Moving out for The First Time with 2 Friends

JustJames111 on 06/02/2019 - 07:45
Last edited 06/02/2019 - 07:48

Hi everyone,

I'm moving out with 2 other friends and would appreciate some advice / opinions on a few questions I have.

Some background history
- Two of us earn over $100k p/a before taxes and bonuses while one earns $60k p/a before taxes
- Friend that earns $60k is not in Sydney and we will have to draft up a separate rental lease
- Friend with $60k p.a says he has plenty of savings (unknown but probably over the $20k mark) and has promised he won't bail (he'll be signing our private agreement in advance)
- I have $120k in savings/equity/bonds while the other friend has a rich dad (unlimited savings essentially)
- We have no ongoing expenses (until we move out) or debt
- We've all just graduated university last year and all had been talking about moving out in our last semester
- None of us have experience moving out
- We're all looking for a modern apartment to rent which is why we've applied for a 3 bedroom apartment Meriton at Mascot ($1080 p/w) and are awaiting a response

My questions
1. Are there any other regions you'd recommend us to check out (we want modern i.e. fast internet, air conditioning, large living room)
2. How is the car space rental market looking right now? We are looking to rent one out i.e. would it be easy to list at market price and find a renter or would we have to severely undercut the market rate (looks to be about $200 per month at mascot).
3. What are the average additional utility costs (if it's hard to give an average, what are you paying currently?) e.g. Unlimited internet, electricity usage
4. We're putting two of us on the lease (me and my friend who earn over $100k) as the third person is not currently in Sydney. Is there anything in particular we should include in the private contract between us two and the third person? I'm thinking of using the fairtrading rental template: https://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/00…
5. Any advice, tips or anecdotes for 3 young graduates moving out

Home & Garden

Comments

  • Quantumcat on 06/02/2019 - 07:47
    +10

    Make sure the 3rd person is on the lease so he can't just stop paying rent and/or trash the place when he leaves with no consequences

    • JustJames111 on 06/02/2019 - 07:49

      We wanted to do this but our agent told us he'd physically have to be in Sydney to sign the lease and recommended that the two of us that are in Sydney should enter into the lease then create a private contract with the 3rd person once he is back.

      I've never done this before but theoretically it would prevent the 3rd person from not paying rent / trashing the place as long as it's all explicitly stated on the private agreement (like the one linked on fairtrading) right?

      • JimmyF on 06/02/2019 - 08:03
        +31

        We wanted to do this but our agent told us he'd physically have to be in Sydney to sign the lease

        When they arrive, go into the agent and add them then. They sign, problem solved. You can add/remove people as you like.

        • JustJames111 on 06/02/2019 - 10:38

          He flies back on the 1st and the Agent told us the move in date is the 11th but he can hold onto the apartment till the 23rd if we pay a holding fee i.e. we either sign it together or we won't be able to hold the apartment.

          • JimmyF on 06/02/2019 - 11:59
            +24

            @JustJames111: Yes, you two sign for the apartment together and when the 3rd person arrives/moves in, you all go down to the agent and they'll add the 3rd person to the lease and they sign.

            Its not overly hard, people come/go all the time from leases.

            • JustJames111 on 06/02/2019 - 16:58

              @JimmyF: I asked over the phone 10 minutes ago and was given an explicit no as the original applications were for the two of us in Sydney. This is with Meriton so it's probably part of their inbuilt internal processes to reduce the amount of auditing and paperwork every time a lease changes.

          • Austaurean on 07/02/2019 - 08:51
            +1

            @JustJames111: think you will find 'holding fees' are not legal, well in the ACT at least

            Holding deposits
            25 The Residential Tenancies Act prohibits the taking of holding deposits.

            Also for the 3rd friend, use an 'Occupancy Agreement'. It will provide you and the 3rd person some security.
            You may also need to gain approval for a sublet through the real estate/landlord etc.

            The Tenancy agreement cannot be changed to add or delete a person, its a legal agreement between the parties on the agreement, if a person moves in, then they are a 'resident' not a tenant.
            If one tenant leaves, the tenancy agreement is in breach - Dissolved (for want of a better word)- a Breakdown of Tenancy.
            This needs to be settled which will include a new tenancy agreement being made, possible fees, and may include increased rent if the market has gone up.

