Renting In Sydney - Ouch

[JacquesV]

That's a Sydney Aussie saying only btw

I have to agree.

We're in Mount Colah, paying $800 ish for a 4 bedroom, 3 full bathrooms, 2 lounges, dining room, spa, ducted aircon, double garage gorgeous upmarket house and couldn't be happier - I have to add my wife and I are VERY picky!!

Takes me 15 mins to the office from home...pure heaven

[qwerty]

We pay $560 per week for a large 2 bedroom apartment with lock-up garage in Killara. Big enough for the 3 of us and takes me 15 minutes to get to work door-to-door. It takes hubby about 30 minutes to get to work (this includes walking our daughter to daycare and then walking to the train station from there). Works well enough for us at this point Also, the owner moved to Chatswood, so the apartment is well looked after...we're the first renters

Edited August 10, 2014 by qwerty

[Bronwyn&Co]

If I had to travel an hour to & from work I would not do it. Either the job or the house or the state would have to change.

[elleneo]

We live in Pymble, hubby walks to the station, and we in a respectable 3 bedroom for $750.

Most 3 bedrooms in turramurra and Pymble are between $750 and $950 they are liveable. Personally I would never pay more than $900 a week in rent. No offense.

[AFreshStart]

You have to factor in what your time is worth to you.

My wife has spent 10 years traveling an hour each way to work, 2-hours of time she could have spent with the kids, popping home for lunch to see the little ones etc.

We are going to be paying more to live in the city (Sydney) close to her office, but it's a 20-minute stroll, a10-minute bus ride and a 10-min walk to school, Moore and Centennial Parks etc. We can pop in for lunch, take a picnic in Hyde Park, she can shoot home to see the kids if she wants. We won't have the extra costs of a car/petrol, tolls etc and won't be subject to ferry's and making sure she catches the last one home and having to take a Taxi etc on the nights she may work late.

We looked the North Shore: Pymble, Chatswood, St Ives etc and found it was only $100+- extra a week from Surry Hills/Redfern and we avoid all of the aforementioned hassles for it, so it's $100, even $200 well spent.

Cheers

Matt

[elleneo]

Now you making sense.

Hubby works in chatswood so it's a 10 minute train ride from Pymble station, very convenient indeed.

[shannonc4]

Equating time to money is the sensible thing to do. In our case, I work in quakers and we are now 650m from my office door and even though hubby works in North Sydney, he has started working from home 3 days a week and he is a massive train enthusiast so really doesn't mind the travel 2 days a week.

[Donovan83]

If I had to travel an hour to & from work I would not do it. Either the job or the house or the state would have to change.

Absolutely agree. I used to live in Roodepoort and it took me around 1.5 hours one way to get to work in Sandton each day - depending on how many robots were out or if it was raining, that could extend easily approach 2 hours. I moved to Sandton and it still took me about 45 minutes one way (which, at the time I thought was a short commute!).

Then I moved to Perth and it took me 12 - 15 minutes on a bus along St George's Terrace to get to work and work started at 8:30... heaven! Even now in Melbourne, I'm out in a suburb about 10km away and it's 40 minutes by train door to door. I'm moving back into a city apartment next week... I can't wait. I'm just not a suburb and commute type of person.

[Rangerbob]

HELLOOOOO

Sorry but could not login for a while there and was getting soooo frustrated. Now can - THANKS Jordy :-)

I was not scared off but glad we have opened such a varied debate as it can only assist all and sundry if info bounces back and forth.

Soooooo much to tell - Sooooo much good news - This places Rocks and we didn't end up taking that $1450/week place but fstuck to our guns and found a FANTASTIC place - will send longer update once get a few minutes on computer.

Cheers for now.

Jonno

[Bronwyn&Co]

Haha Rangerbob I think there are a few people relieved to hear it! Tell us all your news soon..

Edited August 12, 2014 by Bronwyn&Co

[Kanniewagnie]

Our first concern is employment, which I trust will only remain a concern for the first month or 2.

Our 2nd concern, which is holding us back big time and provides sleepless nights at the moment is.... accommodation. The air bnb searches reveals that furnished accomodation for 2 adults and 2 children are very scarse and virtually unaffordable.

How on earth did all these immigrants with children find initial and affordable accomodation until employment? We cannot comprehend that even unfurnished places are nothing below R550 per WEEK!!

