How long searching for renting a house

[Rabeah]

Hello everybody,

 

I'm curious about how long it will take for new arrivals like my hubby and me to get a roof over our head in Adelaide? We're not asking for short term accommodation but rather for long term rentals. Maybe some members who are already in Adelaide could tell us how long it took until you moved in (on an average) and if it was easy to find something appropriate. I've read here that you cannot trust the pictures from the internet from some realestate agents. Don't know if it's true.

Thanks.

 

Regards, Rabeah

[Guest bidsandrew]

Be great to see what responses you get as we have the same question!

[Guest GCarter]

Same here!

[Guest gymnast11]

hi we arrive in nov and i have sent hundreds of emails about short and long term, im a vip on most estate agents and still nothing, so when rob picks us up at the airport if we havent got anything by then it will be a drop off at the nearest beach ha ha hope you have better luck, michelle x

Same here!

[Guest Mitchell]

Hiya. It took me 3 weeks from when I arrived and I was working full time from a few days after I arrived.

[jimmyskinner]

Hello

we arrived on the 15th September and started looking almost straight away.My advice would be DO NOT book a long term rental whilst still in the UK.

You need to view a place before you commit to renting.There are some dodgy,dirty and overpriced places out there (as there is in the UK),so be prepared to be patient.Some of the properties have been hilarious and we have cracked out laughing whilst looking round.

Best of luck

[Guest Ric & Paula]

We had a mad 2 weeks from arrival,going to "Opens" etc,and got a rental in the 2nd week.We had to get driving liscences,medicare etc,sorted too,saw about 10 in total,fun in the sun with 3 kids who want to explore the beach!!

[RockDr]

Anthing you manage to sign up to for long term rental before getting here is likely to be an overpriced dump that the agents can't shift.

 

Book some short term accommodation, and in the couple of weeks before getting here, search Realestate.com for properties in your price bracket/preferred area. Make a note of the open days, and contact the agents for the properties that need appointments. This way, when you get here, you'll have a visiting calendar all sorted already, and you'll only need to keep an eye out for any new listings, rather than starting from scratch.

 

If you've got time, it's worth keeping an eye on realestate.com, to see if any properties get re-listed. this often means there's either something wrong with them, or the asking price is too high. with these properties, you'll probably get it, even ifyou make a lower offer.

[Guest Ryan T. Lion]

Hi

 

RockDR has provided some great advice there and I would echo it.

 

I wouldn't book more than 3 or 4 weeks temp accommodation before you arrive. That allows you a couple of weeks searching for the right rental and then a week or two to allow for it to be rentable (current tenants moving out, landlord may want to decorate etc)

 

You should think about giving yourself a couple of days minimum before you start looking - don't underestimate jetlag! Go to www.vroomvroomvroom.com.au for car rental - it is MILES cheaper than going straight to the supplier. Once it's booked you can speak to the supplier direct to add extras etc. GET SATNAV INCLUDED! I'll explain why later.

 

It will be important to establish your rental budget - obviously. Other considerations might be the commute, or being within walking distance of a beach - figure out the showstoppers and deal-breakers and focus your search on what's left. Come up with 5 "musts" and a couple of "nice to have's" and you'll soon whittle it down.

 

BUY SIM CARDS! Have your new number written somewhere because you won't know it.

 

The most important thing you can do is bring a laptop (or buy one here) and invest in a 3G dongle for internet access (again, once here). You will be lost without it. Set up a web-based email account (gmail etc...) before you leave the UK so you can use any computer to check them. Listings are updated all the time, you'll need to send forms and emails, check UK bank balances - transfer money etc - you'll need to do all of that on the go. Free wifi at McDonald's might be cool for teens on FaceBook but you'll need something with you in the car all the time. Pull up at a park and let the kids play while you fire up the lappy and do some research etc..... It's the only way to do it. Even if your short term rental comes with the internet (as lots do) it's worth $50 to give yourself the edge and have it mobile.

 

In all honesty - you'll (probably) just use realestate.com and you'll be sick of the sight of it before too long.

 

It has a really cool feature though - which we found a lot of help - you can put in the suburbs/price you're looking at, then ask it to list them "by viewings". That way you can see everything you could possibly look at in the coming week - and fill the blanks by arranging viewings with realtors (the ones that are viewings by appointment only).

 

DON'T GO BY THE PHOTOS IN THE LISTING! Some listings use professional photography to make an interior look so sparkling and spacious that's you'd sign up there n' then. Others (like ours) the listing was abysmal and we only swung by out of "why not - we're close" and found our dream rental.

 

Be realistic about whether the place will suit your belongings (if they're being shipped). We saw some huge, huuuuuuugggeee houses - granite worktops, downlights, marble floors, AV rooms, THE WORKS - but upon reflection it would've swallowed our furniture whole, and might not have proved very 'homely' with our dusty dining room table and trusty old settee. Don't get me wrong - we've got "nice stuff" - but we don't live in an Ikea catalogue and some newer Aussie homes need that sort of furniture to work - if that makes sense.

