When choosing where to live, do you consider where you rent?
Rental affordability in Australia has hit an all-time low, with NSW tenants hit the hardest, and this is forcing many to consider a move interstate.
But maybe you don’t need to move that far. There are still pockets of gold in what us locals consider ‘God’s country’.
Even with Armidale’s recent popularity as a lifestyle destination driving a sustained period of growth and high housing demand, you can still get a new rental property that is right for you and in your budget.
But like many things in the New England, it’s who you know that makes the difference.
Back to where it all began
Originally from Uralla, David Baylis is an Armidale boy at heart.
He completed his apprenticeship in Armidale before setting his sights on greener pasture, moving away to follow his career.
Venturing around Australia and overseas, David couldn’t believe it when his career did a 360, landing him back home in the Education City.
But it wasn’t the homecoming he had planned.
“I didn’t want to be here,” said David.
“I had my family here and everything else, but I hate the cold, and I moved away for a reason,”
“I lived in Papua New Guinea for a reason, because I love the heat.”
Moving around often for his work, David was no stranger to renting. But when Armidale was named his next destination, he had a preconception that it was a tough market, and finding a rental could be hard. What he found in Armidale was a welcome surprise.
“I found a very suitable place quickly, so it sort of started to grow on me again, and when you start seeing all the people that you know, it becomes very familiar and very easy.”
“And finding that house quickly, and getting settled so quickly was a big part of that,“ David said.
“I feel like I’m back at home again.”
David has been in his new rental home for nearly two months now and says the service from his real estate agent matches the move – smooth and easy.
“When it comes to the rental market, you’re not choosing one real estate agent, it’s whoever’s got the property, and I got lucky with the Professionals,” David said.
Getting help from the Professionals
Is the market as tough as everyone says? Yes, it can be.
But this is where knowledge is key and real estate agents are worth their weight in gold.
“From a tenant point of view, it’s tough,” said Jamie Williams, Director at Professionals Real Estate Armidale.
“We’re not at the level that you hear some of the metropolitan areas are at or coastal towns like Port Macquarie.”
“From what I’m hearing, they’re basically at 0% vacancy rates, so they’ve got zero stock.”
“But in Armidale there are around 90 available rental properties for lease, which is still not many.”
“Our higher end properties, those in excess of $500 per week, we might only receive a couple of applications, but then if you’ve got a $300 per week, two-bedroom unit, we can receive 15 and 20 applications,” Jamie said.
“On average, we receive five applications per property.”
Tips, tricks and references
When it comes to renting anywhere, the Professionals say references are your golden ticket.
“The most important thing that we look for in a tenant’s application are the references,” Jamie said.
Whether you are a first-time renter, seasoned tenant, a landlord’s dream, or a… well let’s not go there, here are some tips to make the process easier.
1. Get your references sorted- two preferrable (previous landlords or real estate agents are the best, followed by personal referees such us work managers, volunteering colleagues, mum and dad guarantor or character referees.)
2. Fill out all of the details – when they say the devil is in the details, in this case, that’s a good thing. The more information you can provide, the better agents can build your profile and sell you to your next landlord.
3. Have your 100 points of ID ready to go (drivers’ license, passport etc).
“Once we have all of your information, we go over the references again which is what we rely on most,” Jamie said.
Once the information is collated, they’ll assess if you can afford it.
“Real estate agencies will work to an income to rent ratio, and that ratio as a percentage is no more than 30% of your income to go towards your rent.” said Jamie.
“How we work out the affordability of each tenant is simple, if you’re earning $100,000, we would estimate your affordability to be no more than $30,000 a year.”
Start looking with the agent who can make it easy
You want to rent, you have your paperwork sorted, and you know your budget. But there’s a number of other things you should consider and sort out your wish list before you start looking.
“Are you looking for a house or looking at a unit?” said Jamie.
“Do you want to be close to university? Do you want to be close to the hospital? Does location not matter?”
“Then we start looking.”
And when you start looking for your next rental property in Armidale, David says starting with the Professionals Real Estate Armidale is a good way to make it easy.
“They have far more listings, matched with the quality and the price brackets where those houses were fitting in was probably what I would consider right and fair, making my experience with them really good.”
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