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LEAVING HOME
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SAMANTHA KOCH has recently completed a business degree and currently works as a marketing coordinator. She has coauthored two books with her father, The Teenager’s Guide to Money and The Teenager’s Guide to Part-time Jobs. DAVID KOCH is Finance Editor of the Seven Television Network and the Macquarie Radio Network, Chief Executive officer of Palamedia Ltd and Director of the NSW Small Business Development Corporation. His radio segments ‘A Minute on Your Money’ and ‘A Minute on Your Business’ are broadcast every weekday on more than 50 regional radio stations throughout Australia.
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LEAVING
HOME THE ULTIMATE GUIDE Samantha Koch WITH David Koch
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First published in 2003 Copyright © Samantha Koch and David Koch 2003 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. The Australian Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or 10 per cent of this book, whichever is the greater, to be photocopied by any educational institution for its educational purposes provided that the educational institution (or body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) under the Act. Allen & Unwin 83 Alexander Street Crows Nest NSW 2065 Australia Phone: (61 2) 8425 0100 Fax: (61 2) 9906 2218 Email:
[email protected] Web: www.allenandunwin.com National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry: Koch, Samantha. Leaving home: the ultimate guide. Includes index. ISBN 1 86508 706 8. 1. Youth—Australia—Life skills guides. 2. Rental housing—Australia. I. Koch, David. II. Title. 646.700835 Set in 14/14 pt Minion by Bookhouse, Sydney Printed by Griffin Press, South Australia 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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Contents Contents
Introduction
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1 Are you ready to leave home? Why do you want to leave home? Are you really ready? The folks need a bit of help too Can you afford this move? The budget test It’s okay to move out—it’s natural Practice runs
1 1 5 6 7 11 16 18
2 What sort of living arrangement suits me? College accommodation Share accommodation Living by yourself Living with a relative
20 20 22 25 25
3 Renting a place Selecting a suburb Should I go for a house or an apartment? Real estate agent or private landlord? Checking out what’s on offer
27 27 30 32 34
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Key things to look out for Let’s go shopping Take a deep breath before you sign the lease! Your rights as a tenant Your responsibilities as a tenant Some final tips
35 37 41 44 45 45
4 Moving into an established place The pros and cons of share accommodation Finding share accommodation Advertising for flatmates
47 47 48 51
5 Going solo The advantages The disadvantages
57 57 59
6 Living in college The advantages The disadvantages The application process
62 63 64 66
7 Basic set-up costs Bond Rent Bills and deposits Extras Groceries The basics Furniture and appliances
69 69 72 74 77 78 80 81
8 Hidden costs Water isn’t always free Sewerage Insurance is a must! What if you damage the place? Who has to do the repairs? Can I manage a garden?
96 96 97 98 101 102 105
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9 The week before you move . . . Start packing Redirect your mail Tell family, friends and work you’re moving Organise removalists or friends to help Organise the connections
vii
107 107 110 112 112 115
10 On the day . . . moving in The essentials box Meeting removalists or helpers on time The final check On arrival Plan for takeaway that night
117 117 118 120 121 123
11 Learning to live with other people Setting the ground rules Establishing routines Conflict resolution The flatmate who does a runner
124 125 126 127 131
12 Household chores and rosters Putting together a fair roster Can you afford outside help?
134 135 138
13 Ongoing expenses Rent Services Food Other costs Shopping cheaply Buying and cooking tips
140 140 141 142 143 143 146
14 Time to leave . . . moving out Disputes Giving notice Terminating a lease early
148 148 151 153
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Leaving it as you found it Getting the bond back Conclusion
155 156 157
Glossary of terms
159
Appendix I: Checklists Furniture and appliances The basics Moving in Groceries—the first shop Moving out—the final check
162 162 163 164 164 165
Appendix II: Useful phone numbers, websites and publications 167 Index
172
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Introduction
Leaving home
Introduction
When the time comes for me to move out of home for good, I know it’s not going to be easy. For starters, it’s going to be pretty hard trying to get into the car with Mum hanging off my left leg! And the noise will be deafening. Mum wailing, Dad repeating every bit of fatherly advice he’s ever given me since I turned six, and my sisters and brother fighting over any leftover CDs and probably trying to establish land rights over my bedroom. At least, that’s the way I think it will be. Maybe they’ll all be pretty cool and simply wave me on my merry way. I think about this a lot as the time gets closer. I don’t mean I’ve got a use-by date for staying at home or anything like that; in fact, it’s just the opposite. I know Mum wants me to be independent, but I also know that protective mother-lioness part of her would probably like to keep me safe at home till I’m on the age pension! Most parents are the same, but in the end they understand that this is something we have to do. After all, they did it too . . .
