The Hunt Resumes

We NEED to move. It has been shelved ever since Albany arrived. We were so distracted and unsettled, we couldn't help procrastinating. With Penny committing (I assume) to to cause, we have stronger firepower and the resolve to do this once and for all.


Renting a house in Perth is akin to going to war. It's frustratingly perplexing because I have the money that no one wants to take. Due to uncertain times, the tightening of bank's lending criteria as well as high interests rates, a lot of people are turning to renting instead of house ownership. It is more like an overwhelming demand issue rather than a lack of supply. There are a decent number of rental housing going around regularly, but competitors make the task challenging.


It feels almost like job hunting. You need to impress the landlord, or rather the real estate agent in many cases, that you are the best candidate to select from the rest. It'll be interesting if COE is issued this way, rather than bidding. That'll be fun for Singaporeans, I'm sure of that.


Albany is fast growing. We can't think of ourselves. She needs and deserves space in no time. Besides, it's time for us to experience renting a place of our own. Besides, if Penny is serious about sharing one of the room, it buffers the damage a little. Every bit helps I guess. With a place of my own, I can finally bring my parents over for a long holiday. To nurse their ailing health and their mental needs to be have their son by their side again. Albany will do wonders for their mood for sure. It's not hard to, she has been delighting everyone who sees her. If I did this earlier, I might be able to bury my buddy with my own hands instead of grieving his death from a faraway land.


I can't delay this anymore. This will be of foremost importance for now, with everything else shelved until I solve this issue. We must and will be very aggressive in our hunt for a suitable place as our base for us to consolidate and plan our next moves.

13 comments:

  1. You will need more time committed into this if the rental is tight.

    To give you a little perspective on what it's like looking for a 2bdrm appt in melbourne CBD for a family of 4: viewing times lasting only 15 minutes, during office hours only. Each viewing would draw between 16 to 30 viewers, and about half would apply. The winning bidder would be the one that offers the highest price by means of advanced payment (e.g. pay 3 to 6 months in advance). It gets really fun when the entire group is bunched outside waiting for a rental agent to arrive, and doesn't.

    There was one where I lost to a bidder with cancer who was so dedicated in living in the target abode that she paid 12 months in advance.

    My typical wardrive would be to view 2-4 per weekday, and up to 8 per weekend Saturday mornings (agents don't work Sat arvos or Sundays). Various modes of transportation.

    Hope things are easier for you in Perth, and rental is not that hot.

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    Replies
    1. omigod, that's scary.... I sure hope that Perth's much easier!

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  2. thats melb. every state is different. This method dun work in adelaide.

    U can oso offer higher rental in melb.

    Nix, try the method i told u over apps. apps me if u need further info. cheers

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  3. have you considered buying?
    I know the housing price in Perth has increased many times over the last few years. If you intend to be staying permanently, and now that you have a family, isn't it time you consider buying over renting?
    I know finances are tight, and you'll have to do your own calculations. But isn't it time to give it some thoughts?

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  4. @GA,

    How I hope this is the case in QLD! We're moving back to Singapore at the end of this year and we will be renting out this house we bought in 2010. Can't blame the landlord for being fussy over the tenants. I have seen tenants from 'hell' ruining the house that doesn't belong to them. Personally I won't rent to single parent families with kids, whether young ones or teenagers...The Aussie kids aren't respectful when there is only 1 parent who is too busy working than disciplining them.

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  5. @AnonymousApr 15, 2012 11:52 PM

    Care to share why you are moving back to SG? Or is it a temp move?

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  6. We are living in Sydney. Not that easy surviving in Aust these days as compared to the past, when houses (both buying and renting) and cars were so cheap. Cars are still ok, but housing is a problem these days. And I would also like to ask why the gentleman/lady from Qld intends to move back to SG at the end of this year?

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  7. my friend's house was broken into after one month of moving in eventhough they were assured that it's a "good area". good luck n god bless.

