Jen_PFR

Congratulations!!

As Goat said, they only fly you in and out of the mining site and Perth. There are a few companies who fly their people in and out of other areas around Australia, such as Melbourne. Seems this company (whoever they are) aren't prepared to do that. So yes, if you live interstate, you'd need to find your own way to Perth and then the company would fly you up. This also applies to those FIFO people who spend their weeks off in Bali - the company won't fly you directly from Indonesia to the site.

Please make sure you're aware of property pricing before you commit to anything. A 3x1 house in the Pilbara will usually rent for about $1400/week. That's unfurnished, with utilities etc not included.

Hi Wallywombat - I did some google research and I think I found your place, on AirBNB. The photos look okay although the bedrooms look pretty small - what exactly was the issue?

We always say to potential tenants that if they want to see the property, they are more than welcome. We're also happy to let friends/family look through on their behalf. Nothing worse than turning up to a place that isn't what you thought it would be!!

Hi Rekha, congratulations on the visa! You must be very excited And welcome to the forum!

I can't answer all your questions but I should be able to help with a few.

1. There is an extreme shortage of accommodation generally in Perth. Just finding an available one bedroom apartment will be difficult, if you are looking for a furnished property. You could perhaps try checking gumtree out? Here is the link to the 'wanted' section for accommodation: http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-real-estate/perth/c9296l3008303?ad=wanted

Generally tenants are required to pay four weeks' rent up front (this is called the bond) and the first two weeks' rent on arrival. There's a whole lot of information at the Department of Commerce, under the Consumer Protection section: http://www.commerce.wa.gov.au/ConsumerProtection/Content/Property_renting/Renting_and_tenancy/Tenants/index.htm

2. In terms of looking for jobs generally, try www.seek.com.au. What area in IT do you work in? (support, network admin, etc)

3. Cost of apartments vary depending on location and whether it is furnished or unfurnished. (You'll find that Aussies tend to call them 'units' rather than 'apartments' as well.) If you have a look through the gumtree ads, you will get some idea as to cost. If you are looking for completely unfurnished, you could also try www.realestate.com.au or www.reiwa.com.au.

4. Not quite sure what you are asking here, but if you rent a property of course your husband can stay with you

5. Perth is very safe. If you wear a hijab or burkha you may encounter some prejudice, but generally Australians are very tolerant. It also helps that Australia is a very multicultural society, as you will find when you arrive.

Good luck for your move!

Regards

Jen

That said, June/July is the perfect time of year to visit Ningaloo - 28 degrees and sunny. Perfect weather. We used to go every year to Exmouth in the school holidays between 2nd and 3rd terms, it was enough to stop my mum coming down with bronchitis every year.

Re transport while you're there, I'd advise doing some serious googling. Generally regional areas aren't good when it comes to public transport.

WACOT is now the Teachers' Registration Board of WA - here's the link:- http://www.trb.wa.gov.au/

Hi Carrie, if you aren't bringing your cats, one of our properties might suit you - our site is http://www.perthfurnishedrentals.com.

You could also try http://www.ozhouserental.com as well.

Regards

Jen

If you're worried about the kid's toys you could always just round all (or most!) of them up and put them in the car while you're bombing.

Somehow the last part of that sentence doesn't sound quite right, but you know what I mean!!

Not having children myself, I wasn't aware of the specifics, but it does appear to be a heavily regulated area. The link below has links down the left side of the page that refer to the different types of child care (eg creche, family day care, outside school hours family day care etc) - maybe check them out, you should be able to get an idea of what is required.

http://www.communities.wa.gov.au/childrenandfamilies/childcare/Pages/Creche.aspx

Hi and welcome!

We do fully furnished short term accommodation - our website is www.perthfurnishedrentals.com. Tracey, another poster on here, also does short term lets - her website is http://www.ozhouserental.com.

Best places to look for longer term unfurnished rentals is www.realestate.com.au, www.domain.com.au and www.reiwa.com.au. You could also try the Perth Gumtree site http://www.gumtree.com.au/ where private landlords often advertise.