We are sooo close and yet so far. If only our weak South African currency could buy us more Dollars, but here we are average South Africans, there we are dirt poor and unemployed.

I wish we had family there with whom we could stay for only 2 weeks.

We know no one. And I can understand that the forumites might stay in small houses, not willing to share with a stranger and I guess if 'we could do it without help, so can they' attitude is understandable.

Please tell us, especially Sydney forumites, where did you stay until your container arrived - did you do the reservation for the first week from SA and then went to local Estate Agents to find something more suitable, or did you solely use the real estate websites, or did some of you share a house (i find this more suitable for people without kids, although I'm willing to the way I feel now).

We are really scared that all our pension money will go into that first few weeks' rent.

Any advice or consolation?

Or do any of you have a caravan to rent out... (And how close to the CBD may we camp out, lol!)

Edited to add PS: we plan to arrive by end of Jan 2015.

Edited August 12, 2014 by Kanniewagnie

[Heymanse]

Our first concern is employment, which I trust will only remain a concern for the first month or 2.

Our 2nd concern, which is holding us back big time and provides sleepless nights at the moment is.... accommodation. The air bnb searches reveals that furnished accomodation for 2 adults and 2 children are very scarse and virtually unaffordable.

How on earth did all these immigrants with children find initial and affordable accomodation until employment? We cannot comprehend that even unfurnished places are nothing below R550 per WEEK!!

We are sooo close and yet so far. If only our weak South African currency could buy us more Dollars, but here we are average South Africans, there we are dirt poor and unemployed.

I wish we had family there with whom we could stay for only 2 weeks.

We know no one. And I can understand that the forumites might stay in small houses, not willing to share with a stranger and I guess if 'we could do it without help, so can they' attitude is understandable.

Please tell us, especially Sydney forumites, where did you stay until your container arrived - did you do the reservation for the first week from SA and then went to local Estate Agents to find something more suitable, or did you solely use the real estate websites, or did some of you share a house (i find this more suitable for people without kids, although I'm willing to the way I feel now).

We are really scared that all our pension money will go into that first few weeks' rent.

Any advice or consolation?

Or do any of you have a caravan to rent out... (And how close to the CBD may we camp out, lol!)

Edited to add PS: we plan to arrive by end of Jan 2015.

As was the case with us, you are coming into the country during high peak season meaning anywhere you stay will cost an arm and a leg. Even staying in a caravan park in the Sydney area would cost you around $250 a night. It is quite unfortunate but sometimes there is just no other way - we spent most of our hard-earned pension fund on accommodation for the first 6 weeks - 4 of these weeks were during the school holidays AND the Pope decided to come and visit Sydney which also drove up prices. It is quite possible that you could of course land a rental property in a quick time - many have done it before. If you do your research well enough before you land and you have a good idea of where you want to settle, you can get a long-term rental in less than 4 weeks and then limit the amount of money you'll be spending on a short-term rental.

Good luck!

[Bronwyn&Co]

Wasn't it Bbop who had Sydney accomodation available to rent to new arrivals? I hear you Kanniewagnie. We stayed in a caravan park. You will be lucky to get into one, I don't want to worry you more but there places book out far in advance. You could try and email some of them & try to get a cabin or something?

[Rangerbob]

Good Morning

Okay, so things have been rather chaotic to say the least but I am totally amazed with this country and its people. If you are in the process of immigrating here and are having Any difficulties (and I am sure everyone will have some difficulties) or doubts then JUST DO IT !!!! All the things people say back in SA such as "Oh, it is so expensive and you will come back" ......True, it is very expensive in a big city like Sydney (and New York and Hong Kong and Paris) BUT once you start to find you feet then you find the Bottle-O (bottle store) with the cheapest grog, the grocer with the best fruit pro ices, the butcher with the great weekly specials, etc ,etc,etc and things get better. And every day and every person you meet (bar a few, rather than the majority) things get better. Things work here - they REALLY do.

Okay - to the rental story.

WE dropped the $1450 per week - EISH !! as we both couldn't sleep the night we made the application and on discussion decided that it was finical suicide to pay that every month. We started looking again that evening on the internet sites and made a short list of possibles that we had previously ignored because we were being picky. The next day was Saturday and that is the day that the viewing take place (each house on an agents book that is open to viewings is open for 45mins at predetermined time - chaotic but actually highly effective). Most of the agents (or their reps) are actually rather willing to help you out if you are polite and curteous to them. We ran around like chickens with our heads chopped off and ended up looking at some, once again, disappointing homes and then we stumbled into the one we are in now.

