From H**
To me
How are you?
Can I find out how did you manage to rent a room in Perth while you are still in Sg?
We are also trying to find out how. Thanks for sharing, appreciate.
H**
******
Mam,
Me name is Nix, not Nic.
The value of a typical 6 months lease in Perth is probably higher than many models of second hand cars you can buy over here. Would you buy a car without testing it? I am sure you wouldn't. Do you really want to rent a place without viewing it? I'm not so sure about it.
Anyway since you requested, here you go.
**Note: Author is not liable for any damages incurred during any attempts at the suggested methods.
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10 Ways to Secure a Rental Place Before Migrating to Perth
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by asingaporeanson
Number One. Real Estate Websites
realestate.com.au
reiwa.com.au
rent.com.au
These are some examples. You can probably find more on via a simple search. Real estate websites, the most common way to get a rental place these days. They also have the largest collection of the current or soon to be available rental properties. It may not be easy to convince a landlord to rent it to someone who is still residing outside Australia but it isn't impossible.
Number Two. Friends
Although I didn't know a single person in Perth before we made our move, my wife knew some here during her schooling days in Perth. It was a good few years ago but fortunately they managed to keep in contact. My first landlady, Joanna, was Jen's school mate. We were very, very lucky that she decided to accommodate us and kick started our Perth life. Eternally grateful to her. So what happens if you don't have any friends here? Start making some. I didn't do that and I was wrong. Learn from my mistake.
Number Three. Community Groups
Some examples:
Melbourne SG Kampong
SG Kongsi (Australia)
Singaperth
Singaporeans willing to help Singaporeans. What are you waiting for? Very often, someone's house or room is up for rental. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. It is all about timing. When it works, it can be a smoother experience that you can hope for. Never underestimate the power of helpful countrymen and women. Especially the aunties, the rule never changes.
Number Four. Gumtree
I furnished my entire house (twice) for FREE via Gumtree.com.au. I sold my car parts via Gumtree. I bought a good trek bicycle for A$70. I gave away unwanted furniture via Gumtree, saving myself cost and time to dispose them. Over here, Gumtree is a bigger friend than Google. As you will be dealing with all kinds of people in an unregulated medium (unlike real estate websites), watch out for scammers and be careful. That being said, there are real deals in here as well. Just be vigilant and filter your leads.
Number Five. Friends of Friends
I got my second rental room via a "friend of friend". My landlord was a complete stranger. A friend of an uncle of a friend to be exact. If you have friends (i.e Tip 2) here but they cannot help you, ask them if they know anyone who does. You will never know where this leads you to.
Number Six. Religion Groups
Read somewhere from someone wise about don't say anything if you have nothing sensible to say. So the less said about this, the better. God-God, Pastors/Clerics/Monks/Zealots/Druids/whatever, worshippers-worshippers, brother-brother, sister-sister. I'm sure the Light will show the way, if you have this avenue opened for you.
Number Seven. Chinese Newspapers
This is not the racial thing. It is mathematics. There are free Chinese newspapers distributed in booths of most shopping centres in Perth. In many of these copies are advertisements of rental properties direct from landlords who are (likely) more comfortable communicating in Mandarin than English. If you understand Chinese, this is a viable way for you to beat some of the competition for most of them will not be going through this channel. Get people you know to grab one of these latest papers, get them scanned and sent to you.
Number Eight. Exchange Groups
A few months ago, I was introduced to a group of Taiwanese boys and girls on work-holiday visa. Two of them stayed with my good friend Stephen korkor for a couple of weeks. How the hell did they do that? Stephen revealed he along with his chiobu wife Joni used to join some leisure exchange group. Sorry, I cannot recall the actual name of it. Basically, the idea was to host your foreign friends you made via the group when they visit your country (which they did) and your foreign friends will do the same for you one day if/when you visit their countries.
Har? Like dat aso can ah?
Yeah. We learn something new everyday.
Number Nine. Reconnoitre
Almost every Singaporean I know here did that. Mr E, Steph, Pat, Thusara, Micky, Jane, M. I could list a string of names in one easy breath. All of them did their reconnaissance and every one of them is pretty much settled down today . A recee trip may not be relevant to you because your aim was to secure a rental unit BEFORE you make your move. However, a recee isn't necessarily a bad idea. If you don't like the idea of meeting your life partner only on your wedding day, you don't want to start knowing the place you are migrating to only when you are there.
No doubt, a trip like that isn't going to be a cheap one but it beats having to lug your children, bags, pots and pans every where looking for a place to rent. At least a recee trip takes much of the stress away. The list of heroes above all did exactly that as front scouts for their family members and secured their accommodation before "requesting for reinforcements."
Consider.
Number Ten. Advertise
There is nothing stopping you to make a call to newspapers to place an advertisement. You are looking for a place but no one knows that. What is a better way to change that? Sure, advertising isn't cheap but it is still way cheaper than a recee trip. Leave your emails for interested landlords to contact you and move on to a phone conversation if necessary. Though I don't know anyone who did this before, it doesn't mean it isn't viable. It probably works - because it is one of my ideas.
Hope I helped. Enjoy and good luck
Before arriving, we booked a holiday cottage for 3 weeks. Then during those 3 weeks, we looked for longer-term accommodation. Was a frantic time for us and for a while, but we managed to find a rental for a year, albeit at a higher rental than market rate.
ReplyDeletebro, add THAT forum into the community group prease...many thanks.
ReplyDelete