            This must be actioned in a reasonable time say within 3 weeks, as a tenancy tribunal could say that as nothing was done within a reasonable time frame after the dissolution of the tenancy, then an 'Implied Tenancy' would be created.
            An occupancy agreement would be the easiest way to proceed for the 3rd person.

      • dasher86 on 06/02/2019 - 08:24

        It's technically a sublease agreement.

  • ihbh on 06/02/2019 - 08:18

    Why Mascot? Proximity to future work or do you like plane spotting?

    • JustJames111 on 06/02/2019 - 10:40

      Anticipate a lot of travel for work around the Asia Pacific region.

      That plus we prefer a brand new apartment / off the plan. I was originally going to buy but with negative news around the market I thought it'd be too risky.

      • R-Man on 06/02/2019 - 18:51

        Mate even Newtown can get really loud with planes overhead.

        Mascot will be shocking.

        • richmond12 on 06/02/2019 - 19:05
          +2

          disagree, I lived in mascot and also newtown.

          plane noise is overrated, especially with syd curfews. train noise is annoying though

          • R-Man on 06/02/2019 - 19:29

            @richmond12: Ok wow! I attended some inspections in Newtown and couldn't hear the agent talking over the plane.

            I lived in Summer Hill and agree about the train noise.

            • [Deactivated] on 06/02/2019 - 21:43
              +2

              @R-Man: Idk what he is talking about mate, my partner used to live in Leichhardt and you'd have to pause tv shows while the planes flew over. Can't imagine it'd be any better in Mascot.

              • richmond12 on 07/02/2019 - 09:21
                +1

                @[Deactivated]: Most new places have double glazing.

                Plane noise is fine. I guess it’s difficult if you are used to absolute sileence but after renting near the city in sydney its nothing

        • dane45 on 08/02/2019 - 11:56

          I've lived in Marrickville (older place) and Wolli Creek (brand new place, we were the first tenants)

          The plane noise was pretty loud in Marrickville, but we got used to it and stopped noticing pretty quickly.

          In Wolli Creek, because of the double glazing the apartment was dead silent when all the doors and windows were closed. Shouldn't be an issue in Mascot

  • jellykingdom on 06/02/2019 - 08:20
    +68

    Ok i'll bite. New grads, earning over $100kpa already. What industry?

    • Caped Baldy on 06/02/2019 - 08:23
      +12

      +1 I want to know too. Drug dealers maybe.

      • dasher86 on 06/02/2019 - 08:25
        +17

        Drug dealers don't earn that at grad level.
        You need a network of dealers to get anywhere near that, or at least very well established.

        • pegaxs on 06/02/2019 - 08:48
          +16

          Sounds like 2 of the 3 kids have rich dads. At 22, how many uni grads have $100k jobs and $120k in backup funds.

          Was working as a 3rd year uni student, on between 0~40 hours per week and making up to $70k already.

          • SnoozeAndLose on 06/02/2019 - 09:09

            @pegaxs: What did you do to earn $70k during uni time? Assuming you take no break and 40 hours per weeks $70k ÷ 52 ÷ 40 = $33.65 an hour.

            I am geniunely curious to know

            • serpserpserp on 06/02/2019 - 09:47

              @SnoozeAndLose: I earned about ~45k at uni part time (although this was 15 years ago). only worked about 20 hours a week too. I.T contracting was a laugh back then.

              • SnoozeAndLose on 06/02/2019 - 10:35

                @serpserpserp: $43.27 per hours, really good money back 15 Years ago.

                • serpserpserp on 06/02/2019 - 12:01

                  @SnoozeAndLose: I.T world was a lot smaller then. If you knew specialist stuff and you could find someone that needed it, you could make massive coin. If I could do my time again I would have not gone to uni and continued down that path fully and I'd be a lot wealthier today!

          • JustJames111 on 06/02/2019 - 10:44

            @pegaxs: One has a rich dad. He ironically has the least net assets out of the 3 of us. The other two come from a family of immigrants.

            • bobbified on 06/02/2019 - 10:50
              +3

              @JustJames111:

              One has a rich dad. He ironically has the least net assets out of the 3 of us.

              haha - I'm not surprised. The ones who haven't earnt money themselves don't seem to value it as much as those who have had to work for it.

              Not sure about your mate, but most young (and some old!) people with rich families always have this mentality that their parents will bail them out of anything.

