Rental Property in Australia

Choosing Where to Live

Even if you have visited Australia before, you may not be familiar with all the cities and their suburbs. So how do you decide where to live? Take some time prior to your arrival in the country to do some research and have a good think about what factors are likely to influence your decisions.

For example, are you restricted by budget? How important is lifestyle to you? Is location the most important factor or is it a mix or all three and more?

Finding a location that suits your new Australian lifestyle is important - especially if you are seeking a change in lifestyle, which is one of the main reasons that people leave the UK to live and work in Oz.

Things to Consider:

Do you want to live near to a beach? (It is a long way to come to live in the city!)
Do you want an apartment or a house?
Commuting times.
Budget.
Proximity to schools.
Childcare accessibility.

How to Research Areas of Interest

Property Agents

There are numerous real estate agents who can help you with your search for a home, and most of the large companies have branches in every major city and its suburbs. There are many ways of locating them. If you already know the areas you are keen on you can look up a list of agents in that area from the Yellow Pages (either online at www.yellowpages.com.au or locally dial 12451) and call them to find out what they have available. Alternatively you can visit the estate agents in person and pick up their current rentals lists, which are usually updated weekly and provide times and dates that the properties are available to view.

Online

The internet is a valuable resource when searching for a property. All of the leading real estate agents have websites which enable you to search the suburbs you are interested in and allow you to specify your requirements. These should provide you with a list of suitable properties which you can arrange to either visit by appointment or view at 'open inspection'. This is the route most real estate agents take to show their properties to prospective tenants and simply means that at a certain time and date properties are open for a short time for everyone to inspect. You should be prepared to fit in around their timings and, as most do not work on Sundays, this may well involve you scheduling many viewings back to back on Saturdays - particularly in the mornings. The homes are usually open for 15-minute periods, and agents will not wait for you should you be running late, therefore it is crucial that you are organised and know where you are going.

Useful Real Estate Sites

These sites are not restricted to any real estate agent and offer the most comprehensive way to establish the current rental market for prices and availability. You can also register with them to receive email updates when properties meeting your requirements are placed on the site, ensuring that you are always at the front of the queue and well informed.