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Probably the greatest overall fear most parents have is wondering whether their child is really ready to take that step. And that’s the big question: When are we ready to leave home? Once we decide that we are ready to leave home, the endless decisions, saving and planning start. Decisions you may make include things like: whether you are going to use a landlord or an agent; whether you are going to move in with other people or by yourself; and where you want to live. After you have looked at all of the settingup and hidden costs that you face when you move into a place, you will undoubtedly need to start saving before you leave the security of your parents’ home. As for planning, you will need to think about what you can take with you from Mum and Dad’s house, what you need to buy, and how you’re going to organise household chores if you are moving in with other people. Over the last few years I have moved out for a few months on several occasions, but I have always ended up back at home. As a uni student I just found it easier (and definitely cheaper) to live at home.
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There was no added stress around exam time from thinking about what was for dinner or how I was going to pay that week’s bills. But now that I am all finished uni I am just itching to move out of home for good—to pack up all my stuff and head out into the unknown. Before I wrote this book I had practically no idea about the proper way of going about a number of processes that are part of living out of home—for example, how I should lodge my bond, or what receipts I needed to get, or even how to go about taking action if a landlord won’t make necessary repairs. After doing my research and speaking to numerous people, I can now go through the learning process with you and help you to understand your rights and responsibilities as a tenant and the practicalities of moving out of home. Scattered through the book are useful tips—from me and my Dad—in among material to guide you in making all the big decisions that are involved in moving out of home. Words and terms that you may not totally understand are explained in the glossary at the end of the book. The purpose of this book is to help you go through the processes of moving out of home successfully, from finding a place to live to buying a fridge to actually paying the rent. It also provides practical advice on issues such as planning for the costs that you are going to face, running a smooth household and, most importantly, getting along with your flatmates.
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1 Are you ready to move out of home? Are you ready to move out of home?
In some ways life might really be simpler if we came with ‘living at home’ use-by dates attached. Or maybe if we were fitted with one of those meat thermometer things that would pop out when we’re ‘cooked’ and ready to move on. It would make the decision to leave home a lot easier—and maybe everyone would be happier. But life’s not like that, so we have to look at ourselves pretty carefully and try to work out whether we’re really ready. But no matter how carefully we think we’ve done this, we’re bound to make some assessment mistakes—so tip number one would probably be to make sure you’re on good terms with the folks when you leave home. That way if you do have to return home it won’t be such a hassle!
WHY DO YOU WANT TO LEAVE HOME? Before we look at ‘when’ we’re ready to leave home, maybe we should take a look at ‘why’ we want to do it. I realise some people are going
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to have really strong reasons for wanting to move out. Maybe life at home is just too heavy. But for the rest of us, what is it that makes us want to take that step? After all, chances are once you move out: •
• •
• • •
•
There’s not going to be any dinner waiting when you get home at the end of a long day. The fridge will probably be empty more often than full. You’re going to have to accept that there really isn’t a cleaning fairy who comes in and picks up your dirty socks. Someone has to wash those dirty socks and it’s going to have to be you. The bills will all be addressed to you. There’ll be no one to suck up to when you need that great outfit washed and dried to wear tonight ’cause you forgot to do it with everything else. If you get a cold there probably won’t be anyone there to make you soup or bring you yummy things to cheer you up.
