Chantalgr Posted January 15, 2016 Report Share Posted January 15, 2016 Hi All. Please help. My husband is doing an interview with a company based in Moorabbin. We are looking at suburbs that are within a 30 min commute to Moorabbin I´ve seen Cheltenham, Dandenong, Ferntree Gully etc... Can you please give me some advice on the surrounding suburbs with regards to affordable rent in a decent sized home. Also to be considered are the primary schools zoned to the area. Best regarded government school in the area. What must absolutely be avoided?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunnyskies Posted January 16, 2016 Report Share Posted January 16, 2016 I'd stay away from Dandenong and Springvale. If you can afford it try and stay in Hampton, Highett or Bentleigh (Bentleigh in particular has been a bit of a dark horse, but it is becoming more popular). It is quite a long commute from Ferntree Gully to Moorabbin, probably more than 30 minutes in traffic. I would suggest you look south of the Monash Freeway and West of Patterson river. I don't know the schools in that area unfortunately. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPanda Posted January 18, 2016 Report Share Posted January 18, 2016 I'm with @Sunnyskies on the Springvale/Dandenong comment. We picked up our bank cards in Springvale. It's strongly asian, so much so that we couldn't read half the store fronts and couldn't understand what people were saying on the sidewalks, and even in the bank where we were helped in English, I got the feeling that only a few staff members spoke good English, and they mostly did not speak English to each other. Personally, we really like Belgrave. But that's because of the trees and the quiet, and the close proximity to forest walking trails, more than schools or house sizes. You would probably have the same kind of commuting time as you would from Ferntree Gully, esp if you use the train or buses. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmNew Posted January 18, 2016 Report Share Posted January 18, 2016 Hi Chantalgr We're in Hampton, which is really close to Moorabbin. You have the advantage of being close to the Nepean Highway, right on the Bay for easy access to walking / cycling trails , the beach etc , near Southland shopping centre. Sandringham ( next to Hampton ) is lovely, and I have seen great places in Cheltenham ( next to Sandringham and closer to Southland ) Highett also has some great places - back of Hampton / Hampton East, Highett and Cheltenham on are the Frankston train line, which will give you public transport access to Moorrabin, Affordability is a personal thing I guess. You could find a freestanding house to rent in all, but the condition of it might vary. Hampton / Sandringham would be most expensiveI would think but there are great schools in the Hampton / Sandringham zones. I have seen some stunning brand new townhouses in Highett at good rental prices - might not be huge properties, but well spec'd and fitted out. We drove through Dandenong once .......shudder.......... Ferntree Gully is pretty, but a bit isolated for a commute. Hope to catch up with you when you are here 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chantalgr Posted January 18, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2016 (edited) He got the job!!! Thank you Lord So we are definitely going to be heading to the south eastern suburbs. @RedPanda, thank you for your description regarding Dandenong and Springvale. I do NOT think that is even a place to consider. I would really not feel comfortable in a suburb where I could not understand the people or understand what shops are around there. @EmNew Thank you for your detailed description of the surrounding area´s. It really helps me to understand the location better. Maybe we can catch up sometime ....:) From the research that I have done, I really like Cheltenham Primary. The surrounding area´s look quite good too, Bentleigh East is one of them. We would definitely stay in Highett, Hampton etc if we could find a suitable and affordable place but that doesn´t seem too common in those area´s as they seem to be more pricey. But you never know.... We have seen a house advertised in Cheltenham which would suit the needs of our family quite well. It seems to be a little older but that´s ok. We don´t mind as it has all the other things we would like in a home. Now how does someone with no history go about securing a rental ...... Edited January 18, 2016 by Chantalgr 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmNew Posted January 18, 2016 Report Share Posted January 18, 2016 That is awesome news!! Re the rental : if you can, get a reference from the agent who sold your house. Get them to state how long you owned the property, confirm the address , and the condition the property was in upon sale thereof. I think a lot boils down to how much interest there is in the property, demand vs supply, rapport with local agent etc. We were lucky to secure a rental with our RSA agent reference, and just a standard bond ( deposit ) and one month rental in advance. Others have offered more months rental upfront, or a longer lease than the normal 12 months. There doesn't seem to be a hard and fast rule. I think here there is a trade-off needed when it comes to property here. If you want larger, you will most likely need to settle on an older fixer-upper. If you are prepared to start small, you can get stunning new-builds with mod-cons for similar price. Also the prices varies from street to street. I have seen a price vary over $100 per week on similar properties, within less of a km from one another. The closer to amenities you are ( schools, shops, railway etc ) , the higher the rental will be , regardless of suburb. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPanda Posted January 18, 2016 Report Share Posted January 18, 2016 It's a pleasure! I understand that people try to be discreet about their opinions, and that it is especially important in an online environment, but I find it frustrating in general when I ask a question and people just say "avoid this" or "good luck with that" without actually telling me what the problem is. (So I try to elaborate, as diplomatically as possible) Oh, and massive congrats on securing a job!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chantalgr Posted January 18, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2016 Thanks guys I understand the sensitivity of the on-line environment and I really appreciate the honest opinions. I would not like to waste a lot of time travelling through the various areas to scout a location for a rental, especially with the short time frame we have. Once again a really insightful observation of the property market in Melbourne. Thanks Em I unfortunately will not be able to get a letter from a property agent as we never owned a house and we have been living with my in-laws for the last 2 years since we started this process........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmNew Posted January 19, 2016 Report Share Posted January 19, 2016 13 hours ago, Chantalgr said: I unfortunately will not be able to get a letter from a property agent as we never owned a house and we have been living with my in-laws for the last 2 years since we started this process........ How about character references - from in-laws, Church? If you did pay your in-laws any form of regular payments for rent , perhaps let them state that - frequency, duration etc. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPanda Posted January 19, 2016 Report Share Posted January 19, 2016 We are "renting" from my in-laws too, but we have a rental contract drawn up for FICA rubbish. I'm sure I can get a statement from them that says we left the house in good order and gave them no grief. But I don't know if any agents will raise eyebrows because the recommendation comes from family? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mara Posted January 19, 2016 Report Share Posted January 19, 2016 Red Panda, you could always just say it is a co-incidence that they have the same surname! Could be you know 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chantalgr Posted January 19, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2016 Definitely may look strange having someone with the same surname sign the paperwork Thanks for the idea @EmNew I guess it´s worth a shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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