Securing long term let whilst still in UK

[Guest Sydney and Babys Mum]

Hey guys, im new to this forum. Me and my partner and 2 doggies are planning to arrive in Perth mid November. We both have jobs, mine district nurse post in Kingsley NOR and partner tyre fitter job in Malaga NOR . We have decided on the areas of Mullaloo, Ocean Reef and Hillarys. I have also totally fallen for Quinns Rocks but have realised that this may be a bit too far North initially anyway. We have been looking at real estate au and seen some properties that we are very very keen on. What i would like to know is it is possible to secure long term rentals from the Uk. We have a good friend in Perth who is willing to view the house for us and put forward our expression of interest etc. Would this be possible, does anyone know anyone out there in Perth who has actaully done this? Thank you for any help

[Sally]

Well, we did it but I don't think it's very common. We had somebody here in Aus who went along to the home open on our behalf (we had already spoken with the real estate agent), we put in our application, along with references, bank statements, proof of employment etc and they emailed the next day to say we had been successful. There were two other families viewing the property, no idea if they applied or not.

 

I just didn't want to have the stress of driving around trying to find a long term rental once we arrived. The property itself was only just okay, a stepping stone I guess, but it did us fine for five or six months until we bought our own house.

 

Good luck with it all :-)

[Guest Sydney and Babys Mum]

Well, we did it but I don't think it's very common. We had somebody here in Aus who went along to the home open on our behalf (we had already spoken with the real estate agent), we put in our application, along with references, bank statements, proof of employment etc and they emailed the next day to say we had been successful. There were two other families viewing the property, no idea if they applied or not.

 

I just didn't want to have the stress of driving around trying to find a long term rental once we arrived. The property itself was only just okay, a stepping stone I guess, but it did us fine for five or six months until we bought our own house.

 

Good luck with it all :-)

Hey Sally thank you, your post is very encouraging. We will def be getting our friend to have a look at any properties we fall in love with then! Its nice to hear from someone who has had the experience of doing it successfully. What kinds of things do the application packs include? Do they hand the application pack out at the viewings or can you get one before the viewing so my friend can email me us a scanned copy? thank you Sally xxx

[Sally]

I think (if I remember correctly) we downloaded the forms from the real estate agent's website. We had to transfer over the holding deposit as well, and then the bond and the first month's rent as soon as we were accepted. Because we weren't in the country, we had to get the electric changed into our name from the UK (had to make sure the retic was running to keep the lawns green). Remember you will be responsible for the property from the day your lease starts, which can be daunting if you are still in the UK.

 

We already had a job secured and the REA phoned the company in Perth for a reference, proof of earnings etc. We actually had a relocation company dealing with our move and they went along to view the property - maybe that helped our application.

 

When we moved though, rentals weren't too hard to come by - I think now vacancy rates are very low so it might be a lot harder to get accepted if you aren't actually there in person to be honest. Also, you can't get a feel for the area, (we didn't really like where we ended up), and you will need to start paying rent from the moment your application is accepted - even if you don't arrive in the country for a few weeks - so it might work out cheaper for you to get a holiday rental and look for a long term one when you do arrive.

 

Probably a lot to think about, it's a stressful time isn't it. :-)

[linda@no9]

From my experience many agents wont allow applications unless the tenant has viewed the property as demand for rentals is extremely high. References and wage slips are also a must. Regarding dogs. We have one small 'toto' type dog and it does limit the type of home you get. I have viewed 3 properties out of around 14 we liked on the web that allow pets. Even if you ask the owner if they would consider, if an application comes in without a pet, they normally go for that. Be warned, it is an extremely stressful and unsettling time. We are currently in our short term furnished let, dog in quarantine and container arrives early Nov so we are now hunting our long term empty rental. Trouble with looking on the net, they do 'doctor' or use very old images. The home open we viewed yesterday was however, exactly how it was presented on the net. Google earth is a great tool to get an idea of what's around.

I actually hate the whole process. The driving round to find 30 other people all scrapping for the same house because the last one was a flea pit. I've learned the description lingo now. Neat and tidy often means tired and dated.