Okay, so maybe I’ve made it sound more like Siberia than your own place and freedom, but all these things are true and we have to think about them. Maybe you want to move out because: A B C D
You need to move away to go to a uni or college. You need to move away for work. You just want more freedom. You think the generation gap is so wide at your house that if you trip you’ll disappear forever. E Living at home is like wearing a pair of shoes that are two sizes too small. F You want to party all night and not have anyone yell at you.
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G H I J
You want to stay out all night and not have anyone yell at you. You’re sick of people telling you what to do. You’re an adult too. You want to start your own life. It’s just this thing inside you that you can’t control. You just know you’re ready. K You don’t share your folks’ values. L You want to move in with a partner. Psychologist Alison Porter, who works primarily with adolescents, says that any of the above reasons are good enough to actually make the move. But she did say that if F, G and L are your main motivators, then tread carefully—because while moving out’s a great adventure, sometimes it can be pretty tough as well.
Rats on steroids . . . Alison’s only 28 herself, and can remember leaving home pretty clearly. She told me that sometimes kids can get caught up in the romance of moving out—and she wasn’t talking about Mills & Boon or soppy movies. She was really excited about her big move, settled into a fantastic brand-new unit and thought life was going to be wonderful . . . until those dirty rats in the back alley started up. She remembers calling her dad out in the middle of the night to chase away the monster rats that were playing tag along the walkway that ran behind her unit: I swear they were as big as dogs, and by the time Dad got there I was trying to push the fridge up against the back door so they couldn’t break my laundry door down! Rats on steroids! They were huge! Obviously the really big ones had taken off when Dad arrived because he only saw regular-sized ones. But I still wore my highest platform shoes every time I went into that laundry— just in case one of them had worked out a way to push past all the appliances and furniture I’d parked against that door.
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Believe it or not, there are worse things than rats. Even Alison admits that rats in the alleyway aren’t the worst problem new home-leavers can experience. While those rats were part of her adventure, they weren’t the worst: I lived alone and the worst jolt I got was the loneliness. I came from a close family and suddenly being on my own was a shock. The other thing I had to get my head around—even though I thought I’d worked it all out—was that if anything was going to happen, it had to be me who made it happen. I mean, if the cupboards had to have food, I had to get it in. And then I had to prepare everything if I wanted to eat. I’d always done a lot at home, but it’s amazing how much everyone else does as well. It’s a brand new learning curve when there’s no one to ever say, ‘I’ll get dinner tonight’ or ‘Who wants a cup of coffee?’ or ‘Who wants to come and pick a video?’ Fitting in all the cleaning, washing and bill-paying with some kind of social life, visits to family and then my work, which was already pretty demanding, was pretty hectic. This is what I mean about the romance of moving out. Young people don’t always think about the basics and they can be a shock.But as long as they’re prepared, it can help. It’s about being ready.
Don’t let Alison’s stories put you off moving out of home. They just show you that you have to be realistic when you move out. Don’t get too caught up in the excitement of escaping your parents and having all-night parties with no one to tell you what to do, otherwise you will get let down really badly when reality sets in. The way to do it is to just be sensible. I have so many friends that have moved out of
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home, and they all love it. Sure there are the bad things, like Alison mentioned, but for the people I know the good things definitely outweigh them!
ARE YOU REALLY READY? I don’t want to make this sound too heavy—but moving out is a big deal; it is a huge step. I asked Alison for a list of questions that we might ask ourselves first. She broke the list into two parts.
Basic skills • • • •
• • • • • •
Can you cook? Have you ever shopped for groceries? Do you have any idea of the cost of food? Do you know how to operate a washing machine? Do you read labels so you know how to wash clothing? Clothes can cost a heap and wrecking yours in a washing machine or dryer won’t help. Do you pick up after yourself or do you leave that to whoever cleans your house? Can you budget? Have you been taught to handle money and save? Have you ever stayed alone in a house? Do you know when garbage night is at your house, or is that someone else’s problem? Can you afford it?