She is a quaint Victorian style home with pressed ceilings which are 3m high, polished wooden floors, huge upstairs rumpus room , patio, massive garden, leg main bed en suite, two tiny other bedrooms (but with rumpus room you kids just need a space that is theirs and a bed), sun room, laundry (complete with w/machine and tumble dryer and the most amazing sunny kitchen with all the appliances in it. She was Covered in dust and grime and the garden was full of rubble and they wanted $1250/week (apparently the had put it on the market at $1400/week some weeks back).

We were the only ones to view it that Saturday and made note of this. Also after some friendly banter with the estate agents rep we found out that the house had been on market for a while as owners had wanted too much - another important fact.

Houses come with garden service here because landlords want to protect their assets - this one had had some work but very little.

Sooooo, we decided to jump into the drivers seat this time and offered the following;

$1050 per week with 6months upfront

CAN save the money from garden service as we will do it ourselves (got lucky as landlord accepted - a T-Rex, deep pockets but short arms)

Occupation immediately so money will start to come in immediately as at the moment they were loosing potential rent every week.

They came back and accepted and we have been here a week today.

We have carte blanche in the gardens and have permission to paint interior of house white (it is various colours at moment) - Woo Hoo.

It is expensive to get new lawnmowers, weed eaters, wheelbarrows, spades, rakes, tools etc so I would recommend if you have space in your container bring those items with you. TV's are cheap, TV providers have numerous specials (Foxtel - Wow, now we have something like 300 channels of nothing to watch :-) ), dishwashers, microwave ovens, stoves, oven are provided in most cases.

IKEA - fantastic place to stock up on things like light fittings, bins, baskets, interim crockery, etc etc - be careful as you can get yourself into a frenzy here and best to go during the week as weekend was hectic.

LEARNINGS:

Be true to your budget and stick to your guns

Don't think what you see on the internet is what you will get - you need to allow yourself time to check it out in person (even a quick drive by before inspection days)

Listen to anyone you know who lives here and gives you advise about which areas have worse traffic as it is good advice (We wanted to be in Wahroonga but were advised that traffic to get to Terry hills where our daughter goes to school is shocking from there and we now take 15mins to do 18km in peak hour traffic as we live in Pymble).

Find your favourite coffee shop - Fast !! IT makes difference to have favourite places as gives you a sense of permanency

BE prepared to run on inspection days

Try and get some history on how long a place has been on the market - can do this from SA by noting the homes that not seem to move - normally a reason though so be wary

Note how many people are at the house on inspection day - if few then offer lower - owners loose money every day house is empty

Try and get rid of garden service - it helps reduce price

If you can (and we were very lucky we could) try and offer a sweetener of some months rent upfront - legally they can't ask for more than two weeks and the bond (read deposit) .

BE prepared for some "hidden costs". In NSW, the tenants pay for connection,usage and supply cost of electricity and gas (cheaper here than SA) but landlord pays for supply of water and tenant pays usage amount. All taps in house have to have flow reducing heads otherwise estate agent can bill you usage but you don't have to pay.

Everything gets done via the estate agents office - they will be your new best friend.

IF you like a house take some time to check noise levels in mornings and afternoons - we hit a bit of a bummer here as we appear to be under the approach path for Sydney airport and some days we get plane after plane going overhead - I love flying so not an issue and this IS a big city an dee ARE close to it.

YES there are areas where rent is cheaper and you get more bang for your buck BUT it I drop my wife at Pymble station at 8am and she climbs onto a train and is at work in North Sydney by 8:25am and I drive through some heavy BUT flowing traffic and arrive at my daughters school 15mins later. My wife comes home on the train and now walks home (a 15-20mins) walk but she does so in the dark with laptops etc and she feels 100% Safe !!! PRICELESS my friends, PRICELESS

Life in Australia is not for sissys - but then again if you are reading this post and are on this forum then you are not a sissy as anyone doing, in process or who has done the move to the Great Southern Land has guts and determination. This place and its people will NOT disappoint you and if they do then at least you have tried and you will always have proven to yourself that life is about doing things and not just talking about doing them.

