What to LOOK for when viewing Rentals??

[Guest guest7008]

Hi there - we arrive mid feb, got a lovely holiday rental sorted for 5 weeks (coast&vines...very excited..) now my questions are, when we start looking for a long term rental what are the major things to look for? We have never rented before here in the UK so not too sure what kinda things we should have on our tick list - can you wise bunch please let me know the things our rental should have?

[andy and lindsey]

I would say high up on my list of priorities would be some sort of heating and some sort of cooling (You need both) - When we moved into our first rental here it had a split system in one room (the living room) and when temperatures reached there extremes (single figures or high 30's plus) we either froze or melted in the bedrooms.

 

Lindsey

[Lol63]

If it says heating and cooling ask them to put it on to make sure it's working properly, as they will drag out any repairs or replacements for as long as your lease (unless you get a really good landlord) also make sure there are window coverings on all the windows or at least fittings to put up your own. Check for any chips in glass windows, chips or cracks in the tiles and any staines on carpets as you do not want to be blamed for them at the end of your lease and lose part or all of your bond money.

[soo_the_panda]

I'd run the shower to check the water pressure, check doors and windows have fly screens, decent heating & cooling, curtains thick enough to block out sun/for privacy, check how much space you have for car parking and also visitor parking, especially if it's a block of units/apartments, see if you pay for water or the landlord covers it.

[snifter]

All of those things listed above

 

On a common sense level things like storage space, plug sockets and their location (a minor thing but consider once your furniture goes in, what you have to plug in and so on), water pressure, signs of wear and tear and so on. Same things you'd look for when viewing a house to buy. Some of the locations of plug sockets in some rooms leave a lot to be desired I've found. I also expect the paintwork to be at least fairly fresh, not looking like it last had a coat of paint in 1976 or something.

 

Also while something may look great, ie a nicely fitted kitchen or bedroom but with only a skylight for a window (some older Aussie houses do have this), is it practical and could you live with it for a year or two? It might be nice to look at but once living in a house the reality might be very different. What seemed like a cute kitchen when you viewed it can become a pain in the backside to use very quickly and make preparing meals a real chore.

 

O a decent car port would be handy. Nothing worse than having to park your car in the sun all day outside the house. Car port keeps off the worst and makes it a bit more bearable when getting in the car I think.

 

Personally I always feel its the living areas need to excel and meet everyones needs. Bedrooms are usually the secondary thing and so long as they are a decent size and clean, painted neutral then that's fine. End of the day its common sense things like you would consider when buying a house. But of course you can't alter things or drill holes in walls or pull up carpets and change them etc so bear in mind that if you hope to rent for a couple of years, you need to find something that will suit your needs and tastes.

 

Also the layout of many Aussie houses (one floor, often with bedrooms at the front and side of the house, living/kitchen areas at the rear) can be off putting for many Brits (as can the bars on windows) but its pretty normal over there. I personally like the layouts and single floor living but its not for everyone. Go in with an open mind to view houses and be prepared the layout is not going to be what you are used to so don't rule out a lovely house because the bedrooms are at the front or some such. It makes sense to have the living areas at the back of the house as its where the gardens are and with the weather etc it works better with day to day life. My Aussie hubby found it so weird coming to the UK and having to walk up stairs to get to bedrooms and the bathroom, and also to have sitting rooms and living areas at the front of a house was strange for him. He's well used to it now but loved his old Aussie house layout (and so did I).

[Guest guest7008]

thanks to those that have shared the wisdom with me we live in a bungalow now with living at back and bedrooms at front so aussie style living will suit us just fine we are looking for a large rental - 5 plus bedrooms so hopefully we should find something out there? not long now for us - shippers arrive Monday so its all rather mad here but fun in a weird way!! Thanks again all

[Lazy Cow]

When my daughter and her mates moved in to rental accommodation (sob sob) they were given a check sheet if what to look for through, I think, Centrelink or some gov dept.

 

Anyway, with that in mind I had a quick Google and found this : http://www.sa.gov.au/subject/Housing%2C+property+and+land/Renting+and+letting/Information+for+private+rental+landlords/Being+a+private+rental+landlord/Forms+and+fact+sheets+for+private+rental+tenancies

 

Might be a fair starting point?

