For those who don’t want to settle in a particular address for long or can’t buy a property for now, their only option is to go for a rental property.
Unfortunately, the rental property market worldwide is believed to be in a very tough spot for rent-seekers. In Australia, for example, authorities report that the rental market has become very competitive, and getting into it can take considerable time and effort.
If you’re looking for a place to live in The Land Down Under, you might need to have more patience and conduct more thorough research in order to get on top of the very competitive rental market many Aussies face.
Luckily, this guide will help you navigate through the choppy waters of finding a rental by giving you helpful pointers that you can use. Continue reading to learn more.
1. Finding potential rental properties
Per the latest figures, the number of rentals available is very low, and there are a lot more renters looking for available properties to rent out. If you do a simple analysis of the given situation, it means that you’re in for a tough ride because you’ll be facing stiff competition from fellow co-renters.
In fact, the low number of available rentals is much more dire in capital cities across the country.
If you’re in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), vacant Canberra rentals can be very hard to find. You can visit real estate agents’ websites, which advertise available rental listings, to look for rentals. Nevertheless, you need to be more creative and resourceful in finding rentals in a tough rental market.
Besides real estate websites, you can find rental listings on specialised phone apps for rental listings. And you can get recommendations from friends or family in the community you’re planning to live in who happen to have a vacant property and are looking to rent it out for extra cash.
2. Understanding the lease terms
After finding a suitable rental, you now need to understand the lease terms set forth by the property owner. What is it, you may ask? The lease terms are crucial tenancy conditions stipulated by the rental property owner that you have to agree with before being allowed to move in.
Usually, the lease terms contain information like the length of your stay, the amount of rent you need to pay and its subsequent increases over time, living requirements, and so on.
Be aware that due to the hot rental market across the country today, many property owners present lease terms that are incomparable to those from years prior i.e. imposing shorter tenancies, introducing large rent increases, and the like – all of which are generally not in favour of renters.
Henceforth, you need to make sure that the lease terms presented to you are aligned with your goals, lifestyle, budget, and others.
3. Inspecting the property
Inspecting the property before signing any rental agreement is essential because it allows you to get an idea of its condition. You can then decide whether or not to walk away from the transaction.
Further, conducting an inspection of the property allows you to negotiate with the current owner about any issues that may arise during your tenancy agreement. For example, if there’s a minor roofing leak in the outside veranda that you can tolerate, you can demand a lowered monthly rental rate, or they can just proceed and fix the issue before you move in, and you end up paying the full rent.
Due to the high demand for rentals in Australia and beyond right now, renters are faced with bidding wars with their peers in the face of low rental supply availability and record-high rents.
To make yourself stand out from the crowd, make your rental offer personal by writing a letter to the property owner. Be natural yet concise with your writing. Detail how you’re the perfect renter and that you’re a dream to work with. You can include references from your former property managers, too, that can vouch for you and put in a good word for you.
If your budget permits, you can even go a little beyond the asking rental price so that the rental owner would be enticed to do business with you.
5. Knowing things concerning the deposit or bond payments
After being approved, you now need to produce the payment for your rental’s deposit or bond. What are these two?
The deposit or bond is the amount set by the property owner, usually amounting to one month’s rent, that you need to pay along with your first month’s rent.
To be able to get back the paid amount before moving out, you need to take care of the property and cause no damages. There are different rules that different rental owners impose with regard to deposits. Make sure that you raise questions about the deposit or bond to your property manager before agreeing to move in.
If you’re looking for a guide to hunting for rentals in Australia, this post has got you covered.
This guide is a great starting point, but it’s important to remember that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to finding your perfect home. You can use the pointers enumerated above based on your case; all the best in your rental search journey.
This information is of a general nature only and should not be regarded as specific to any particular situation. Readers are encouraged to seek appropriate professional advice based on their personal circumstances.