The Renting Marktet

[Oubossies]

I am looking at houses for rent in Adelaide and I am worried because I don't see that many houses for rent. Is the renting market very strong? Is there a lot of applications per property? Is there a lot to rent? Please tell me if I need to be concerned to find a place to rent in January.

[GerhardinOz]

Have a look here: http://www.realestate.com.au/cgi-bin/rsear...nf=rbs&a=sf

[Just B]

It all depends on the area you are looking in. I find quiet a lot but obviously don't speak from first hand knowledge.

[Oubossies]

Here in Melbourne people have to bid against other to be able to get a house for rent. Does that happen in Adelaide too? Does anyone know if there are a lot of application per house? We need to get a house in January and I don't know if it is easy to get a house for rent over there. It is, as I said, not easy here in Melbourne currently. We are looking at Southern Adelaide or maybe Mount Baker area.

[Narms]

Finding a property for us was very frustrating.

Things work a little differently here. In SA you walk into an agency and they bend over backwards trying to help you find a property - even take you around in their car if you do not have your own transport.

Here everything is internet based - www.realestate.com. Seems to be the best link.

You can go in and try establish some sort of relationship with the agents - pick up some of their rental listings and then it’s up to you to drive past and look at the exterior of the property. IF you like it you then call the agent who may meet you there ( first prize) or say that the next inspection day is X in which case you arrive on the said day with a load of other people also interested in the property

You fill in an application for the property if you are interested - they submit the applications to the owner who makes a decision. We waited 3 days before we found out it we had the home.

This was our experience in Mudgeeraba.

Its also a good idea to drive around the area you want to live in - often people do not advertise in papers / with real estate but put out a "for rent board" on the pavement. There are estates here like complexes in SA with a managing agent resident. - ring the manager on duty there and en quire if they have anything to rent. Sometimes you hit a luck and they do - They are more accommodating and will usually try help you directly. No agent involved and they are sometimes neg on the prices.

Good luck it will happen - just be positive and keep your sense of humor - you will need it.

Narms

[Oubossies]

We are currently renting privately in Melbourne and it works very well. Wish I can do it again, but I don't think we will be that lucky.

[polly]

We rented through an agency. Didn't have any problems getting a place. We went viewing in the middle of the week. Only one or two other families viewed the places we did, so there was little competition We are in Melbourne.

[Oubossies]

Polly, where in Melbourne, must be the subarb we are living in. One of my friends has been viewing and applying for places for the last 4 months I think.

[polly]

We were hunting around McKinnon / Bentleigh East / Ormond / Balwyn North. Basically the McKinnon High School zone and the Balwyn High School zone. (All in zone 1 for public transport.) The place we took we saw the morning and got an ok by the evening. The other places all phoned back the next morning that we could have it. We were looking for 4 bedroom places, don't know if the size makes a difference. The place we got is huge We love this house.

We figured what we pay extra for housing in this zone we save on having to get an extra car and fuel costs. We only drive to sight-see and to get groceries (if hubby doesn't pick up on the way home)

[Bob]

Here in Melbourne people have to bid against other to be able to get a house for rent. Does that happen in Adelaide too? Does anyone know if there are a lot of application per house? We need to get a house in January and I don't know if it is easy to get a house for rent over there. It is, as I said, not easy here in Melbourne currently. We are looking at Southern Adelaide or maybe Mount Baker area.

I heard last week that there were four houses coming up for rental in Nairne, a town about 3 mins drive from Mt. Barker.

$290 a week was the sum I was quoted for rents there, for 3 bedroom houses.

Mount Barker would be the main shopping area for Nairne, which is quite rural in its atmosphere.

I don't think there'll be too many dramas renting around the Mount Barker / Littlehampton / Hahndorf / Nairne area.

[Oubossies]

Thanks, Bob, we will have a look that way as well. All over, I will also go and see the principal of the school in Mount Baker you recommended.

[bluesfan]

We've been in Adelaide now for three weeks and started looking for a rental as soon as we arrived. We just received the good news that our application for a house in Felixtow has been approved. However, the last three weeks was very difficult. To get a house you need a couple of things so make sure you have these when you start your search:

Laptop/PC + internet. Without this you're doomed

A Car and a street map book or GPS. You have to attnd viewings. You could take a bus from the city to the suburb, but if you want to go to another place you would need to go back to the city and find the bus stop to your new destination. If you consider that viewings only last 15 minutes you'll probably be late for most of them, or you;ll only be able to attend one at at time

A mobile phone

Many references to prove you are a good person

Lots of prayers

What is also very frustrating is that you can only apply for one house at a time. If your application is approved, you are legally bound to accept. Some estate agencies take more than a week to make a decision. Only after you've been notified that you were unsuccessful can you apply for the next one.

