Unfurnished apartments Sydney

Myself and the GF are moving to Sydney on a years WHV in 2 weeks, we are debating whether to get a furnished or unfurnished place.

Most place seem to be unfurnished, what are peoples experiences with furnishing a place from scratch? Is it easy to get stuff cheap (TVs, couches, furniture etc.)?

We found out that fridges arent generally included with unfurnished places, is there any places we could rent one for the year?

tom_ass19

I got tired of looking for furnished places and gave in to the fact that i'll have to kit out the place. Most places will just come with an old style oven, depending on the landlord if there was one already there.

I bought everything second hand apart from my bed and tv. You'll pick up stuff very handy because it's not like back home where you rent a place and it's furnished so there are a lot of household appliances on the second hand market.

A good choice for fridge, washing machine etc is F&P, can never go wrong with them. Try and find a salvation army store, not sure if there are any in Sydney but you'll find cheap couches, dining table, coffee table etc

Hope it all works out for ye

Mellor

Deleted User wrote: »

Myself and the GF are moving to Sydney on a years WHV in 2 weeks, we are debating whether to get a furnished or unfurnished place.

Most place seem to be unfurnished, what are peoples experiences with furnishing a place from scratch? Is it easy to get stuff cheap (TVs, couches, furniture etc.)?

We found out that fridges arent generally included with unfurnished places, is there any places we could rent one for the year?

For your first place, furnished can be easier, It's not cheap to furnish a whole house ans is a lot easier, if you had a few months of picking up bits and pieces.

That said, its possible to pick up cheap furniture, TVs etc. Either second hand, or simply cheaper quality, choosing some unheard of asian TV over a Sony.

Generally, only appliances that are built into the unit are included. So oven, cooktop, dishwasher, etc. That means no fridge or freezer (some high spec units some with integrated fridges, but prob out of your initial budget)
You can rent a fridge from about $6 a week.

markymark21

If you were coming here with sponsorship or something like that I'd have said go for in furnished. Since your coming here on a WHV it's possible that you may move again soon after you arrive! I reckon the hassle of kitting out an apartment isnt worth it of your not planning on staying long term!

I find the likes of gumtree are better for finding furnished apartments etc then real estate sites as well

ballooba

One of the side effects of having a culture of unfurnished rentals is that there is a vibrant trade in second hand furniture and electricals. I would seriously recommend buying quality second hand goods over cheap new goods. Use gumtree.com.au, ebay, salvos, etc. I actually prefer renting unfurnished, but it's uncommon in Ireland and there is no decent market for second hand goods.

Thanks LAds

Feelgood

I went with a furnished place, simply because I didn't want to spend 2-5k on furniture without knowing how long I was going to be here. If you think you will be here for at least 3 years, investing in furniture is probably not a bad idea.

Unfurnished units generally have cheaper rent than furnished units too.
Ikea is also your friend (http://www.ikea.com/au/en). Even with the unit furnished I still ended up buying a fair few bits and pieces myself anyway

Also mate of mine picked up a fridge last week on Gumtree for $120, was practically brand new.

aujopimur

Watch out for garage/shed sales advertised on supermarket noticeboards and in local free newspapers/flyers.