MerlinZA Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 HI In one of the many informative threads on this forum, i recall reading advise on how to secure rental property once you're in Oz. One items to take with was a reference letter from previous landlord or estate agent. Since we've been fortunate enough to have owned our last few properties, we've asked for a reference letter from our agent. She's happy for us to write it and she'll sign it. But now my google searches are only popping up reference letters written by landlords for rental tenants. Does anyone perhaps have a reference letter template from an Estate Agent after being the actual property owner and not having rented. Thanks 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunnyskies Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 We got our selling agent to give us one. It said things like what a great condition our house is in and that we obviously look after our stuff and keep things well maintained. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerlinZA Posted December 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2015 thanks Sunnyskies, will give my creative writing skills (accountants dont write too many letter nowadays) a dust off and put something together for our agent to sign 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunnyskies Posted December 2, 2015 Report Share Posted December 2, 2015 Good idea. We only used the letter once when we first landed and I don't know if it really helped or if we would have been successful anyway, but it can't hurt. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mara Posted December 2, 2015 Report Share Posted December 2, 2015 Shortly after we landed in NZ we bought a house. The reference letters we had taken, from our bank and from the agent that sold our home, was welcomed by the bank that gave us our home loan! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhatMyles Posted December 3, 2015 Report Share Posted December 3, 2015 10 hours ago, Mara said: Shortly after we landed in NZ we bought a house. The reference letters we had taken, from our bank and from the agent that sold our home, was welcomed by the bank that gave us our home loan! Hi Mara I have heard/read that you need a Oz credit history to get a home loan. was this not the case for you? What conditions were there in the loan agreement that allowed them to exempt the credit history thing? I would love to buy a home within 6 months of landing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mara Posted December 3, 2015 Report Share Posted December 3, 2015 In NZ we bouvht a house four weeks after landing and in Australia we built our first house a year after arriving. Getting a loan, either time, was not a problem for us. I am not sure if the fact that we paid around a 50% deposit made a difference. The only references we had in Australia was the fact that we were both working. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waylander Posted January 17, 2016 Report Share Posted January 17, 2016 (edited) you can also get a printout/statement of your home loan account - this should show many, many monthly repayments on time - which is something rental agents are looking for, the disciplined regular payer (they always ask for a tenant ledger as reference when you have been renting in Aus - this is the closest thing to it you will get). Also, you will need to find at least two local Aus references - if you don't know anyone where you will be settling, then maybe you can ask for people local to where you are settling on this forum to act as a reference - rental agents WILL phone referees before approving the application. We rented our current place from South Africa - got Eva from this Forum to view the property and then to act as a reference - thanks EVA! for all of your help! Edited January 17, 2016 by Waylander Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmNew Posted January 19, 2016 Report Share Posted January 19, 2016 Hi, We got a letter from our agent to assist us, as we had no rental history either. In it she confirmed ; - Length of ownership - Where we had lived - Condition of house at time of sale - How we were like as clients to deal with We then got our friend in Melbourne, that has known us for decades, and with whom we were staying when we first arrived, to give a character reference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yuvi Posted January 19, 2016 Report Share Posted January 19, 2016 Hi All What if we are not selling up our house. I currently own in a complex which i will rent out when moving over. What are our options to get these type of references? As @Waylander suggested, would a printout of our home loan statement suffice? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waylander Posted January 19, 2016 Report Share Posted January 19, 2016 Nope - you need to gather a bit more to give the agent/landlord a comfy feeling about letting you rent his place. Paying 6 months rent in advance is often a trumpcard you can play - it pacifies most of the "will I get paid by this [potential] loser". But you still need to pacify the "will this jerk look after my place" question. That needs character references - 1st prize for an owner/agent is a reference from someone you have rented from - if that is not available, then you need to provide something a bit more to make them "allow" you to rent their place - give them a warm fuzzy feeling that you are not a psycho bogan. The homeloan statement is merely one item - which will provide some comfort, but I doubt that it will be sufficient to win them over. We managed to secure a rental in Aus from SA by doing the following: 1) Paid 6 months in advance (got them past the bit of the application form where it says "Current Employment" and the answer is not yet - will get soon!) 2) 2 x character references from people in Australia (thanks to this forum) - both of them were phoned by the way 3) I rented once for a year in between buying houses in SA (couple of years back) - managed to track down the old rental agent and bugged him to give me a reference letter (which I wrote for him and emailed to him- took a few calls/emails to lever his arse into responding) 4) Provided home loan statement 5) No pets brought along (have since gotten one) - landlords are very wary of renting to people with pets, some flat out disallow them - others grudgingly will let you keep them outside. 6) Getting a friendly forumite to inspect the property on our behalf - they are not really allowed to let you rent unless you have viewed the property. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yuvi Posted January 20, 2016 Report Share Posted January 20, 2016 Thanks Waylander. The references in AUS are doable. Would you be able to provide me an example of the reference letter from the agent. Or just let me know the key points to mention. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waylander Posted January 20, 2016 Report Share Posted January 20, 2016 (edited) Tenancy Reference letter: xxxx This is a reference letter for xxxx He/they were a tenant in yyyy address, which I manage on behalf of the owner. During the period of tenancy (12 months - from October 2008 to September 2009 at a rental of R zzzz per calendar month) I found him and his family to be very reliable tenants. He/they always paid the rent on time, the rental property was kept in order and maintained properly and no complaints were lodged against them by other residents. When they moved out, they left the rental property in a very good condition, clean and tidy, and his deposit was fully refunded. I would feel confident in recommending xxxx as a prospective tenant. Edited January 20, 2016 by Waylander Did not show 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yuvi Posted January 21, 2016 Report Share Posted January 21, 2016 Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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