The emotional side •
How well do you relate to other people? Do you get on with your folks? Brothers and sisters? Family? Friends/workmates? Bosses or lecturers/teachers?
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• •
•
•
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How do you cope in a crisis? If you’ve lost a relative or pet, how did you cope? Did you move on eventually? Are you a pretty confident person? Are you happy with who you are? Do you rely on other people to do things for you—perhaps even think for you? How will you cope with loneliness? Families can be big and noisy at times and that can really bug us—but that can be the very thing we miss most when we move out. Do you cope well with responsibility? When asked to do things around the house, do you usually do them? Are you part of your little family community, sharing the jobs, or do you shrug them off for someone else? Do you remember important things, or does someone always have to remind you?
Alison says we have to remember that as much as this is an adventure, it can also be a trauma. She doesn’t want to pour cold water over leaving home, but she counsels kids all the time who aren’t coping and says if we can work out some of these things before we take the step, then all the better.
THE FOLKS NEED A BIT OF HELP TOO After talking all this through I realised there’ll be some sense of grief and loss, especially from our parents. It reminded me of a friend telling me about her poor Dad: Ria is the youngest of four kids and the only one left at home now, but she remembers when the eldest two left home. They both left around the same time. Her older sister was a graduate teacher who had to move to the country to teach in mid-January and her 24-year-old brother was getting married less than a month later. The two girls remaining at home were then 13 and 17.
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Ria says the thing she remembers most was the sudden quietness of the house. She and her sister really missed their older brother and sister, but one night just after the wedding really stands out in her memory, when she realised they weren’t the only ones feeling the loss. Her mum had to be away overnight for work. It often happened, and her dad had always been okay. But this time it meant just Dad and the younger girls were home, and she said her dad was hopeless. He couldn’t leave them. He talked and talked, followed them into whatever room they went into, kept offering them goodies and fussing over them like they were little kids again. When they couldn’t keep their eyes open any longer and told him they had to go to sleep, he just looked at them, devastated. ‘Well, who am I going to talk to now?’ he asked dejectedly. Ria said the girls felt really sorry for him ’cause he looked like this sad little kid—but on the other hand they thought it was really funny, and couldn’t wait to tell their mum when she got back.They all saw the humorous side—their dad too. But the truth is he really was lost. Half his family had left and he just wasn’t coping with that. He really missed those kids—they were (and still are) his friends. He was missing being their everyday dad.
So, if things get a bit tense as moving day gets closer, just remember it’s probably Mum or Dad, or both, getting a bit edgy. They’re really going to miss you—even if you are a pain sometimes.
CAN YOU AFFORD THIS MOVE? It’s okay to work out if we’re emotionally ready to move out, but the big thing to remember is that it all has to be paid for! Before we do a more detailed budget, let’s just work out roughly how much money you have.
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Youth Allowance and Austudy If you have full-time work, then you already know how much you have. If you’re studying or looking for work, then you may qualify for Youth Allowance or Austudy from Centrelink. Remember, both these payments are subject to an income test and some people may not qualify, either because their parents earn too much or they themselves have too many assets. Everyone applying has to be personally assessed, but this is just a broad idea of what to expect. If you have worked, however, you may be classed as independent. Check it out. Austudy isn’t available until you’re 25 years old; while there are some exceptions, basically everyone else under that age who is eligible gets Youth Allowance.
Who can apply for Austudy? People who: •
• •
Are doing an approved full-time course at an approved institution —secondary education courses, graduate courses (not including masters or doctorates), undergraduate courses, associate diplomas, certain other diplomas, and TAFE courses. Are over 25 years of age. Meet residence requirements (usually meaning that you must be an Australian resident or citizen).
Who can apply for Youth Allowance? People who: • • •
Are studying full time (that includes having a part-time job) whose parents do not exceed the means testing levels. Are in full-time job search whose parents do not exceed the means testing levels. Are either studying or engaged in full-time job search, but who are considered independent of their parents.
