[smitjo]

We found a relocation agency set up by British expats on the internet the other day. This got us thinking and we contacted them about prices etc. Basically they charge around £1000 and will find you a place to rent, furnish it etc etc before you get to NZ. Now, we don't have a great deal of money to spare but I was attracted to the idea as I would have peace of mind if I knew exactly where I was going and where I would be living etc before arriving in Wellington - maybe it would just help with the whole moving process?! (emotionally as well) We also have a dog coming with us and I have read a few threads where people have struggled to find dog friendly accom.

Just wondering if anyone else had used a relocation agency/looked into one and whether anyone thinks we would be better to sort things out ourselves and save the money for something else?

Help would REALLY be appreciated!
Jo

[Moorf]

If you don't have money to spare then I'd save £1k and do it yourself. Between this forum, the internet and a few emails to some rental agencies I think you'd have few problems in getting sorted, many have gone before you and done it on their own. :nice1

There's a great Wellington crowd on here... :)

[veronica]

You could rent a really nice place with that $2,500 I would do it myself as Moorf has suggested

[sizzlingbadger]

I would find a rental ourselves as well instead of using an agency. We found it pretty easy to rent before we came out here. Jo De Jong at Guardian First National is great to speak to and good at aranging rentals around Johnsonville, Churton Park, Newlands.

Also have a look on Trademe. Another option is to leave the dog in the UK rent here for three/six months and then buy somewhere.

We decided on that option as with three children as well it was too much to find a rental that accepted both :) We moved into our own house three months later and we shipped the dog out a month later. Well worth it in our eyes.

[Smiler]

Jo

Save the $$ and do it yourself, it really is easy. You be better off spending some of the money on a couple of days hire car, just for speed.

I'm in welly and if I can help pm me.

Also there is a thread on here for Welly rental agencies, look at post no 6 http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=5076&highlight=welly+rentals

sorry if I've stretched the thread. :(

Deborah

[willsken]

Yup, have to agree. We will be doing it ourselves. Just think what £1000 will buy you. Send e-mails to the agents. We have found them to be very helpful.

[starkhorn]

I would find a rental ourselves as well instead of using an agency. We found it pretty easy to rent before we came out here.

Really? You managed to rent a house/flat prior to arriving in NZ? It wasn't too much hassle to arrange with an estate agent to rent a property even though you hadn't arrived in NZ yet? (Or did I mis-understand your post?)

I was kinda assuming that I would need to be in NZ before I could start looking for a place to rent? I had planned to stay in a motel for a week or so until I found somewhere for rent but this was freaking me out a little incase estate agents wanted loads of references and stuff.

I mean don't the estate agents want you to be physically in front of them? Weren't you nervous about renting a place that you hadn't seen yet?

Cheers
Brendan & Isabelle

[Smiler]

Hi Starkhorn

I wouldn't recommend renting before you get here, the photos really don't do the houses justice ;)

Our rental agent didn't want any refs, looked bored when we showed her our visas and gave us the forms to sign and then the keys. At that point we had opened our bank account for one day! She was happy to take the bond and 1st weeks rent in cash and gave us a receipt. I'd brought refs from our past 2 landlords and copies of the contract, bank statements, birth certs, and a letter from my grandmothers great uncle. None needed.

I was with a friend when she rented from a different agency and the procedure was similar. Easy peasy!

Deborah:D

[Moorf]

Oh no, :no I certainly wouldn't recommend organising a rental without seeing it first - get yourself booked into a motel or something for the first couple of weeks.

I'm not saying that every rental in NZ is awful, but a large % of them are (in our experience) and you just can't tell from the photo's they put on the sites etc - plus if you are commiting to a place for 6 months or so you really really need to know that it's right for you as you'll be busy enough during those first few months without having to worry about getting out of rental contracts, associated fees or just the misery of living in a dump.

Don't discount personal ads either - our first rental was via the newspaper and it was great. Private landlords still go through the government "bond" scheme so you will still have to pay a deposit/bond but you won't have to pay agent fees.

Just a thought....

[starkhorn]

Hi Moorf & Smiler,

Thanks again for your posts and help. Glad to see that I wasn't too far off the mark then with our initial plan:-

stay in a motel for 2 weeks.
go around rental agencies and checking newspapers for rented places.
then once we got somewhere, ship out our stuff.

Wow, 3 simple lines but quite a bit of work involved to make it all happen. :)

Cheers
Starkhorn

[sizzlingbadger]

Yes we actually signed the rental agreement before we came out. We went through an agent who was willing to fax it all through to us. We arrived on the Friday and went to see them on the Saturday to pay the deposit and get the keys to the house, we moved in on the Monday.

I had done loads of research though and we rented in Churton Park which I know is a nice area and not too many bad houses. The pictures and description on Guardian First National were spot on. Newly painted, new bathroom, new floors and spotlessly clean. Yes it was a huge risk to take but we had three children 4 and under all we could afford to get was a hotel room. We were really glad we managed to find somewhere to rent before we came out 3 nights in a hotel and I was ready to kill someone, the kids and no space were driving me nuts. The other reason was that we had so much to do that I wanted to get one thing off the list and get the kids settled down, which they did as soon as we moved.

If you went for renting before seeing I would strongly suggest you go through a real estate not through trademe or the landlord direct.

[starkhorn]

All I can say is wow and well done! I'm happy it worked out for you.

I will investigate this further although as you say, it was a huge risk but fair play to ye for doing it!

Cheers
Brendan