I could write a whole long new post about all the things I love about this place already but I will spare you that for now.

Thanks for all the input around rentals and as mentioned by many - the different areas cost different amounts so it needs to be clear in you head whether you want pay less and travel more or pay more and travel less (seems to be the general rule).

Good Luck and JUMP !!! IT is worth the climb back up

Best wishes to you all

Jonno

[rozellem]

Cool stuff Jonno. Welcome to the area. My husband and kids do the 7:30 (am!) swimming lesson slot at Terrey Hills Swim school on a Saturday morning. I trust you have found Bunnings and the Supacenta, and that Forestway Grocer over the rd. It has a few RSA products, cheaper than the RSA shop, and a brilliant shelf by the exit with beautiful marked down fruit/veg. Cant wait for you to experience this area in the light of summer. Your wifes walk from the station will be so much more enjoyable. Shout if you need help.

[Bronwyn&Co]

What a great post Johno! Love the TRex comment. It makes sense that the landlord accepted your offer because as you say, every week it stands empty is $1000+ lost for them.

Btw after the 6 months they will try & bump up the rent but it should only go up by about $20 or $30. Any more & you should refuse! Usually landlords are so grateful for good tenants they'd rather keep you happy than risking vacancy & paying the re-let fees to the agent. So play your cards carefully at 6 months.

Ps. Don't spend too much on the house. We tend to get carried away too, but keep it to the bare minimum. Keep slips as the landlord can use them at tax time, it might sweeten your deal

Edited August 15, 2014 by Bronwyn&Co

[rozellem]

PS. I like what you said about the bedroom sizes and what you actually ending up doing in them. We noticed with many people in Sydney, especially after having the second kid, they move the two kids into the master bedroom and take the smaller bedroom for the parents. I thought it was a genius idea. The house be bought last year, has 3 bedrooms, a small, a medium and a large. We moved the boys into the large and we were able to fit a queen bed and two bedside tables into the medium room. Which all ready had a built in robe. As we only sleep in our bedroom, no other hanging about really, it makes perfect sense for us. The boys love their big bedroom, with full carpet. They had never had carpet and just love lying on the floor while playing. Then the small bedroom is available for visitors any time. So, its important to chuck out pre conceived ideas of how we think a house can only function in a certain way and just roll with it.

This will of course all change when we win the Lotto, knock the study and playroom together and move the kitchen into that, make a new master out of old kitchen, put shower into outside toilet for the new masters en suite, change my laundry into a hair salon, make a rumpus out of the currents garage...........

[Rangerbob]

Haha RozelleM - We think the same way !! Thanks again for offers to help - we must hook up sometime when it is less chaotic

I already said to my wife we should buy this house and then...........we could really get it looking amazing. She aint keen due to overhead plane noise.

Bunnings and I are HUGE friends already and in fact have gotten to know two or three guys in there who asked me where I was on Thurs as first day not in - hehehe

Bronwyn - hear ya on the input amount. Our problem is we love to work on our homes and this one needs work - lots of it. I am going to put paint in but not the best paint and only on the inside and the patio where we will live in summer. All the light fittings I have changed I have kept olds ones and will replae when we move to OUR home and take new ones with. Have put LED down lighters globes in as well as we pay for electricity but have kept all old globes and will put back and take our expensive ones with us. Many ways to skin a cat !!!

The garden we will use existing aggies, clivias etc and split and plant. We are off to the nursery now to buy .........Bulk wild flower seed packs and we are going to just sow loads of seeds on all the bare patches and have some patience and literally watch the flowers grow. We want to encourage wild birds in the garden and this is apparently the best way. Will also go to wild flower nursery on Mona Vale.

Have a great day

Jonno

[Bronwyn&Co]

Jonno my brother lives in Mona Vale A small suggestion for you: take up furniture restoration once the house is done. You can fix up old tables & stuff & use them in the house you eventually buy I love doing that.

Edited August 16, 2014 by Bronwyn&Co

[rozellem]

Jono, there is a place called Kimbriki not far from your daugters school. Its literally a dump, like in a dump. They also sell stuff. People buy very cheap mulch from them. Ask if they have a trailer to lend you and mulch those flower beds. Save on weeding and water. Go up there for a nose around. Then, look out for signs on lamp posts for garage sales. My husband bought stacks of tools and garden equipment at a garden sale. Last year there was even a Saturday that was a state wide garage sale, and we all did it in our street. Ebay is also your friend. Never pay prices as advertised by the big shops. Shop around.

http://www.kimbriki.com.au/

[Bronwyn&Co]

That Kimbriki looks interesting (I also see they accept asbestos!?).

