Tips on Getting a Flat in Australia

Here is my quick guide to getting a flat in Australia....

The system is different to Britain in that you don't phone for an individual appointment, but turn up at a very short time slot (usually 15mins) and look around the place with a bunch of other people. These times can usually be found on the real estate websites but occasionally you'll have to ring the agent directly. Good websites for looking are: domain and real estate Australia.

Once you've found somewhere you can see yourself living you now have to apply and the landlord gets to choose who is best out of all the applicatnts. You should expect to have to give references for everything, at a minimum 3, quite a lot of the time more.... Some people go all out on the application, one girl who I spoke to told me that she had put together a portfolio with graphics and all kinds of stuff in it because she wanted her house so bad! It's not overly necessary tho.

Some things to note:

• Most places come without fridge, freezer and washing mahcine so be prepared to shell out for these.
• Air conditioning is a big thing - if you're moving to a hot state then you'll need it - something to remember in the winter!
  
• They have a seriously weird 100 points of ID system which is required for each person on the application.
• Agencies get really pissed off if you apply for LOADS of places and especially if you don't let them know you're not interested, it's all a courtesy thing. So if you're successfull and still have other applications in - do the agents a favour and just give them a call.
• The application will probably contain some section devoted to a connection agency, if you can be arsed phoning around to get all your ameneties connected then don't tick this box, if you want an easy life then this is for you - it's free apart from the usual connection charges.
  

Rough guide to 100points....

• Passport: unfortunately doesn't count for that much, expect around 40-50 points
• Driving license: roughly 40 points - that's right, just a passport and license gets you nowhere
• Bank Statement: 10 points
• Proof Rent Payments: 50 points if you can get hold of 4month's worth
• Medicare Card: 20points - unlikely to have one of these if you've just arrived in the country, they take 3-4 weeks to arrive and you need an address!
• Uni/School ID card: 10 points
• Birth Certificate: 10points
  

This is just intended as a guide, is by no means completely accurate and the points awarded to each ID vary between agencies - there are also other forms of ID that count