As we mostly have tenants from overseas, we have provided a lot of verbal and written references to real estate agents who are checking out potential tenants. You could always ask the person who runs wherever you end up staying to do this also. RE agents pretty much ask only a handful of questions (did they pay a bond/is the place kept clean/do they pay rent on time/would you rent to them again), but they really do like local references, I guess as they're easy to check out. A bank statement showing a healthy balance is also very handy for rental applications.

Jen

In terms of keeping pets cool, you need to make sure they have access to shade all day if they're outside animals. I also tend to hose down an area on the paving where our cat likes to lie down, it cools the bricks a bit and evaporates pretty quickly so it's not like it stays wet. Also they need plenty of water, which evaporates quickly in the temps we're having here in Perth. You can also do stuff like put a few ice cubes into their drinking water - we tend to do this just as we leave the house for work. Another idea is an ice pack or ice brick wrapped up in an old towel.

Hi Shelley and Jake, and welcome!

In terms of schools, if you are going for government schools it very much depends on whether you are in the school's catchment zone or not. That is, if you wanted to send the little ones to Carine Primary, you would need to live in Carine. Catchment zones are very specific and you'll need to provide proof of your residency, eg. by providing a copy of a signed lease to the school.

Not sure how much detail around the actual zones is given, but a good place to start looking is the Dept of Education's website: https://www.det.wa.edu.au/

Good luck, I'm sure others with more specific knowledge will be around to answer your questions shortly!

Jen

The places to refuel are also extremely limited. I hope you have long range fuel tanks as you will need them.

The best thing to do is leave a detailed plan of where you expect to be on a daily basis, with someone who is staying behind. Make sure you take a large red tarp, matches and mirrors. I would also take long range radio. Stuff like additional water etc goes without saying.

If you do get stranded, whatever you do, don't leave the vehicle.

If the weather's a bit nicer, you could pack a picnic and go to King's Park. Central and inexpensive!

Hi Mark, and welcome to PerthPoms.

We do short term rentals (link to website is in my signature) and we're finding that we are getting bookings 12 months in advance and further ahead, so yes the rental market is flat out in Perth at the moment.

Typically our tenants stay with us for 6-8 weeks while looking around for longer term accommodation options, whether that be buying or renting an unfurnished property. We often provide them with a local rental reference which assists when they are trying to rent elsewhere - WA real estate agents like being able to call a local landlord to find out if the rent is paid on time and the property is kept clean. (These are the only two questions I ever seem to be asked, to be honest!)

It can be tough if you're coming over to go straight into work, not so much from the income perspective as you're earning Aussie dollars straight away which helps, but in terms of viewing available rental properties. There are a lot of threads on the board which describe the 'home open' process for rentals, so feel free to do a search to see the details of this.

I'm sure others will be along shortly with their feedback to help you from a migrant's perspective!

Jen

Even if we are coming in may? Have heard its worse over summer but not sure if time of year makes a jot of difference or not.

Summer is harder, simply because that's when teachers and Defence staff are moving, but it's kind of like comparing 'bad' to 'terrible'. The shortage of properties is an ongoing issue in Perth's metro and isn't hugely affected by the seasons.

Not a brickie, but my understanding is that a 31 course ceiling means it's 31 lines of bricks from the floor pad to the ceiling. The minimum/bog standard is 28 courses. 31 courses is considered an 'extra' so to speak.

Jen

When are you looking at coming over? I ask because with the Christmas and school holidays over December-January, places are getting booked up pretty quickly.

Hi Linda, had a look at your PM - you included all the detail which is key. Sometimes if a more general complaint is made, it's easy for the RE agent to ignore/brush off.

I definitely feel you have had your right to peaceful occupancy well and truly invaded!

Even with things like the gardener etc, you are entitled to either have a standing arrangement or plenty of advance notice as to when they will be coming around. Can't blame your daughter for feeling uncomfortable about him wandering around, it would absolutely give me the heebie jeebies!!! Also you have the right to require a 'reasonable time'. Legislation doesn't specify what this is, but to my way of thinking unless it is an emergency situation, neither the crack of dawn nor after dinner is a 'reasonable time'.