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  8. Wishing you the best of luck. :)

    Not to be a Debbie Downer but contrary to what people might think, the rental market is very tight in Perth at the moment.

    My colleague recently had to find herself a new place due to a relationship break up and there were almost 30-50 people at every viewing she went to. The RE agent wanted a deposit upfront after the viewing (which is common now apparently) if interested. She was lucky to get the place as everyone else was unprepared; she brought the cash for the deposit and filled up the form on spot.

    Are you looking at any suburb in particular?

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  9. I was told not to live in an area concentrated with Asians, delightful target for burglary as Asians are presumably more affluent. We have heard burglars who are Vietnamese and Abo's ... Once, a Vietnamese boy climbed over my friend's fence, and neighbor saw but she assumed he's a friend 'cos he's Asian. Also, there have been cases of Chinese triads robbing houses... Naturally, the rich people's. More so in the eastern states, and apparently they do travel to the West to do a job and fly back to the east...unsolved cases. Over in Perth, there are the KGB area (Girrawheen, Balga, K - forgotten the suburb but the 3 are next to one another) - Known to have high crime rates.

    Car thefts are common, especially the Holden Commodores and Ford Falcons or any big horsepower cars. These become their vehicles to travel to better suburbs to commit crimes.

    We have also heard many other stories about business rivalry, assassinations, robbery and kidnapping. I use a PO Box address to collect mails, so bank statements don't go to your home's mailbox. Mails get stolen as well, or gone to wrong house. Also, heard of another case about Vietnamese crook stolen someone's address book - with all the Asian contacts. And those listed became his targets for break-ins. As such, I don't list myself on phone directory or church directory.

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  10. Years back when I rented a place to stay near the university, it was not a very difficult mission with the help of my uncle. This year, when I backed to Perth again, I heard of a lot of stories about job hunt and house hunt. Currently, house hunt also a difficult deal. In fact, the agent/landlord wanna check your entire background before they decided to select you. On top of your background, your occupation, how many ppl living in, plan to rent for how long, how much you willing to pay or up beat the stated rental, do you have pet, how much you earn.... So many things to consider...

    I probably think that filling up application form is really a big deal full time job .. if you really doing it.... Keep filling up the same application form just like applying for job... Faint...

    Probably if another few more round of application still no news, we would use one of the method mention above, prepare rental in advance and just pay on the spot... This sound a great idea... at least this also secure the tenant for not being suffer from sudden increase in rental.....

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  11. for ppl who are renting, i am sharing my version of the cover letter and it was edited by my aussie collricks to assist me to get a rental.


    Hi, my name is xxxxx. I am xx years old Female professional from Singapore, a current Australia Resident. I’ve completed my Bach of xxxxxxxxx in xxxxxx(location - australia) few years ago.
    I have relocated from [location] to work for [company] since last year as [job title]; [job description] to be exact.
    I strongly believe that you should consider me for this rental property.
    I am a working adult with a stable income and good credit background.
    I am a [status][gender], with no pets. Non-smoker. Enjoys serenity.
    I am mildly allergic to dust mite, and I hate spiders so I will have to keep the place really clean. Coming from oriental background, I do not like walking with outside shoes in the house. My current rental’s Owner contact details : [name][number], please feel free to contact him for a reference
    I find the unit very nice, quiet and cosy and I would really like to keep it that way, & would like to stay at least a year or so without having to move again.

    Thank you for spending time to read my cover letter, hope to hear from you.

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  12. I have been following your blog for sometime. I am just like you,dropped everything in S'pore and migrated to Perth with my family, just that my 2 daughters are much older. Anyway I just bought a house in Thornlie, at such I will be giving up my rented house in Wilson. My lease has just been extended to end Nov 2012 as I need sometime to renovate my house. If you are interested, I can link you up with my landlord; they are a very friendly old Aussie couple. By the way, there are 2 bedrooms and 1 study room in my house. It is quite a good location.Leave me your e mail if you are keen.

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