initial cost of establishing yourself will soon blow out well beyond any 4000 pounds.

Most families try to substitute their established lifestyle in the UK and not take a step back hence a good rental in a good area, with all the things that they had in the Uk.

If that's not your choice so be it but it is again my opinion that you then make it harder for the family to accept their new lives if they have taken steps backwards in terms of creature comforts.

 

West Beach challet and caravan park have tent sites at $32 per night plus $20 per child per night. If there are 4 of you that would be $72 per night to stay in a tent! I rent my fully furnshed cottage with everything for $75 per night....and this is why I don't consider furnished rentals to be expensive.

 

Tamara

[Guest Guest75]

Just to highlight ................ Businesses here cannot help the exchange rate. Any Australian services or goods do seem more expensive at the moment. Not our fault!! :cute:We have to earn the currency here. I remember when the rate was 2.50 to 1,people could not believe what good value furnished rentals were:biggrin:

[Guest purplerdt77]

I wouldnt mind if it was only a couple of weeks, but we have been told it can take 6-8 weeks to secure a rental

[Guest purplerdt77]

$525 is much more affordable than $700 as first quoted

[Guest Adelaide_bound]

I don't think anyone would deny that the short term accommodations are very good value for what you are getting, but I agree with the OP that sometimes you just don't need that much luxury lol - we are a childless couple who are going to go and rough it in a campervan (and probably a 20 year old campervan at that!) for 6-12 months after we get there, so luxury is something that we are not banking on, and there seems to be a massive gap for people who just need a secure bed for a few weeks with few mod cons, just for a place to rest their head, secure their luggage and have an address for medicare etc.

 

As we are just a couple we are probably going to look at getting a shared room in a student type house, if we can't find something cheap enough, as that seems quite cheap, as I also need to do some courses and get registered to be a teacher before we go off as well as all the tax number etc paperwork, so may be there for about 8 weeks.

 

I think we are just waiting until the visa comes through and then it will be a mad panic lol

[scooterdan]

We stayed in a small bedsit perfect for 2 ppl when we arrive....i have already pm'd some with the info.... we were charged $150 a week at the time including bills and internet.

 

We too looked at caravan site and we never found one at $700 a week...... in fact i still have the quotes and the highest the was $550.........!!

 

I actually got quotes through guys and on here, an while it a good service for some, i found it very expensive for couples like us on limited budget, if i would have paid $700 i would have been back in the UK in 6 weeks!

[Toni]

I fully appreciate where people are coming from and know that people's budgets are important. Whenever I go away I try to find the best deal I can but when one is on holiday you don't mind paying a bit more because you want something with luxuries. If I were moving to another country I would only want the basics too. And this is where furnished rentals are different. We are both a furnished rental and a holiday let. Half of my bookings are from those who are looking for a holiday let. They don't want the basics, they want some luxuries so we have to cater for everyone. From my experience (with people who have stayed at my homes) you can find an unfurnished rental in 2-3 weeks unless you are waiting for your furniture to arrive from home. It definitely depends on the time of year that you arrive. I had a family arrive in January last year who booked for 6 weeks but they needed 4-6 more weeks and I didn't have availability and they found somewhere else. It also depends on whether you have done your homework before leaving. If you know the area you are approximately going to move in then that makes a huge difference. There is a family who are leaving tomorrow who will have been in the property exactly three weeks and they secured a long term rental in two weeks and move in tomorrow. Pick the time you are arriving, do your homework and you will find something in a shorter period of time. Next year we have the Adelaide Festival, Fringe Festival, Clipsal 500, Tour Down Under - all in the months of February through to March. Those months are extremely tight, this year it was impossible to fit people in. This year in April, May, June, July it has been quiet. Also if you arrive in late November/December you will have extreme difficulty finding a place to stay as a lot of people don't move during Christmas if they can avoid it so rentals are tight. Also in January/February you are competing with Teachers looking for rental properties, who may be moving from the country areas. People's budgets are important and only you can decide what you can afford but to say that a furnished rental is expensive, I am sorry I can not definitely agree or accept that. $100 a day to do all the things that we do is incredible. We may not be a hotel where we pay a lot of staff but we do rely on family and friends and I don't know what other people do, but I pay for their work. There are all the things that people don't see like weeding, locks needing repairing, carpets being cleaned, windows cleaning, plumbing repairs, all the normal things that a well looked after home needs. I looked up a caravan park the other day and it was $180 a day for a family of 4 and that was not a luxurious caravan park. I think that the OAA was a good thing but that was heavily subsidised by the government who have a lot of staff to co-ordinate the things that need to be done for new arrivals but as we know governments are cutting back on staff over here and are selling off there housing stock which I personally don't think is a good thing.