              • JustJames111 on 06/02/2019 - 10:57
                +2

                @bobbified: That's him right now but only because he's taken a bit of a break between flipping burgers at grill'd and moving onto an actual role which pays well (won't have started for a week or two). His dad has bailed him out multiple times on our Euro trip and is fronting all the upfront costs for him to move out.

            • serpserpserp on 06/02/2019 - 12:01

              @JustJames111: immigrants can't be wealthy too?

              • JustJames111 on 06/02/2019 - 12:10
                +1

                @serpserpserp: Didn't mention anything about immigrant's financial status. For context, my mom made $20 a day back in her homeland and saved up enough to come to Sydney for a better life.

              • HighAndDry on 06/02/2019 - 12:19

                @serpserpserp: Generally less accumulated inter-generational wealth. Rich wealthy immigrants basically life-style shopping are a relatively recent phenomenon.

    • Caped Baldy on 06/02/2019 - 08:44
      +22

      From another thread he started, he is a "part time systems engineer, contract IT Consultant". Had to do some digging for that one, second guess would have been an escort.

      • Ryanek on 06/02/2019 - 09:30
        +3

        Grand master stalker… please teach me your ways.

        • AlienC on 07/02/2019 - 01:40

          It is easy just click their name and have a fun time. Just requires lots of energy and food/popcorn.

          • Sequenox on 08/02/2019 - 09:16

            @AlienC: read that as food p0rn ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

            • AlienC on 09/02/2019 - 02:14

              @Sequenox: Hey to each their own I ain't judging more power to them

      • cashless on 08/02/2019 - 13:06
        +2

        "Part-time" and on $100k+?
        Where can I get some of that action?

    • dust on 06/02/2019 - 08:59
      +4

      How's Westpac doing post royal commission?

    • JustJames111 on 06/02/2019 - 10:41
      +13
      1. Me (100k) - Strat + Ops Analyst at multinational technology company
      2. Friend (100k) - Risk Analyst at IB
      3. Friend (60k) - Graduate Analyst at financial company

      I also have a side business and contract work which generates me roughly 30-40k p/a (before taxes)

      To save up $120k I spent the last 2 years of my degree working 3 jobs (40-60) hours a week while studying full time. Taxes are a real bitch.

      • Scrooge McDuck on 06/02/2019 - 14:25
        +24

        I could make 10 times that as an Analist, but some things aren't worth the money!

      • KBZ on 06/02/2019 - 14:48
        +4

        Surprised you and your friends are open to discuss salaries.

        • bobbified on 06/02/2019 - 14:52
          +6

          Surprised you and your friends are open to discuss salaries.

          Between close friends, why not?

          I just wouldn't discuss with colleagues at work to avoid the situation where someone can potentially say to the boss "X gets this, why do I only get this?" There's a whole range of reasons why some people get paid more and some less and not everyone's going to agree. So best to avoid that discussion altogether.

        • JustJames111 on 06/02/2019 - 17:03
          +24

          It's common between millennials. I think the social construct of salary secrets is stupid. I'm not going to invest my time into a company's time consuming recruitment process if the end reward is significantly lower than another company's (with an easier process).

          Take for example Accenture. They wanted me to come in and do a 4 day AC for one of their recruitment steps. If I wasn't told the graduate salary was 55k (inc super) I would've wasted 4 days. That's over $3k in billable hours I could've generated.

          I also do my research and have other friends graduating in my same co-hort. At this point, everyone I know could tell you the salary of any other graduate in any other company as it's all out there on the internet.

          • Zondor on 06/02/2019 - 17:27
            +3

            @JustJames111: I see this and agree. But I've found in practice people get judgemental when looking at how everyone spends and knowing how much they earn.

          • AlienC on 07/02/2019 - 01:44
            +1

            @JustJames111: What do you have to study in uni to get to where you are now I am honestly considering going back full time and finishing a degree fully this time.

            Sounds like you and your friends really got their heads screwed on straight and know what you want to achieve in life.

            I am still a little fuzzy on life but I feel like each day I become stronger.

            Are you in software development, programming or is it finance?

      • movieman on 07/02/2019 - 05:33

        Hi OP,

        Tell me about this side business…

        Sounds like a very good idea.

      • justabargainhunter on 07/02/2019 - 17:51
        +1

        Sounds like all 3 of you guys are doing very well for this part of your career, good job :)

        Keep a level head and remember to stay true to yourself, eg what you enjoy

    • alikazi on 07/02/2019 - 09:03

      It's got to be IT most likely but could be something else. But even in IT you don't cross 100k without serious experience. You can't just build 1 app off YouTube and become the iOS developer at Westpac. At least I hope you can't. If you can, my whole life is a lie.