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Who is independent? Anyone who: •
•
• • • • •
Has earned what is equivalent to 75 per cent of the Commonwealth Training Award Rate in an 18-month period since leaving school (around $14 500). Has worked at least 30 hours per week during the preceding two years since leaving secondary school (12 months if you are considered disadvantaged). Has worked part time at least 15 hours per week for two years since leaving secondary school. Has proven that it is unreasonable to live at home because of family problems (a legal release form to be signed by the parent). Is in state care. Has had a child. Has parents who cannot exercise their responsibilities. Payment rates—Austudy and Youth Allowance (for 2002/03) Status Under 18, away from home 18 and over, away from home Single with children Partnered, children
Allowance per fortnight $301.70 $301.70 $395.30 $331.30
Will the payment be enough? If you’re in a major city, probably not, as most of you will only be getting $150.85 per week. Even in country areas, where rents can be as low as $160 to $200 per week for a one-bedroom place, that’s still going to be very tight. You’d have to share accommodation, but half or even a quarter of the rent is only one portion of what you’ll need. There’ll be food, general groceries and toiletries, water usage, power, phone bills, clothes, medications (if necessary), books (if you’re studying), Internet access, transport and fun.
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In a major city, $150.85 will only be about half of what you’d need. With rents averaging $250–$500 per week, and upwards, sharing is really the most economical option.
How much more can I earn? There’s reasonably good news here. •
Full-time students can earn up to $236 per fortnight (before tax) without it changing their allowance.
•
If you earn between $236 and $316 per fortnight (before tax) each $1 over $236 will mean a loss of 50 cents in the dollar from the Youth Allowance. For example, in 2002/03, if you earn the full $316: 316 – 236 = 80. That means you’ll lose 80 × 50c = $40 overall. Carried forward, that’s $301.70 (allowance) + $316 (earnings before tax) – $40 (tax) = $577.70 per fortnight. You still have to pay tax on your earnings; tax on $316 is likely to be in the vicinity of 20 cents in every dollar.
•
Students who earn more than $316 per fortnight will lose 70 cents in the dollar for every dollar over $316.
•
Job seekers and others can earn up to $62 a fortnight without affecting their Youth Allowance.
•
If they earn between $62 and $142 a fortnight they lose 50 cents in the dollar for every dollar over $62.
•
For every dollar they earn over $142, they lose 70 cents in the dollar.
Income Bank If you’re a student and rely on earning most of your money over holiday periods, it’s possible to let this money bank up and spread the income over the rest of the year and not have to lose all your
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benefits. It’s called an Income Bank—so talk to the Centrelink people about it.
Penalties When you make your application listen carefully and read all the stuff they give you. Centrelink is pretty strict about following the rules and can take your allowance away from you—so it’s pretty important to follow their guidelines. Remember you’ve got rent to pay now—or you will have—so you can’t afford to lose any money.
Information on allowances Centrelink has some great information booklets, and you can also find out pretty much all you need from their website <www.centrelink.gov.au>.
THE BUDGET TEST Before you start packing your bags or making a final decision to move out of home, you must do a budget. I have heaps of friends who haven’t bothered to take the time to put together a rough budget to help them estimate how much it is really going to cost them to move out of home, and they have really regretted it. If you don’t work out how much it is going to cost you, how on earth can you determine if you can afford it or not? Most people living at home probably wouldn’t need to do a budget because there are relatively few expenses or bills that you have to pay on a regular basis. But when you move out of home things change, and a budget is definitely a necessity. I know that some of you know what a budget is, and how to put one together. For those of you who don’t, I’m going to take you through the process and hopefully answer your questions.