[sueoc]

Another thing to take into consideration is that if you opt for a cheap rental in a not so desirable area,it will often be for 12 months,and it will cost you to get out early,and be a real pain,ie connections,disconnections,re advertising,looking for another one,maybe finding a second Bond, etc etc.Also a cheap and not so cheerful rental will have a big impact on how you and your family settle,and view your first taste of life in OZ. You would lose the will to live if you spent 12 months in some of the holes advertised over here at the lower end.There are plenty of good ones also,so you need time to find one to suit you and your family.What better than a furnished Rental.

[Guest Guest75]

Another thing to take into consideration is that if you opt for a cheap rental in a not so desirable area,it will often be for 12 months,and it will cost you to get out early,and be a real pain,ie connections,disconnections,re advertising,looking for another one,maybe finding a second Bond, etc etc.Also a cheap and not so cheerful rental will have a big impact on how you and your family settle,and view your first taste of life in OZ. You would lose the will to live if you spent 12 months in some of the holes advertised over here at the lower end.There are plenty of good ones also,so you need time to find one to suit you and your family.What better than a furnished Rental.

 

Ya need to change your location now in your details now:cute:

[sueoc]

Will do Tyke,cheers(forgot about that)

[Guest Nick11]

The thing is we dont want a holiday home type place we want something cheap and cheerful to we get organised, we dont want detached with a pool, this isnt a holiday its a put you on place.

 

You might strike lucky and get something in the winter months...but outside that it would be virtually impossible. Most long term rentals are $300 plus and that is unfurnished with a couple of grand deposit, good rental and employer references. Short term rentals are a lot more...and fully furnished rentals are around the 100 dollar a night.

Welcome to Adelaide!!!!!

[scooterdan]

Just to expand the bedsit we stayed in had everything you would need..... All furniture, appliances and towels/linen!! It was also in Marino.... Which is a nice suburb and close to public transport.... So not all cheap rentals are in undesirable areas as suggested!!

[Lil Bev]

Just to expand the bedsit we stayed in had everything you would need..... All furniture, appliances and towels/linen!! It was also in Marino.... Which is a nice suburb and close to public transport.... So not all cheap rentals are in undesirable areas as suggested!!

 

Hi Dan,

 

could you PM me with the bedsit details please. Myself and my husband are flying over next month and need to sort out somewhere to stay!

 

Bev

[Diane]

I think $700 is far too much too pay out for an initial cost and as I said to lose in excess of £4000 to start with is far too much of an expense

 

$400 rent wanting to pay $300 or less only need 2 bed

$20 internet I can live without this at home to start with till we get settled

$30 satellite tv not bothered for sat tv leaving the uk to get away from tv

$15 water

$40 electricity

$30 gas

$20 garden / pool service definately dont want a pool and i will look after the garden myself only want a small outside area

$20 phone

 

So thats $295 a week more I think thats a lot of money.

 

As others have said, you will have additional outlay in an unfurnished rental stocking up with all the stuff that you probably already have to tide you over till your furniture arrives (bedding, kitchen stuff, washing stuff etc). A possible alternative would be to arrange to ship your belongings over several weeks before you leave the UK so that they arrive at around the same time as you, but that's hard to arrange with the vagaries of shipping dates, and might mean you'd need to pay storage at this end.

 

You may also find it difficult to secure a long term unfurnished rental before you're in the country - a lot of agents won't even consider you as a tenant if you haven't personally seen both the property and the neighbourhood it is in: they've had their fingers burnt too often by migrants renting long term then pulling out after only a few months unfortunately so are understandably a little wary.

 

Have a look for a bedsit or something like Dan suggests: there may be some cheaper properties around but it will depend on the time of year of your arrival and the start of the year is a really tough time, being summer, festival season, school hols/start of school year etc. Otherwise there are hostels and backpackers type of places that might be suitable for a couple, but perhaps not for a young child, and there might perhaps be security issues there worse than on a campsite if you have valuable possessions with you...

 

Long term furnished rentals may work out a little cheaper - if you were able to rent for maybe six months furnished, but short term you will be lucky to find something that time of year for less than $600 (which is only just over $25 a person per night for three of you really - that's not that expensive in the great scheme of things!)

 

One last thing worth considering is whether you could register with a housesitting agency - do a Google search for various companies that do this (such as http://www.aussiehousesitters.com.au/pg_house-sitting-adelaide.php) and you might find something that would suit you.

 

Good luck!

[elainew]

You also have people on hand to help you settle in. Which I certainly didn't have when I arrived. I found my own way. Very costly experience.....

Worth every cent!!!!