 

When looking, you want to be as intensive as possible - see if you can plan a route which might take you to a couple of houses in the morning and maybe 3 in the afternoon. Allow time to stop for food/coffees/chats - coincide it with time to let the kids tear around some of the amazing parks out here.

 

Some folk will tell you how hard it is to secure a rental (you'll share a viewing with 10 other families who all have their references etc printed to hand.....) and that might be true below a certain threshold. However, at the first house we viewed we asked the realtor about demand and she said anything over $400/wk won't be too crazily sought after.

 

Have as much paperwork prepared as possible, in advance. You probably won't have access to a copier or scanner so bring copies of passports, certificates etc. References are great if you've rented before (or if you shacked up with your in-laws before you came out - anyone can write a letter and who's to know?!) We also did an A4 sheet with a nice family photo on it - complete with a little paragraph about who we are, our jobs - reasons for being in Oz etc. The actual landlord/owner has the final say on who gets the house - and in our experience most will just default to whatever the realtor's recommendation is - so be nice at viewings! You could always offer to pay a couple of month's rent up front etc if you sense a lot of competition... The letting agent will need lots of ID (100 points worth, but a UK passport is 50 and so is a driving license so most people are ok).

 

Cash - you'll need your deposit and most letting agents will take credit cards (they call it EFTPOS) so if you don't have an Aussie bank account sorted in advance, take a pre-paid credit card such as the Travelex Aus Cash Passport - you can charge these up instantly over the internet using your UK debit card and they're accepted everywhere Mastercard is. You should be able to secure your rental with 2 weeks rent as a deposit, and the bond will be 6 weeks rent - but you won't need that until you actually move in.

 

Schools - they're a bit chicken/egg - do you let the school decide the suburb or vice versa? What we found was to go to the viewings then if we liked the house, we punched in the "nearest school" into the prehistoric SatNav the hire car companies gave us (that's why you need SatNav). Then we drove to it and had a look. Then we'd do a lap of the suburb and check it all out - nice shops? A doctor nearby? etc...

 

The houses whereby you arrange viewings yourself are generally "easier" than the open day ones. After an open day, everyone interested will hand in a form - if you've arranged a viewing you generally have more time to view it again, check out the 'burb etc... You'll probably be signing up for 12 months so you want to be sure.

 

The realtors will hand out forms at the viewings and if you're interested you'll need to have them returned within a couple of days - so they're workng from the point of view that you already know the suburb and you just need the right dwelling to complete the picture. Open viewings are usually about 15 minutes - I kid you not - so try to take in as much in as possible. Make notes of interesting/memourable features or you'll just forget which house was which when you're chilling at the end of the day with sore eyes and a glass of wine! We made notes like "nice but weird fireplace", "big kitchen - lots of dark pine" etc etc - whatever helps you remember it. Next to each house right the number of the realtor too.

 

Eventually, you'll get a feel for the suburbs and the pros and cons in each. You'll quickly get a feel for the type of houses too.

 

Be aware that the day your lease begins could be any time during that day i.e. ours was available "from the 5th September" so we lined up our container to be brought out of storage for that date. As it happens, we could have the keys on 5th Sept - but only after the realtor did an inventory/inspection and the carpets got cleaned - we got our keys and damp carpets at 2pm, way too late to start unloading a container!

 

Finally - STAY POSITIVE. By far, by faaaaaaaaaaaaaar the hardest part of relocating for us was the house-hunt, suburb-search etc... It can get very stressful and we were certainly surprised by how much being "homeless" affected us - but you'll get there. As tricky as it was - we're now in our dream house in our dream location, under budget - ticking every box of our 'Aussie Adventure' - our container got delivered and it was like Christmas. The big empty rental fills up with your much missed belongings and before you know it, it feels like home.

 

We did all this last month and it feels like a million years ago now!

 

G O O D L U C K !

 

ps To (finally) answer your original question - we landed 3rd August, rented a car from the 5th August - and I reckon we'd found "the house" within a (solid!) week - couldn't get in for nearly a month after that though, as it was quite an "early" listing - but worth the wait.

[Misplaced]

RT - what a fantastic post and one that I will have to remember to look at when we come over next year. Does anyone have anything else to add?

[Guest satish_lkb]

Dear Ryan,

 

You made my day dear.... thanks a lot for the detailed info... plus one for you... We are landing on Dec 3rd and already arranged temporary accommodation for 2 weeks. Hope to get a descent rental within that time.. All the best..

 

Satish

[RockDr]

Personally I disagree with needing a SatNav if you've got a mobile internet connection. Google maps is fine for looking up where the nearest school is to a property.

 

A street directory should be one of your first purchases, it can live in the car. You'll learn your way around much faster by using a paper map. Within a few days you'll be able to get to the suburb you're wanting without needing directions, and just consult the map for the last little bit. If you rely on Satnav, you'll still be relying on satnav in years to come.

[Diane]

I'd second that about the hard copy map book over a SatNav. You can get a much better idea of where a place lies in reference to other suburbs that way - there are big maps of the whole Adelaide area in the front of most UBDs (available for less than $20 in places like Big W, Target etc) as well as suburb listings, and listings of schools/parks etc.

