django was so right - rental market is a nightmare

[Guest sjs]

i had followed djangos thread about rental nightmare from the uk as it would not be long til we ourselves would arrive with 2 small children. we took the advice and booked our short term rental for 4 weeks - boy i am glad about that !

 

i looked at the rental section of realestate from the uk and thought oh there are loads but in fact you will soon rule out a lot maybe due to the houses being a state inside or the surrounding area not appealing to you as we did. then we saw a couple of new properties coming up called the agents but they, as django said, will NOT let you view it before the open inspection. well on 2 occassions i was told this by the agent but they were in due course taken off the website before an open date arrived ?!?!? after calling the agent to find out lthey had been let already - so i now would always call as soon as a property came on istead of waiting for the open just on the off chance they would let you view it. (which they probably wont but worth a try) even if you can manage to get an application from them inadvance of the opening is an advantage - and stalk your agent some here are far better then others.

 

you start to get a feeling that you may take something you are not even happy with just because you need to. the days pass really quickly initially as you have so much to do - buy a car, search for a job, house hunt, medicare, tfn numbers, bank appointments the list goes on. then you start work so are even more short on time.

 

anyway we have finally managed to secure a rental and thankfully one we are very happy with - but it is not available till the 2nd dec and we are out of here 29 nov - however fortunatley we were able to extend this rental til then.

 

just basically wanted to reinforce what django had said to ensure anyone coming over is prepared.

 

we are loving it here by the way but just be prepared and it will eventually all come together.

 

all the best

 

sarah jane

[Guest KP Nuts]

Congratulations Sarah Jane on getting that rental, so where is it?

 

It's a great relief isn't it when you get one..... you can start to relax a little now.

 

[Guest sjs]

hi kim

 

yes what a relief honestly. it is in noarlungs downs so not too far from yourselves and we have it for 12 months which is great. i am so relieved we have managed to extend this place as well saves us worrying about booking into a hotel for a few nights.

 

i am away to relax now and dream about moving into our new house :v_SPIN:

 

all the best

 

sarah jane

[ozzieclare2be]

i really think it depends on what time of the year you get here as well. We got here in july and there were quite a few that had had opens and hadnt been taken. Saying that we had an open on our rental on monday and 20 people turned up and a few had put applications in before they even looked at the house!! Will hear for definate next week who got it

[Guest sjs]

a few had put applications in before they even looked at the house!!

 

this is what we did for the place we finally got - it made sure that we had a neatly filled out application (not a rush job as you are so desperate to beat everyone else to it !) with plenty of support documentation attached - even stuff they maybe dont ask for. some agents though will not give you an application before an open but it is worth a try - we did this and the agent said she couldnt give us an application before the opening but i explained that we were living all the way down in victor harbor and i was already half way to her office - so she gave me the form which i was then able to hand in at the open. it also let me introduce myself and sell us as very good applicants!

 

i think the quote above shows that people were in the same situation as us - probably had been let down with places they liked in the past and were so desperate to get it that they try and be one step ahead for everyone else.

 

sjs