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What is a budget? A budget is basically a table or chart that attempts to balance your income and expenses, and tries to work out how you can save at least a small amount of money. A budget lets you see, in black and white, where your money comes from, where it is going, where you can cut back and where you can save. Knowing where your money goes helps you to use it in better ways, and knowing how much you have to put away for bills each week helps you to make sure that you never have to ask for handouts from your parents or flatmates. One of the biggest arguments from parents on why you shouldn’t move out of home is that you will never be able to save any money when you have to pay rent and all of the expenses that come with it. The best way to show them that you can is by doing a budget. Although it might look like sucking up, a budget shows them your commitment and responsibility towards your cause. If when you do a budget you find that you can’t afford to move out of home, why not have a look at how you can change your spending so that you might be able to afford to in the near future. Trust me, the worst thing that can happen is moving out of home and then having to come back because you couldn’t afford it—I know that my parents love saying ‘I told you so’. Wouldn’t it be better to do a budget so that you can work out when you can realistically afford to move out of home? You will show your parents how independent and responsible you are if you don’t move out until you can do it properly. Who wants to come running home back to Mum and Dad with their tail between their legs?
How do you create a successful budget? Not only is it important before you move out of home that you put together a budget that includes all of the expenses you think you are going to face, but you also need to follow it up with an updated and
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realistic budget when you have moved in. You will need to add in any extra expenses that you come across, and any extra sources of income that you are lucky enough to come by. I’m sure that some of you have seen some kind of simple budget before—whether it was at school, at work or at home. Just in case you haven’t, I am going to go through the steps involved in putting together a budget and then show you an example of a budget for someone who lives out of home.
Starting from scratch When you are starting a budget for the first time, you need to work out what time period it will cover. Most people work out their budget according to their pay period, either weekly, fortnightly or monthly. If you are a student, or receive other benefits, you might work out your budget to the timing of your youth allowance payments—that is, fortnightly. Another decision that you have to make before you start putting together your budget is how you are going to set it out. You might like to follow the example on page 17, in which sources of income are listed first, then all expenses; you take away your expenses from your income at the end to work out what your financial position is.
Putting it together Once you have worked out how you will set out your budget, the next step is to actually draw it up to see where you stand. It will show you whether or not you are able to survive financially living away from home, and whether you will be able to pay all your essential expenses (like rent and bills) every period. At the top of the page list all sources of income for your pay period. Make sure you include everything, from your take-home pay, youth allowance or other government benefits, to pocket money (you will probably only get this if you are living out of home to go to uni
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or if you are really good at conning your parents), baby-sitting and other odd jobs. Underneath your income you need to list all of your expenses for the pay period. This includes everything from rent to bills, food, transport, mobile phone bills, clothes and entertainment. It could be a good idea to divide your expenses into luxuries and necessities— that way, if you can’t balance your budget you can go straight to the luxury expenses to cut down. Luxury expenses are basically all the things that you can survive without, like a mobile and the movies, while essential expenses are all the things that you need to survive, like clothes, food and rent. If you are putting together a budget to try and figure out what it is going to cost you to leave home, you need to be realistic. There is no point in creating a budget where you underestimate your expenses just so you can ‘prove’ to yourself, and Mum and Dad, that you can afford to move out of home. You are the one who is going to lose out in the long run. Here are a few tips for working out good estimates of your expenses: •
Rent: Look in the paper in the real estate/share accommodation section to get an idea of rents in the areas you would like to live in.
•
Services (gas, electricity, phone): Find out what the connection fees are, and look at the basic monthly charges and rates on your parent’s bills to get an idea of what your bills may be.
•
Groceries: This cost can vary greatly, depending on where you shop (an expensive convenience store versus a supermarket), whether you buy only expensive name brands, and how much meat you eat. Why not ask the pros (Mum or Dad) for an estimation?
•
Living costs: These will stay fairly similar to what they were when you were living at home—things like entertainment, clothes, car rego and insurance.
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The next thing you need to do is total both the income column and expenses column.
