No replies on Gumtree

Lilly_89

Im moving to Sydney in just over a week so for the past two weeks iv been on gumtree every day checking for places to rent. I have replied to about 20/25 different ad's and haven't even gotten 1 email back! Is this strange?? I haven't said that im Irish or that im on a WHV, I have kept it short and simple just saying that im moving over with my partner, we are neat, tidy people, we are interested in viewing your apartment........and nothing

Starting to panic now because I wanted to have maybe a few places lined up to view when I get over. I feel like its gonna be a nightmare trying to find some where to live! Anyone else having this problem??

The Aussie

You say you have never gotten one email back, have you tried picking up the phone???

Zambia

She is in Ireland expensive ring around.

Op link the Gumtree ad to this thread maybe someone knows someone.

The standard practice is arrive move into a hostel then find a place

mandrake04

Lilly_89 wrote: »

Im moving to Sydney in just over a week so for the past two weeks iv been on gumtree every day checking for places to rent. I have replied to about 20/25 different ad's and haven't even gotten 1 email back! Is this strange?? I haven't said that im Irish or that im on a WHV, I have kept it short and simple just saying that im moving over with my partner, we are neat, tidy people, we are interested in viewing your apartment........and nothing

Starting to panic now because I wanted to have maybe a few places lined up to view when I get over. I feel like its gonna be a nightmare trying to find some where to live! Anyone else having this problem??

There is a rental shortage in Sydney, on the open day (usually Saturday) there is maybe 20-30 people viewing the property and they pick the most suitable of the first in best dressed.

hussey

Honestly OP, from experience most people wouldn't rent a room on someone based on an email.

Gumtree is so competitive, I had a room to rent before and I had 30+ replies inside 24hours.
I would never rent my room without meeting them first!
Wait until you arrive in Australia, and get a 'cap' credit for your phone something like $49 and you'll be able to make a lot of phone calls.

zweton

did you find it hard yourself to get a place hussey? I presume melbourne will be the same when i arrive! Should be great fun:)

6ix

You really need to be here to get this sorted. Emailing or even phoning from Ireland doesn't work because they have such high demand locally - they don't need to grab someone who's on the other side of the world.

Speaking from very recent experience, househunting in Sydney will be a pain. As the others have said there is a rental shortage here (at least in the areas that backpackers/emigrants want to live). When you do get here you'll show up to view a place and there'll be around 10-15 other people like you, all with their application forms at the ready. Most places are rented through an agency so they handle the viewings/application process and then either the agency or the landlord will pick the most suitable candidate. The application form is pretty detailed - you'll need to provide info on your past/present employment and salary, and your renting history, references and 3/4 forms of ID - Passport, driving licence, bank statement, TFN number.

Most of the viewings are either on Saturday or around lunchtime during the week.

You probably already know this, but most places come unfurnished, and the furnished places are much harder to get due to the demand.

mandrake04

Ah yeah its sometimes hard to get a rental without a job, some of these agencies phone your employer to check if you are able to pay your rent every fortnight.

Renting is a pain in the ass.

markymark21

Lilly_89 wrote: »

Im moving to Sydney in just over a week so for the past two weeks iv been on gumtree every day checking for places to rent. I have replied to about 20/25 different ad's and haven't even gotten 1 email back! Is this strange?? I haven't said that im Irish or that im on a WHV, I have kept it short and simple just saying that im moving over with my partner, we are neat, tidy people, we are interested in viewing your apartment........and nothing

Starting to panic now because I wanted to have maybe a few places lined up to view when I get over. I feel like its gonna be a nightmare trying to find some where to live! Anyone else having this problem??

There is no point trying to look for a place on Gumtree before your in Australia. With Gumtree rooms go very quick. Generally the scenario is:

Apply for room; write up a little about yourself -give a phone number

(10 mins later) : "Hey want to view the room?"

You then view the room (usually that day or the next day) and make a decision. Generally in places like Sydney and Melbourne rooms go very quick as demand is so high

Sop yeh, you can see why landlords aren't bothering with an applicant who is 10,000 miles away when they have 100 applicants already in the area!

But fair play to you for being pro-active anyway! If your gonna try do some stuff from home try applying for jobs - sending CV's etc

Mellor

I had a room to rent before xmas. If I got an email from over seas I wouldn't of bother to email them either tbh.

Pisco Sour

Gumtree is sh1te. You really have to sift through the rubbish to find anywhere good on that site. Most places are way too expensive for what they are (sh1tholes). Beware of the places that put up no photos, only a photo of the back garden, etc. The site is full of spoofers.

Try flatmatefinders instead. The site worked well for me and I got a place recently in the great location of Brunswick, in a beautiful modern house for 612 a month, about 300 a month less than some places on gumtree, which wouldn't come close to this place in terms of comfort, location and cleniliness.

Avoid gumtree.

jank

04072511 wrote: »

Gumtree is sh1te. You really have to sift through the rubbish to find anywhere good on that site. Most places are way too expensive for what they are (sh1tholes). Beware of the places that put up no photos, only a photo of the back garden, etc. The site is full of spoofers.

Try flatmatefinders instead. The site worked well for me and I got a place recently in the great location of Brunswick, in a beautiful modern house for 612 a month, about 300 a month less than some places on gumtree, which wouldn't come close to this place in terms of comfort, location and cleniliness.

Avoid gumtree.

Thats harsh in fairness. I have used Gumtree for renting and renting out rooms in the past (2 years) and it has all worked out well. I think your use of it depends on you rather then the website itself.
Also, you can sell pretty much anything on it. Great site imo and its all free!
Just use common sense like with anything.

Frisbee

I used Gumtree in finding the place I'm in now in Perth and it was brilliant. Also helped me find a job.

With gumtree I found you really have to call them as opposed to e-mail. If the place is in any way decent they'll get that many e-mails they can just ignore them and deal with the phone calls they get if they want.