First-Time Renting - Help!

kyttiekat on 12/11/2015 - 00:19

Hi all,

Looking for some advice on renting my first property to live in. The plan is to rent a 2-3 bedroom place, take one room for myself and sub-let the other rooms out to flatmates.

I've done quite a bit of research on sites like domain and realestate.com.au, but I still have some questions.

Questions

  • Advice: I'm totally new to the rental world, and don't have any friends or family who have gone down this journey before. I feel like I could really do with some advice (from the OzB community, but also from professionals!). Is there such thing as being able to go to a real estate agent (or some other professional), and pay them for their advice? I'd love to just give someone a list of all my criteria, and have them apply their professional judgement to give me back a shortlist of places in my chosen area(s). The idea is that they'd have more insight into things like if the property will rent out well, how it compares to others, and.. other stuff I cant think of yet because I'm not a professional!

I'm absolutely willing to pay a professional for this type of advice - as long as it's at least somewhat unbiased. Or am I dreaming? eg would an agent only tell me about properties for rent that they're involved in, etc?

  • Time: I understand that I could just do more and more research into properties and markets and my areas of interest, until I felt confident enough to make a decision. The issue is that my timeframe to move into a new place is quite short (2-3 weeks ideally), and until then I'm really short on time due to medical issues, and on top of that my mental health isn't going so well (part of why I need to move ASAP!) so I don't feel like I have the capacity to undertake a new learning curve. (Please don't think I'm lazy - I'm usually an ultra-perfectionist / obsessive type!)

Other Comments

Thanks in advance for any ideas. It would be great if there was a mentoring or professional help service or someone I can pay to just give me a shortlist based on my criteria!

If you're interested, here is my criteria so far - any comments welcome.
* 2-3 bedroom property, must have at least 2 bathrooms (so that I can have my own one)
* Must be within 10min walk of any train station (unless it's close enough to CBD that it's a 20ish min bus trip, so no train really needed), and bonus if there's a bus stop nearby
* Inner West Sydney.. furthest from CBD would be around Campsie. But also don't want to get too close, ie Marrickville / Stanmore areas are fine, but Newtown / Alexandria / Chippendale / Glebe / CBD are areas I'm not interested in. Ideally it's somewhere in between, like Dulwich Hill, Marrickville, Campsie, Lilyfield, Five Dock, Leichardt etc.
* Must have dishwasher and built-in wardrobes
* Must have at least one carspace / garage / carport
* Budget: $500-$700/wk
* Would love any appliances that come with it, just to help me with furnishing.. eg fridge / washing machine (I did look at fully furnished places but they are very expensive! Obviously.)
* NO excessive stairs, eg no townhouses, and no apartments (with no lift) where I'm higher than 2nd floor.

TL;DR: Can I pay an unbiased professional to help me find a "good" place to rent - based on my list of criteria, plus their knowledge - without getting screwed over? Or am I dreaming and just need to do it myself?

Thank you.

Home & Garden

Comments

  • Ughhh on 12/11/2015 - 00:26

    What you could do is, go on realestate.com.au (or any other similar sites), click on 'renting', type in all the suburbs you're interested in, tick the boxes for things you want eg. number of bedrooms/garage/price range, deselect anything you don't want eg. townhouses, then click 'search'. Sort by price or view via map if you want. Anything house that interest you, right click to open as new page. If you like it, keep the page, if you don't- close the tab and move on.

    You're renting a place, not buying a property and spending $500k on it, so if the place you rented turns out not what you wanted, no biggie, find another one and don't sign a long term contract.

    • kyttiekat on 12/11/2015 - 00:32

      Thanks for your thoughts. :)

      As I said, I've actually already been looking up properties that way on domain / realestate for a while.

      But I figured it would be nice to have professional opinion, eg to say oh that side of the station doesn't perform as well as the other side (in terms of sub-letting), or, oh be careful of this or that. Again I'm sure I can find out all these tips myself online (eg historical reports for each suburb etc), but I'm short on time & will.

      I'm looking for something at least 12 months, and not keen to move quickly. So I'm trying to make the best-informed decision possible (within my constraints!).

      Hope this makes sense and thanks again.

      • noyesmaybeok on 12/11/2015 - 01:31

        Post properties you are interested in here & people who have lived nearby or know the area can provide feedback.