Balancing your budget Now have a look at the totals of the two columns to see what state your finances are in. If your expenses are greater than your income you are in deficit, and if your income is greater than your expenses you are in surplus. If there is a deficit you need to find out what has caused this and try to fix the problem ASAP. If you are in deficit you must be spending more than you earn, and you need to work out a way to fix that. If you do a budget before you move out of home and find that you are in deficit, you really need to think twice about whether you can afford to move out, and work out ways to increase your income. If you are already living out of home and find that you are in deficit when you do your budget, you might need to consider moving to another area where rental prices are lower, or moving in with a few other people so you can split some of the costs. If your budget is in surplus—your income is greater than your expenses—it means that you have money left over! Are you going to save it? If you decide to do that, why not make yourself stick to it by adding a contribution to your savings each pay period into the expenses section of your budget? This is great news—it means that you have proved Mum and Dad wrong, and are still able to save money while you are living out of home. If you aren’t managing to balance your budget, look for areas where you can cut down on spending. Ask yourself questions such as, ‘Where can I cut down on luxuries?’ or ‘Can I work more hours?’ You could cut down your spending by doing things like taking your lunch to work, moving into a cheaper area, or trying to cut down your home and mobile phone bills (pre-paid accounts are a great way of controlling mobile bills).
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The keys to making a budget work are to constantly refer to it, and to review it each budget period. Don’t do a budget and then not bother to monitor it. Work out where you think your expenses will be going each budget period and at the end of the period go back and check. You may need to cut down on some areas if you’re overspending.
Making it work By now, hopefully, you have realised how beneficial it is to write up a budget—but a budget doesn’t really mean anything unless you try to make it work! This can only be done by actually sticking to your budget. The best way to make your budget work is by not over- or underestimating your income or your expenses. The key is to be realistic; if you set yourself unattainable goals you will only get discouraged and perhaps even abandon your budget altogether. If you don’t stick to your budget you have just wasted your time and effort. If you do stick to your budget you will be amazed at how it can change your spending habits and improve your finances.
Living away from home budget planner Work it out to correspond with your pay period, e.g. if you are paid fortnightly, work your budget out on a fortnightly basis. See opposite.
IT’S OKAY TO MOVE OUT—IT’S NATURAL After you’ve done all the working out and decided you really are prepared emotionally, financially and skill-wise to move out of home, and you’re really pumped about it, then it’s time to go.
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Are you ready to move out of home?
Income: Take-home pay Allowance from parents Other income (odd jobs, baby-sitting) Youth Allowance and other benefits
Total income
$... $... $... $...
$...
Expenses: Living costs Rent Utilities Internet access Electricity Gas Telephone Water Maintenance Payments Course fees Credit card Store card Personal loan Student loan Mobile phone Travel Fares (bus, train, tram, ferry) Parking Petrol Insurance Car repayments Car maintenance Food Takeaway Lunches Snacks/coffees Groceries Restaurants Personal Clothes Shoes Jewellery Entertainment (movies, videos, concerts) Magazines/books/newspapers Hobbies/sport/fitness Extras (haircuts, gifts) Contribution to savings Total expenses
Amount left over (income – expenses)
17
$... $... $... $... $... $... $... $... $... $... $... $... $... $... $... $... $... $... $... $... $... $... $... $... $... $... $... $... $... $... $... $... $... $...
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The thing to remember here is that it’s okay to do it. And it’s okay to be a bit nervous as well. It’s natural to move towards this point at this time of your life. It’s not healthy to be dependent on your folks forever. Who wants to be 35 and told to ‘Go to your room!’ or ‘Turn down that music!’? What is healthy is to grow and still be part of your parents but be your own person—and get to do all the exciting things that life has mapped out just for you. It’s also okay to know that while Mum and Dad and the family are adjusting, if things happen they’re not your fault. I know one mum who keeps cooking for her three adult kids even though only one lives at home. She whinges every night that she cooks and no one comes home to eat and she has to give it to the dog! That’s not the fault of the other two who have their own lives. It’s their mum who can’t let go—but I guess she’ll get used to it. Either that or she’s going to have one fat little dog on her hands! The most important thing to remember is that life is life wherever you are and whoever you live with. Moving out of home doesn’t mean you get to say goodbye to all your emotional stresses and pressures. Those can happen anywhere and any time. But if you move out knowing that things can go wrong—that life happens and it won’t always be perfect—then you’re going to be okay.