 

I may be just an old technophobe but I love my UBD mapbook!

 

Oh and one more thing, if your kids are stir crazy and likely to run wild around a house you're viewing, leave them in the car while you go in!! Many agents say they watch people's behaviour at the open and if they don't treat the house with respect, the agent won't rent to them...

[Hutchy]

One of our first purchases, was a street map......fantastic way to find out where everything is. We were told too, make sure your car is clean inside and out, when you go to view a property, some agents will check out the condition of your vehicle. I suppose if you keep your car clean and tidy, you will do the same with a property.

[Guest bidsandrew]

Thank you so much Ryan T. Lion, that is one of the most useful posts I have ever seen!! Although they have all been fantastic and I honesty dont know what we would have done without Pominadelaide!!!

[Guest wyles family]

great post, we are leaving for adelaide on 25th oct to start our search!!! ive took down notes on what you said, thanks!! which subburb are you living in then? are the kids happy at their new school? rachel

[Guest Ryan T. Lion]

Personally I disagree with needing a SatNav if you've got a mobile internet connection. Google maps is fine for looking up where the nearest school is to a property.

 

A street directory should be one of your first purchases, it can live in the car. You'll learn your way around much faster by using a paper map. Within a few days you'll be able to get to the suburb you're wanting without needing directions, and just consult the map for the last little bit. If you rely on Satnav, you'll still be relying on satnav in years to come.

 

We used a street plan to.... erm, plan. But if you've got the time and energy to start consulting and following an A-Z, driving your young family around a strange city only days after landing there - trying to get to appointments and quickly see where the nearest school is - instead of just paying an extra $10/day to have SatNav in the car - well, let's just say "I want some of what you're smoking".

 

I haven't used SatNav since - like you said I also get by with google earth - and to be fair I'm starting to get my bearings more 'naturally' - but the old "slave to the SatNav" argument doesn't hold water when you've got a week to find a house 16,000km from home.

[Guest Ryan T. Lion]

.....if your kids are stir crazy and likely to run wild around a house you're viewing, leave them in the car while you go in!! Many agents say they watch people's behaviour at the open and if they don't treat the house with respect, the agent won't rent to them...

 

100% agree with you - I would advise anyone doing the old suburb search to allow for some time for the kids to blow off steam - there's free parks dotted about everywhere - and pulling over and releasing them into the wild will work wonders! Tired ratty kids at a viewing is a baaaaaaaaaaad idea.

[Guest Ryan T. Lion]

great post, we are leaving for adelaide on 25th oct to start our search!!! ive took down notes on what you said, thanks!! which subburb are you living in then? are the kids happy at their new school? rachel

 

Hi Rachel

 

We settled in Seacliff - a very pretty coastal suburb on the nourlunga train line - 21 mins to the city - 200yds from a gorgeous beach - and close to little local shops and only a 5 mins drive to the enormous Westfield Marion Centre.

 

The 'overall suburb' of Brighton/Seacliff/Kingston/Marino is a real winner.

 

We have our eldest at Seacliff Primary and she loves it.

[jimmyskinner]

Hello

we arrived on the 15th September and started looking almost straight away.My advice would be DO NOT book a long term rental whilst still in the UK.

You need to view a place before you commit to renting.There are some dodgy,dirty and overpriced places out there (as there is in the UK),so be prepared to be patient.Some of the properties have been hilarious and we have cracked out laughing whilst looking round.

Best of luck

We put an application in this morning ,the first one we applied for and got a yes within an hour,we gave the agent one hand written reference and one of Jaynes work references and all was sorted . We move in on the 30th in a quite new courtyard home in Grange 5 mins to the beach and its spotless.

[Guest Ryan T. Lion]

We put an application in this morning ,the first one we applied for and got a yes within an hour,we gave the agent one hand written reference and one of Jaynes work references and all was sorted . We move in on the 30th in a quite new courtyard home in Grange 5 mins to the beach and its spotless.

 

Good skills!!! \o/

[malkitek]

Hi,

Amazing detailed reply posts!

We got our long term rental after a week of looking, could move in the week after, we had booked our holiday let for three weeks so had few days overlap which worked out well for kitting out new home! There wasn't any more than one other couple/ family at open viewings we were at, but sat nav definetly helped get between two or three all at pretty much the same time! We got only house we filled application in for, no rental references, gave my friend in brisbane, who I haven't seen for ten years! They did phone her and the owner of the short term let, who we had known a week, she could only really confirm we'd paid! We have lovely 3 bed villa in port noarlunga south, one back from esplanade, very happy and settled.

It wasn't nearly as bad as we worried!

Good luck

Gill x

[JimandBarbinAus]

Great thread, some really interesting stuff

[Rammygirl]

We were in our rental for 5 weeks before our stuff arrived from the UK. We rented a house pack to tide us over and just bought the things we knew we would have to buy anyway. It was great to have everything we needed from tea spoons to a washer until our stuff arrived. And worked out much cheaper overall than a longer stay in a furnished place.

[JimandBarbinAus]

where you from rammy girl? my hubby from derby, alvaston and im from plymouth