 

LC

 

PS. Don't underestimate how horrible things can be...despite all care, agreements etc the kids still notice bits that are really not ok i.e. frayed wires covered over with tape, leaks etc And a friend moved into a place which has white ants in the window frames and leaks like crazy in the rain or if the evap is on lol! Don't be scared, just aware

[Guest nickcoumbe]

From my experience the first two things you will need are a car and the internet. We tried doing it without either and it was very difficult.

 

Houses are generally shown at allotted times for about 15 mins so expect to be looking round with the competition. I always find it useful to look keen and ask for an application form if I am even slightly interested in the property.

 

Agents work for the landlords over here, and they are not as keen to get your business as you might expect, so don't worry if they seem stand offish or aren't willing to change plans to suit you.

 

The paperwork is pretty quick so make sure you understand exactly how much you need to stump up in terms of deposit and first rental payment. Our agents wanted character references as well as talking to our previous rental agents in the UK, so make sure you have the contact details before hand and that they are aware that you will want them to reply promptly.

 

Think carefully about what you want from your environment and research the areas accordingly, Adelaide can be surprisingly spread out. We don't have a car for example, so all shopping is done on foot and it is a good 25 min walk to the nearest supermarket. Not a major problem, but you do have to ask yourself how big a bag of spuds you want to carry every time you go to Coles!

 

You can't judge a property by the price. We found a few places were advertised in a very misleading way.

 

Be patient. Lots of properties come on the market every week, even if there is nothing suitable for a couple of weeks

 

If you aren't bringing furniture, then expect to buy some as rentals don't come furnished.

 

In terms of physical stuff:

 

You definitely want insect screens to every door.

You also definitely want aircon and heating to every room if possible.

Check if the house has been sprayed and whether it will be cleaned prior to moving in. You might want to insist on that being done, depending on the condition of the house.

 

Other than that it is really just like buying a house in the UK.

[Diane]

You might have to compromise on the number of bedrooms you are looking for - anything more than 4 and you start to really limit your choices.

 

With regards to the power sockets as mentioned by Snifter above - be prepared for the aussie propensity to put them right next to the basins in the bathroom - eek!

[Guest guest7008]

hi, thanks for the info!! Unfortunatley 5 bedrooms is the minimum as have 6 children of varying ages and sexes so its impossible for the older ones to share, we have a 2 year old who will share with the 9 year old, a 5 year old who will share with the 10 year old, then the 14 year old and the 17 year old need their own rooms.....plus us poor haggered parents!! mind you, if there's a garage I suppose Mr & Mrs we have no tv hence why so many kids can sleep in there!! lol xx have seen a few 5 beds around, but like you said, not many, but hopefully we should be able to find something in the 5 weeks we have our holiday rental for!! then its the 8 seater car...........

[Lol63]

you could try lookin for a 4 bed with a rumpus room, check the floor plans if there are any, we needed a 4 bed but ended up with 3 beds and a rumpus/office (converted garage) the eldest was made up, but only for 3 days, turned out it was the only room with air-con that worked so all 5 of us slept in that for 5 weeks.

[RockDr]

aircon, heating, house of a shape that is actually physically possible to heat (open plan onto the stairs can be problematic...).

 

lots of plugs in all rooms, indicative of relatively modern wiring.

 

check the windowframes for gaps/mould that might indicate leaking.

 

check the ceilings for signs of leaks etc

 

tidy garden generally indicates the place has been reasonably looked after

[Guest Jo&Phil]

All of the above is spot on ......

 

Couple of thoughts: You might not find a house with air con in all rooms - we have ceiling fans in the bedrooms in our house and the work for us.

 

Given the ages of your children, you'll also need somewhere close-ish to good schools (primary and high) and you may want to be close to parks etc for the smaller ones and not miles from anywhere bus for the older ones to avoid endless Mum-Taxi duties.

 

Hope the move goes really well for you

[Guest Guest5035]

as all of the above, but also check your neighbours as the house could be brilliant but the neighbours feral..

 

stevo