      • [Deactivated] on 08/02/2019 - 00:42

        Probably depends on the app

  • pegaxs on 06/02/2019 - 08:36
    +38

    I’ll wait for the next post…

    “Moved out with 2 friends and now they are doing my head in. How can I get them taken off the lease and evicted from the apartment?”

    And then some wall of text post screaming entitlement.

    Can’t wait.

    Be sure to come over to the Automotive sub forum when you buy your first AMG A200 Mercedes Benz to humble brag about it, ok?

    • ThithLord on 06/02/2019 - 09:20
      +2

      But why? Have you never moved in with friends? Sure, it's a gamble - but so is moving in with randoms.

    • JustJames111 on 06/02/2019 - 10:49
      +1

      One of them is my best friend (we've travelled Europe together)and the other is a nice guy. All of us have the same views on life with a similar moral and ethical compass.

      We're work hard play hard. i.e. never at home unless we're celebrating something or sleeping.

      • dasher86 on 06/02/2019 - 21:45
        +2

        Who's going to do the cleaning and basics if Noone is home?

        • AlienC on 07/02/2019 - 01:45
          +2

          Home can't get dirty if no one at home to mess it up.

          fingerforeheadguy.jpg

        • JustJames111 on 07/02/2019 - 07:18

          We're responsible for our own rooms and we take turns cleaning the shared parts of the apartment.

          • Never Pay RRP on 07/02/2019 - 14:43
            +1

            @JustJames111: Hire a cleaner, it's not expensive (probably around $100 for a 3 bedroom apartment), and removes a LOT of hassle

            • Baa on 08/02/2019 - 11:55

              @Never Pay RRP: Good advice, even as a couple we have somebody come in to do our floors, clean bathroom surfaces etc - couldn't go back now.

              We do a pre-clean the night before so she works through is all in 1/1.5hrs roughly for a largish house.

    • R-Man on 06/02/2019 - 18:56
      +1

      Similarly, I couldn't wait to find this salty comment

  • djones145 on 06/02/2019 - 09:10
    +13

    I walked into a bar and met a vegan, cross fitter and some one who owns 100k. How did I know this right away? cause they introduced themselves as that!

    • Changskies on 06/02/2019 - 09:58
      +9

      100k in Sydney is not a bragging income tbh.

      • onetwothreefour on 06/02/2019 - 10:48
        +11

        Well he had no reason to tell us how much he and his mates earn apart from trying to impress us but it didn't work because he didn't know that we all earn $180k and drive high yield investments.

        • JustJames111 on 06/02/2019 - 10:50
          +15

          If I didn't mention it I'd get the classic "You're a graduate you probably earn $60k, spending $1k a week on rent is stupid". At least that's what I got from my last thread.

          • Never Pay RRP on 07/02/2019 - 14:46
            +2

            @JustJames111: To be honest I also thought the salaries was gratuitous information. $1080 a week between 3 people is quite affordable on a much lower salary. Given that you mention it's your first time moving out, I'd assume naivety rather than bragging

        • R-Man on 06/02/2019 - 18:57

          no reason? None at all?

          • onetwothreefour on 06/02/2019 - 20:06

            @R-Man: Tell me one.

            • R-Man on 06/02/2019 - 20:09

              @onetwothreefour: so people replying can factor in their income when giving suggestions on suburbs to rent in

              • onetwothreefour on 06/02/2019 - 20:11
                +1

                @R-Man: He could have just said we're 3 mates moving in together and we have a budget of $1000 per week.

      • JustJames111 on 06/02/2019 - 10:50

        After taxes it definitely is not.