If you come here with the same perception of estate agents that you had from them in RSA, you're in for a big surprise.

All the best and I hope these tips will help you when you get here and start home searching.

Jakes

[polly]

We applied for more than one place at a time. I know a lot of others have done the same. We then decided which one we wanted after approval. Don't know if it is different in Adelaide?

[zorba]

We applied for more than one place at a time. I know a lot of others have done the same. We then decided which one we wanted after approval. Don't know if it is different in Adelaide?

Hi Polly,

You can't do this in NSW! If you apply for a house and are accepted you are legally bound. If you pull out of the deal you will lose the week's deposit you put in as an "application" fee, very expensive if you go around putting in multiple applications. Also, you stand a chance of being blacklisted, and the agents won't touch you after that.

I remember being SO frustrated at having to wait on a reply from our home of choice, and kept fretting about other houses I'd seen and would lose out on because of the delay! We landed up actually getting the house we wanted, but the agents were very laid-back (that's putting it politely!) and oblivious to the anxieties of newcomers (urgently needing an address to enrol in schools, etc).

What worked well for us was being VERY organised:

Get the weekly inspections listings from all the agents (usually available on a Wed or Thurs) and do your research upfront.

Highlight the ones you want to see and plan your trip with military precision to fit them all in.

Make notes, especially if you are viewing lots of houses or you won't remember them all.

And have all your paperwork ready, including references and referee phone numbers, etc.

You can get the application forms from the agent before the time (some can be downloaded from their sites) and fill in ahead of time - this sounds overzealous, but in Sydney it was the only way to be ahead of the pack so to speak (at some houses there were 12 families all viewing together!)

Happy house hunting!

zorba

[polly]

Ouch! You really had a lot of work to get a place. I would have fallen flat on my face if I had to have been so organised so soon after landing. I take my hat off to you! We didn't have to put down an application fee or anything. I just blanket applied for everything here in Melbourne and just hoped we would get something. If we ever move to Sydeny, I am looking you up zorba and you are going hunting with me! (or I know I will end up sleeping under bridge )

[JanCPT]

And have all your paperwork ready, including references and referee phone numbers, etc.

Hi zorba

For those of us who aren't as used to "having" to be organised (i.e. me) would you mind elaborating on the paperwork & references - what & from whom

Thanks

Jan

[zorba]

Hi JanCPT,

The application form that you complete asks for contact names, addresses and numbers of 2 or 3 referees. You have to complete a seperate form for every person over 18 who will be living in the house. You also need copies of bank statements and/or contract of employment.

Make sure you have a written reference from your previous landlord or the estate agent that sold your house, basically just saying that you were good tenants, the house was left in good order, etc. If possible, get them to say that your damages deposit was refunded in full.

They also asked for copies of passports and visas.

Hope this helps!

zorba

[Bob]

Let us know the dates you're going to leave Melbourne and head over for Adelaide.

I see you've been here for a couple of years, in Australia, so you're a PR visa holder?

[Oubossies]

Let us know the dates you're going to leave Melbourne and head over for Adelaide.

I see you've been here for a couple of years, in Australia, so you're a PR visa holder?

Hi Bob,

We will be Adelaide Thrursday, Friday and Saturday morning. Our Thursday morning and the afternoon from 4 is booked out. Friday we will be busy till 12 and then we are finished. Friday evening we are going to a fellow SAer on the forum for pizza's. We might be seeing one of my husbands school friends on Saturday morning before we get back.

Yes we have been in Melbourne for just over 2 years. It seems like we will be staying in the Southern Suburbs of Adelaide. We more or less have found a school. Just have to check it out but so far it looks like it is wat we were looking for.

Someone in Adelaide was wonderful enough to offer to go and look at houses for me. I gave her some criteria that I will be looking for and she will be house hunting for me. I will have to make a dicision if I will fly in to have a final view or if I would just trust her. I hope to go and see at least 1/2 properties when we are there on Thursday.

We will probably be Adelaidians (is that we will be called?) around the middle of January.

Thank you very much for your reply. Would love to meet you as I have heard about you.

Bye for now