The only concern I have is about the rent payment. While you are completely within your rights to make the complaint, the legislation doesn't state a penalty as such, and if you withhold rent for such a reason you could end up in dispute about it.

Maybe get in touch with the Tenant's Advice Service - here's the link to their website:- http://www.taswa.org/

They should be able to help you in terms of seeking redress, what is possible (and what isn't) and also how to best go about it. But the email to the RE agent is a great start!!

Jen

That's right, the owners typically don't deal with tenants at all, so you are at the mercy of the RE agent.

With the dirty window tracks, 1) get photos first! then 2) I usually vacuum them out, then wash the windows, then use an old toothbrush to get most of the cr@p out of the tracks themselves.

If you don't vacuum them out first, they become a nightmare to clean - filthy wet gunk goes everywhere.

Linda, you absolutely have rights in this!

Basically unless it's an emergency repair (eg. something to do with electricity, or lack of hot water, etc) you are entitled to notice. The clause from the standard lease used in WA is clause 9, which reads as follows:-

9.The OWNERS may, subject to the obligationscontained in paragraph 8 above, enter the premises in the followingcircumstances:

(a) with the consent of the TENANTS given at, or immediately before,the time of entry;

(b) in any case of emergency;

© for the purpose of inspectingthe premises or any other purpose on a day and at a reasonable hour specifiedin a notice given to the TENANTS between seven and fourteen days in advance;

(d) for the purpose of carrying out necessary repairs to or maintenance of the premises, at any reasonable hour, after giving to the TENANTS not less than seventy-two hours notice;

(e) for the purpose of showing the premises to prospective tenants, at any reasonable hour and on a reasonable number of occasions during the period of twenty-one days preceding the termination of this agreement, after giving the TENANTS reasonable notice;

(f) for the purpose of showing the premises toprospective purchasers, at any reasonable hour and on a reasonable number ofoccasions, after giving the TENANTS reasonable notice.

Hope this helps. I have to say that it really bugs me when landlords do the wrong thing..... it makes the rest of us look bad (and stupid!).

How are you resolving this? Are you emailing the RE agent with your concerns, or the owners directly? I ask because the RE agent will probably have a heart attack when they hear about it.... rogue owners are a nightmare!!

Let us know how it goes.

Jen

Absolutely put in as much detail as possible. This is the document on which your bond return will be based. Also, take photos with a time and date stamp. I know it's a hassle but it's worth it!

Ah Jim, I just saw your post and wanted to give a shout out to you and your wife. I'm not a pom but a local (born & bred WA) and yes I would consider Baldivis to be a long way out, if that's any help.

Hang in there! Just remember you have moved halfway around the world, you're disoriented and probably still jetlagged, I would think it's normal to feel all over the place!

I think as well that the fact that Brits and Aussies both speak english is a deceiving thing - you tend to assume that because we share a language, there will be lots of other similarities, but really I think the two cultures are very different, which means you probably feel a bit like a fish out of water.

Anyhow just wanted to say hang in there, it will get better!!

Jen

PS also just wanted to say if you're buyng a car, have a look at www.carsales.com.au - but make sure you limit the search area to WA, Perth metro. Good luck!

Elfie, was this noted on your property inspection report when you moved in? (that the windows were already dirty and/or unaccessible)? I ask because if it was, then you should be fine. In terms of fly screens you can't take out - what I do with ours, if they are in front of a sliding panel, is actually take the window panel out and leave the flyscreen in. Then I wash the window panel and replace. This is often so much easier than trying to remove the screens! My lovely husband managed to break a couple of flyscreen frames doing this, before I started taking out the glass panelled bit. If the flyscreen is fixed in front of a fixed glass panel, well what can you do?! Nothing that I can think of!!

I must admit that having short term properties, I have never expected our tenants to clean windows.... seems awfully unfair if they're only going to be there for three months to expect them to do it!!