    • NotSureIfSerious on 06/02/2019 - 20:12
      +3

      At least we know none of them are vegan as that would've gotten a mention

  • blonky on 06/02/2019 - 09:48
    +26

    You may be friends now but that may soon change

    For $1000 you should be able to get a 3bdrm in Zetland, Newtown, Bondi Junction etc which I'd much prefer over Mascot

    Move in costs:

    • Rental - 2wks rent in advance + 2-4wks bond

    • Electricity/Gas - use something like iselect, compare the market - to find the best rates; expect around $4-500 per quarter, billed at the end of each quarter

    • Internet - many Meritons will force you to use their selected ISP, Fuzenet, maybe $60-80/month for unlimited 50Mbps. Also look at AussieBroadBand, TPG, iinet etc if you're allowed other options. Most will have a $99ish signup fee unless you go on a fixed term contract

    • Set up a 'kitty' bank account - everyone adds $10pw and it is only used for cleaning and household supplies - toilet paper, detergent, paper towels etc. When you move out split the remaining amount equally

    • Set up a new bank account that everyone autopays rent into atleast 2 days before your actual rent is due. Have an autopayment from that account to the landlord/meriton. Preferably have everyone add an extra week up front, just in case someone 'forgets' to pay one week and you rent payment doesn't go through.

    • Car spaces - usually there's someone in the same building wanting to rent theirs out for $50ish a week - or take a look at spacer.com.au or parkhound.com.au (same company)

    • Set up a cleaning roster/chore wheel and enforce it. Even if someone claims they don't use the kitchen/bathroom/living room, the room still gets dirty from general dust build up and dirt from your shoes for example and is still their responsibility for that week.

    • Find somewhere furnished, unless you plan on accumulating furniture yourselves and somehow trying to divide it when you move out. Factor in appliances (fridge, washing machine, kettle, toaster, TV), kitchen supplies (pots, pans, plates, bowls, cups, glasses, cutlery, knifes, tea towels etc), couch, table & chairs, cleaning (vacuum cleaner, mop, broom) as a start

    • JustJames111 on 06/02/2019 - 11:04

      Just got our approval email just then. The 2 weeks rent in advance and 4 weeks bond is spot on.

      We opted for the free service at the bottom of our application that gives free consultation on installations as we didn't really know anyone else to ask.

      The kitty bank account and autopaying bank account is a great idea! Definitely will implement it.

      We're trying to rent out one of our car spaces hopefully for around $35-50 per week but don't know how much demand there is for a car space at mascot.

      Cleaning roster we have sorted. Unfortunately the place we're looking at is unfurnished so we're going to be grabbing free furniture from friends and family for the living room / building ikea furniture for our rooms.

      So if I were to sum this up (assuming most expensive rates)
      Electricity and Gas - $500 p/q - $42 per week roughly
      Internet - $80 p/m - $20 per week roughly
      Kitty bank account - $10 p/w
      Rent - $1080 per week

      Total costs would be roughly $1152 p/w including bills and a kitty bank account. That wasn't as bad as I expected. Thank you for the insight!

      • geoffs87 on 06/02/2019 - 16:15
        +11

        take my advice from 12 years of share house renting - pay a cleaner. Although you might have the same moral compass, and a cleaning roster and….. I lived with my best mate of 25 years until last year (we lived together for the better part of 12 years), we get on great, in fact we bought and lived in 2 properties together… however, he was sometimes pretty bad at cleaning, and i would end up having to clean all the time, empty the sink etc, and it would really grind my gears!

        We still are best mates, i just moved out cos i got married and bought a house with my wife… and we still pay a cleaner. A cleaner is literally <$100 per clean, and we get them once a fortnight… saves on hassles, dramas, friendships. This is all for literally less than 1% of each of your salaries per year.

        • trapper on 07/02/2019 - 13:16
          +1

          +1 for the cleaner.

          $50 pw / 3 = 2 beers

  • brad1-8tsi on 06/02/2019 - 10:03
    +4

    You're swimming in money so I'm not sure why that concerns you.

    Utilities - depends whether you are frugal or not and whether you shop around for deals.

    Internet - $60-$100/month
    Gas - $100-$200/qtr depending on how much you cook and whether your HWS is gas or elec.
    Elec - $300-$600/qtr depending on how the landlord has done the lighting (my rental was all 50w halogen d/l and they chewed through power), how much you use A/C and if it's a good, modern inverter unit or how old/crappy/cheap your fridge is. If you are there for a while it might be worthwhile changing out the bulbs to LED for the period of the lease.
    www.energymadeeasy.gov.au might be helpful for finding a retailer.

    Water, council rates and body corporate should be included in your rent.

    Scour gumtree & FB marketplace for beds, furniture and kitchenware. There is always heaps in the area and people are desperate to sell or give away (I was in Zetland and now Erskineville. Lots of transient professionals.

    Don't buy a 2nd hand fridge unless you can get a warrantee. Make sure it's relatively new or it will chew power.
    If you buy a 2nd hand washing machine then bargain hard as it >will< die on you.