        Generally the total PITA things you can never plan for, you only find out once you move in (oh that aircon? Yeah it's awful. There are no empty ports at the exchange to get internet. Etc)

        • kyttiekat on 14/11/2015 - 22:39

          Thanks rochow! I've actually decided to stick to a sharehouse for now to minimise fuss. :)

  • eatwell365 on 12/11/2015 - 00:40
    +2

    Think this tenants factsheet ] has nearly everything you need to know. Call them if need - free advice.

    Just go to domain.com.au and do a filter search on price, units, areas, and number of bedrooms.

    Expect to pay a month in advance as bond ie 2 months together on first month. Will need a copy of your recent bank statement to show you have money to pay the rent. Good Luck.

    • kyttiekat on 14/11/2015 - 22:39

      Many thanks for your advice. :)
      I've decided to stick to a sharehouse for now - easier, cheaper and minimal fuss (relatively!).

  • Lucky13 on 12/11/2015 - 02:18
    +1

    Probably make sure too that you wont have any problems covering the full rent by yourself just in case anything happens to the tenants that are renting from you ie. like they bail and leave at short notice or I dont know some other reason. So making sure you can cover the full rent plus expenses by yourself would be a good idea.

    • kyttiekat on 14/11/2015 - 22:40

      Thanks Lucky, that's a really good point for me to consider!

  • sparkles on 12/11/2015 - 05:44
    +1

    Not a professional, but commenting as a landlord. Without co-tenants already arranged any real estate agency are going to assess you and you alone on whether you can afford that rent. Hopefully an estate agent can chip in and advise exactly how that is generally calculated, ie. rent can be no more than 50% of after tax income etc. I've pulled that figure from thin air, but I imagine that will be the ballpark.

    I know most standard leases prohibit sub-letting in the lease agreement so you need to be upfront about it.

    Honestly, as a first time renter with no rental history, looking for a property that is not exactly cheap, you might find it difficult to get a place at all, let alone tick all your criteria, so you need to be prepared for that.

    Have you considered looking for a share house given the urgency? Similar situation but with someone else having done all the "work". That way you will get some sort of rental reference to work from too.

    • kyttiekat on 14/11/2015 - 22:41

      Hi sparkles,

      Thanks so much for your thoughts.

      You're right - I've decided it's too big of a risk / hassle / time investment for now to actually rent out my own property + furnish it + find a flatmate etc. Not to mention meeting my stringent criteria, as you said!

      Instead, I've decided to move into a share house as you've suggested, to build my history + experience. And to cater for the urgency!
      (I move in this Thursday.. yikes!)

      Thanks again.

  • DarkOz on 12/11/2015 - 07:07

    You want professional opinions? Go to the professionals.

    Visit your the local real estate agencies in the Suburbs you want to love in and tell them what you want. They will gladly search it up for you for free. If they can't find what you want they will be sure to give you a call when one becomes available.

    • kyttiekat on 14/11/2015 - 22:38

      Thanks for your idea! I've actually decided to stick to a sharehouse for now, but in future will definitely do that.

  • dasher86 on 12/11/2015 - 07:38
    +2

    Have you ever lived with other house mates?
    If you haven't I would reconsider sub letting.

    • xmas tree on 13/11/2015 - 00:58
      +1

      True, things sometimes turn complicated when living with someone else, especially OP mentioned the mental illness problem.

      • kyttiekat on 14/11/2015 - 22:38

        Thanks for your comment! I agree. I've tried to keep it as easy as possible for now by choosing a sharehouse instead.

    • kyttiekat on 14/11/2015 - 22:38
      +1

      Thanks for your thoughts! I've briefly lived with friends overseas, but not on any long-term basis here in AU.
      I've decided to stick to a sharehouse for now to reduce stress/drama + gain experience.

      Thanks again!

  • try2bhelpful on 12/11/2015 - 07:46
    +1

    I agree with the person who commented above that you probably need to find a share house that is already set up. If you have health issues, particularly mental health issues, you probably don't want to deal with the stress of being the principle leasee and having to deal with any issues that arise with the subtenants; including them refusing to pay rent and still staying in the property.

    Sharehouses can be an endless tussle over bills, levels of cleanliness, partners moving in who aren't paying rent, a stream of one night standers, stocking grocery items, etc. We had enough issues moving in with a friend we knew, let along trying to pick up strangers. We had one friend who we were considering moving in with until we took a holiday with him; we still have him as a friend 20 years later, but we don't keep in touch with the person we did move in with.

    Hope everything works out for you.

    • kyttiekat on 14/11/2015 - 22:37

      Thank you so much for your thoughts! I've taken everyone's advice here and decided to go into a sharehouse for now, despite it not being "perfect". Much better to do it this way even for just a year or two, to gain some experience and settle in etc.