I don't think we have a place like that in Brisbane, which is probably why I've seen about 300 tvs & computers lying next to the road

[Bronwyn&Co]

Please tell us, especially Sydney forumites, where did you stay until your container arrived - did you do the reservation for the first week from SA and then went to local Estate Agents to find something more suitable, or did you solely use the real estate websites, or did some of you share a house (i find this more suitable for people without kids, although I'm willing to the way I feel now).

We are really scared that all our pension money will go into that first few weeks' rent.

Any advice or consolation?

Or do any of you have a caravan to rent out... (And how close to the CBD may we camp out, lol!)

Edited to add PS: we plan to arrive by end of Jan 2015.

Kanniewagnie I smsed my brother in Sydney but he replied 'Hi Bron, there will be many places that are available for short term rentals. They should pick up a furnished place easy. Suggest they figure out where they want to be (as Sydney is a big place) and then leave details with a few agents... Domain.com.au app will give them an idea of cost and best locations'.

Eish it is expensive. I suggest if you can find something even unfurnished for the $550 then it's a good deal. After our caravan park, we rented a house and paid more than that in Adl almost 8 years ago & we too slept on the floor with kids until the container arrived. There's not much choice, unforunately.

Edited August 16, 2014 by Bronwyn&Co

[Rangerbob]

Kanniewagnie

We looked extensively on Air BnB and at the same time kept a daily eye on the domain.com.au and real-estate.com.au sites for rentals.

It doesn't make sense to pay for an AirBnb when you could be in your own home - even if it is empty for a while whilst you wait for containers.

E-Bay is a great place and we considered renting furniture for our rental but then found it on e-Bay. Once you buy something on E-Bay then a company called MeeMeep will automatically email you and ask if they can get quotes to deliver you goods - sooooooo organised. Got items much cheaper on E-Bay than a month rental from furniture rentals and we can seek again once ours arrives....... thereby getting a return.

Unfortunately that initial phase IS SOOO stressful as you DO shell out a lot of hard earned cash which you can help multiplying by 10 then whole time and EISH that hurts !!! BUUUUUTTT - IT IS TOTALLY WORTH IT and I don't regret it for a second. You will find work and you will make the money back and you will do it in a place that is safe and where they fix the roads at night (so as to not disrupt daily traffic) - In the Suburbs !!, where there are parks for your family to relax in that make your jaw drop open (paid for by tax money) and where they have electric braai's provided Free of Charge. This place ROCKS !!! I am still in awe at how well MOST things work here.

The traffic is interesting, Parking in busy areas is virtually impossible and parking within 2km of a train station is plain impossible..... Some faults here as well so not all perfect - luckily.

I will keep my ear to the ground and see if I hear of anything that may work for you.... keep looking and keep the faith that you will find something that works for you and your family and keep putting one foot in front of the other...

Cheers

Jonno

[RosFam]

Hey Rangerbob , I have been following your journey into the rain forests of Sydney , as it kinda reminds me of our journey. Looking at houses that we dumps and eventually shelling out $1100 pw on a place that had been reduced from $1300 per week. Paying 3 months upfront and gulping and the amount of money we just handed over to the rental agent. Taking my wife to the bus in the morning and dropping the kids at preschool. You have a great attitude , keep it up and you will do it, one step at a time. Walk before you can run and soon you will be in the Sydney pace of life. Hectic.... but good!

Keep us updated , I am intrigued.

[Kanniewagnie]

Thank you for al the good suggestions and PM's, I think I should start a journal.

It would really help if we knew at least where to look for accommodation during that first two weeks, because when you look on the web, one feel totally lost seeing how many suburbs there are... Schools begin in Jan and we have to decide where (state school) we want our kids to enroll. Even that is a bit difficult if we don't know where we will be working. At the moment I feel the closer to the CBD, the better -

Do any one here live close to Sydney CBD and have their kids in a Govmnt Primary School? I would love to hear suggestions on areas, because I want to limit our commute to work and to school as much as possible.

It looks like more IT companies are in the North CBD, so - it would also make it easier to travel to interviews.