    Mascot wouldn't be my choice. A fraction too far from the city and not much of a "community" (nightlife / bustle / buzz).

    When I flatted with friends we put a set amount in the kitty every week. We bought "common property" food items with it (we were all vegetarians that could cook so it was cheap living) and paid the bills. Every 3 months we used the leftover money to go out together for a meal. It seemed to work well.

    Edit: Get a cleaner in every 2 weeks. It will save a lot of grief.

    • JustJames111 on 06/02/2019 - 11:29

      My colleagues at work have also recommended to get a cleaner to come in every 2 weeks as it prevents arguments. We're in the mindset that we're all clean people and will do our best but if it's really required we will hire a cleaner.

      We're all scouring gumtree and FB marketplace right now looking for living room furniture. Our room furniture will probably come from Ikea as we don't have much at home.

      Very unlikely to shop around for deals as we're waiting for a 3rd party company recommended by Meriton to offer us the "best deals" they have to recommend. We wouldn't know the first thing about spotting a good deal and we'd rather have someone who's sole purpose is to find those deals tell us what to get.

      Will keep in mind to get a energy efficient/new fridge. I didn't know washing machines died so easily. We might opt for a new one with warranty.

      We chose Mascot as the apartments are right next to the station and are brand new. We can't do with Newtown/St peters for example as some places don't have A/C or are old. This might sound pretentious but we are knowledge workers i.e. we need to be in an environment that allows us to be productive and in a good mindset to do good work. Living in an older building/house/rowdy neighbourhood would not help. What other suburbs would you pick?

      Lets assume worst case scenario with the highest range on each
      Internet - $100 p/m - $25 p/w
      Gas + Elec - $800 p/q - $67 p/w

      Lets round that up to another $100 p/w and i'm looking at $1180 total per week. Definitely a relief to hear that bills aren't as bad as I'd heard (was expecting $500 in electricity every month for some reason).

      Thank you for the insight!

      • brad1-8tsi on 06/02/2019 - 11:56

        I like Zetland because the bus service was unbelievably good and the train station (Green Square) only 800m away.
        I commuted to Aus Square (either walked or got train) and Parramatta (walk to Redfern & get train) during that time. GF was at Crowie. My kids could either catch train or drive from Hurstville. I barely used my car. The Coles nearby was great as I could keep the cupboards bare and if the kids wanted junk food I would send them shopping for whatever they wanted. We would cath the bus to Surry Hills for dinner (there were a few pubs there that we liked. The local near Coles was good too. SCG was walking distance for the AFL.

        I had a designer furnished 2 bedroom appt their for 6 months in 2017. $850/week.

        Waterloo isn't bad. Alexandria and Erskineville have nice pockets of newish places. Darlington has some nice bits. Redfern has some good pockets

        I bought at Erko. I'm on top of the rail line and it's ridiculously quiet. I did have to have an AC fitted though. Most of my 8 apartment block work from home.

        It's your first place. If you don't like it then you can move in 12 months and get something more suitable.

        Happy days.

      • danyool on 07/02/2019 - 01:45
        +2

        was expecting $500 in electricity every month for some reason.

        This is possible - depending on how weird your housemates are:
        - Aircon set to artic freeze in summer. And they aren't even home. Yep.
        - Only wearing socks n jocks with the heater blazing in winter. Yep.

        Also that housemate seemed to think we had a cleaner. But we didn't.

        Ah share house. Fun times!

  • angusngon9 on 06/02/2019 - 10:37

    With that income you can really rent anywhere you'd like. I personally think living in the City (so you get the night life) is nice.

    Unless you're after newbuilds/plane watching, I personally don't like Mascot that much. It's so dead at night and the flight path is damn annoying.

    Greensquare when it is built might be nicer.

    I'll probably choose a 3 bedroom house somewhere near the city if I were you guys.

    • JustJames111 on 06/02/2019 - 10:52
      +1

      I've tried the city but unfortunately the sizes of the apartments are just way too small for our liking e.g. the living rooms could barely fit two more guests.

      The apartments that are large enough cost too much for our third person e.g. $2k+ rents. All of us also don't think it's worth spending that much on an apartment we'll be coming back to just sleep in or have a little getty on the weekends in. We're all workaholics.