      Thanks again. :)

  • Diji1 on 12/11/2015 - 08:15
    +1

    go to a real estate agent (or some other professional), and pay them for their advice?

    Real Estate agents, while they're not all **** of the earth certainly, do act for the property owner and not the tenant and, well, being blunt, part of the reason many owners leave managing rentals to an agent is that they then don't have to rent using their heart rather than their head.

    However there are "rental agents" (sorry not sure of proper title and by "there are" I mean there's at least one that I knew of) on Pulteney Street Adelaide if that helps. However unfortunately I have heard some rather mixed stories from people regarding this place so be very careful and don't pay anyone anything until you have a lease signed.

    Good luck, I'm fortunate enough to own my residence but I recall renting as being one of the banes of life, very unpleasant times :| but yas gotta do what ya gotta do right. If you have a recognised disability I would try calling some support agencies and trying to get recommedations or referrals for rental agents.

    Just remember most landlords are OK provided the rent is paid on time, that's all that matters … I know that's like saying the sky is .. blue but often people I see who get into trouble renting seem to place this fact somewhere at the back of their mind and try and ignore it. Then when they're 1 month behind or whatever, often due to wanting to eat rather than pay rent, other non-issues become problems: landlord won't want to fix tap, will get pissed that the lawn isn't cut or other small issues etc.

    • kyttiekat on 14/11/2015 - 22:36

      Hi Diji1,

      Thanks so much for your comments. That all makes sense, and they're good things for me to consider too.

  • tomleonhart on 12/11/2015 - 09:05
    +1

    I've been renting for 9 years and with sub renting being part of it for 7 years so I'd say i have a bit of experience to share.

    I'll have to say that you have too many constraints Good place won't be cheap and cheap place won't be good. Personally I haven't heard of any "professionals" that helps out renters. I know Student will be the "professionals" with sub letting experience as they are the most likely person to do it.

    For a place that you like, there will be at least another 1 -2 parties that are interested and therefore competition will arise. Don't put too much hope into one place as you might not get it and ended up disappointed.

    Reduce the number of constraints will help you find more properties to rent.

    • kyttiekat on 14/11/2015 - 22:36

      Hi tomleonhart, thanks so much for your thoughts and advice.
      I've decided to go into a sharehouse for now, and rent later when I have more experience.

      Thanks again!

  • cupcake on 12/11/2015 - 10:34
    +2

    It will be up to you to interview your potential housemate/s and pay the full weekly rent. You'll also have to chase up their share of the rent, and organise internet etc. Make sure you have enough funds for when things happen - like when the rooms are empty or they leave.

    • kyttiekat on 14/11/2015 - 22:10

      Thanks cupcake, definitely sounds like extra responsibility!

  • redvaldez on 12/11/2015 - 12:20
    +1

    As mentioned elsewhere in thread, the property manager will be assessing you on your ability to pay the rent on your own. The reason being is that if you sub-let you are responsible for the entirety of the rent, so if the sub-tenant does a runner or doesn't pay you then you're still responsible for the entirety of the rent. The rule of thumb I was told is that your rent shouldn't be more than a third of your takehome income, but perhaps in somewhere like Sydney it might be closer to half.

    Also, if you sub-let the tenant generally has to be approved by the property manager/owner so take this into consideration.

    Furniture in rentals is generally an all-or-nothing approach. Some might have a dishwasher or dryer but that's about it. From a landlord's perspective it doesn't make much sense to only offer it partially furnished - either people want it fully furnished, or they'll already have furniture themselves.

    I see where you're coming from with the comments about seeking professional advice about where to live, but I don't think it would replace anything you could find out yourself. Ultimately nothing beats personal experience (i.e. living in an area first-hand). Remember, you're only renting - yes moving sucks, but if you don't like the place you can always move on in 6-12 months.

    If I were you I would look at renting a room in a sharehouse yourself - at least in the interim. Far less responsibility on you, you can get a rental reference, it will be quicker and easier, plus it gives you a bit more freedom to move around if arrangements aren't satisfactory.

    • kyttiekat on 14/11/2015 - 22:10
      +1

      Thanks so much for your thoughts, they've been very valuable. I agree - looks like a sharehouse is the way to go for now!

  • Bazzier on 16/11/2015 - 22:34

    Just in case if you decided to lease a whole house or unit, might be worth while to check this website: http://www.dontrentme.com/ It has a list of properties with nightmarish owners or property agents that you might want to avoid.

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