      Our first preference was green square / zetlands but there are very few 3 bedroom apartments available to our liking. That or the commute to the city was longer than mascot (walk or bus). Mascot's apartments are right next to the train station and basically goes straight to the city. It's about a 15 min commute to work for me at Mascot vs 25-35 minutes via bus at Green Square/Zetlands.

      I was originally eyeing infinity by the crown but they haven't finished development yet and haven't responded to my emails (seems like agents only pick up the phones).

  • bobbified on 06/02/2019 - 10:40
    +2

    Showoff! hahaha ^_^

    Keep your "peasant" mate in mind and consider his circumstances too when you two rich people make financial decisions that involve payment from everyone. Money is something that can easily destroy friendships.

    • JustJames111 on 06/02/2019 - 10:55
      +4

      Why do you think we chose an affordable place vs a $3k place in the city? We are a team. No one is a "peasant".

      • bobbified on 06/02/2019 - 11:08
        +2

        Why do you think we chose an affordable place vs a $3k place in the city?

        It's fun and it's exciting to move out for the first time, especially with your mates. Choosing an apartment that's affordale for everyone is only the first step. Now given that you're all mates (and not random sharemates that you can pretty much ignore), it's likely that the three of you will be going out together, eating together and pretty much sharing stuff at home. It may not seem like a lot, but the little costs add up quite quickly. I'm using a very simple example here - as three dudes who work long hours you may decide that it's easier to go eat out most days at cafes and restaurants etc which you may find ok-priced but is expensive to your other mate. His pay is only a little more than half of yours. It's quite a big difference in earnings.

        What happens if he runs out of money or is running very low towards the end of his salary pay period? Are you and your other mate going to leave him at home and go eat without him? Or if you do food delivery and he says he doesn't want to eat because he can't afford it (although you know he hasn't eaten!)? What you do in situations like this can have a major impact on the group dynamics.

        • JustJames111 on 06/02/2019 - 11:20
          +1

          Have discussed this and we're definitely all in the mindset of spotting one another however this will be very rare.

          Only one person doesn't have much in savings but he has a rich father who is willing to transfer money over whenever he needs it. I think his father spotted him well over 12 grand on the trip. The other person and I have a large piggy bank from working and saving over the years.

          • bobbified on 06/02/2019 - 11:34
            +2

            @JustJames111: Just sayin.. as long as you've thought about it carefully. There's a million things to think about when it comes to money. The other thing is, if you do spot each other, you can't then bring it up during disagreements about other things or even joke about it because it has the potential to make the other person feel like absolute shit.

            For example.. "I think you should clean today.. remember we got your dinner last week?"

            This is something I've seen a lot of and while it's true that they got free dinner, you can't they around later and hold it against that person because you offered.

            • JustJames111 on 06/02/2019 - 11:36

              @bobbified: We're all very systematic and logical. We'll set up a schedule and policies to ensure there's no ambiguity.

              We're going to most likely wash our own dishes but take turns attempting to cook. The first few times will be a team effort (did this in Europe and it was very entertaining).

              Thank you for the warning.

              • bobbified on 06/02/2019 - 11:41

                @JustJames111: Once you've got that all down pat, I'm sure you guys will have a blast! :)

                It's awesome to all go out together and come back together. No one can say that they can't get home afterwards! lol

  • [Deactivated] on 06/02/2019 - 11:16

    How good friends are you, is something to seriously consider.
    Things like do you spend (or have you spent) heaps of time with them. Because you're putting yourself in situation where you're about to he spending probably >20hours per week with them.
    So if they are just 'friends from uni' , as in, people you have a couple of classes with, and do stuff at uni together (group work etc) , it may not work out. If you haven't spent that much , time together outside of uni, I would suggest rent an airbnb together for a week holiday somewhere, just to see how you 'gel' living together.

    • JustJames111 on 06/02/2019 - 11:19

      Friend #1: Met 2 years ago in university. We've gone out almost every Friday (and many Saturdays) since and travelled Europe together last year (slept in the same bed for 4 weeks).

      Friend #2: Met at a houseparty we clicked and he mentioned that he had talked about moving out with friend #1 a few weeks ago but there were no concrete plans. This friend is definitely the riskiest which is why I'm trying to figure out what contract to get him to sign and lock him in before we pay our holding fee for a 3 bedroom apartment. However, friend #1 was willing to vouch for him and he has a respectable job so I'm willing to take the risk here as I think the more the merrier (up to a certain point).

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