PRACTICE RUNS This is just the beginning—there’s a lot more to learn as we go through the book—but if at this stage you’ve got some doubts, then why not volunteer to house-sit for someone? That’ll give you an idea of how much you like your own company and how well you cope with all
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the chores of running a house. You won’t have ‘all’ the financial responsibility but it’s about as close as you can get to the real thing. The other thing to do is going to sound really dumb—but that is to get more involved in running your own home now. Do more around the place: do some cooking, some shopping, some washing and ironing. Maybe you can make it your job to get the garbage out. Sounds pretty boring but this will be your life if you move out so it wouldn’t hurt to get some on-the-job training. A bit like work experience . . . [[TIP012]]
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I know moving out of home can be a bit daunting but making sure your parents are supportive can make things a whole lot easier. Remember, your parents have been through the process in the past so ask them for advice.They want to help and they want you to make them feel part of the decision making. Not only will you pick up some valuable tips, but if your parents feel they have been consulted they will provide a lot of help and make the transition much easier. The very worst thing you can do is have a heated argument, storm out and set up home somewhere else. Believe it or not, a child moving out of home is a traumatic experience for many parents— their ‘little baby’ is flying the nest. So let them down gently. Start by talking about moving out a couple of months before you actually plan to. In other words, plant the seed early. Ask your parents how they found moving out the first time when they were younger; why they moved out; some of the pitfalls they encountered; what age they were. Then, start talking about a move-out time a couple of months in the future. A few months’ warning means your parents have time to get used to the idea.
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2 What sort of living arrangement suits me? What sort of living arrangement suits me?
So, you have decided to move out. Now you are probably wondering what kind of options you have. There are several different living arrangements that you can choose from. Pick the one that you think best suits your lifestyle and situation.
COLLEGE ACCOMMODATION This is where you move away from home to go to uni and live in oncampus accommodation. You will find that most universities will have both on-campus accommodation and a housing service to help you find off-campus accommodation as well. Colleges differ in that some are co-ed and others are single sex. They also differ in how they are run: some provide full board (all meals), some provide half board (just dinner), and others have selfcatering facilities and do not provide meals at all. Unfortunately it is quite expensive—up to $250 per week.
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When you think of living at college, or of any on-campus accommodation for that matter, I’m sure that pictures from American movies come into your head. Australian colleges are not quite like that—while students have to follow a few rules, on the whole they can come and go whenever they want. The social life at college can be great fun. You get to make a whole new group of friends and you get to meet people from all over. You will probably find that there are lots of inter-college activities and competitions in areas such as sports and the arts. The major problem with wanting to live at college is that there are not enough spaces to meet the actual demand—it is the first preference for many students. So if you want to get into a particular college, the best thing to do is to apply as early as possible in the year before you want to start, even before you know if you have made it into the course. You will find that for most colleges you will have to fill in an application form, then go to an interview, then wait to find out whether you have received a place. My friend Kirsten started going to uni to do veterinary science on the other side of the city. In her last year of school she hadn’t really thought about where she was going to live because she was concentrating so much on her final year exams so she could get into the vet course she wanted. In her first year at uni Kirsten found that it took her an hour and 30 minutes each way to get to uni and home every day. She was getting so tired, and so fed up with all the travel time, as well as with not having as much time to study as she would have liked that she decided she had to move closer to uni.The problem was that she was only just eighteen and her parents didn’t want her living by herself. So in the middle of her first year at uni she applied for a place at the women’s college on campus for her second year. Kirsten got the place, and lived there for the last four years of her degree. It meant that she could walk to classes, had heaps of
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energy, got a lot of her work done during the week because of the three extra hours she had each day that used to be taken up by travel time, and then went home on most weekends to relax.
If you are moving away from home for the sole reason of being closer to uni to avoid a lengthy daily commute, college is probably your best option.
SHARE ACCOMMODATION Living with a group of friends This is where you move in with people you know. This means that you will need to go house-hunting together as you should make sure you get all of your names on the lease. The place you are most likely to move into with friends is a flat or a small house, where you can evenly split up the bills for rent, water, gas, electricity and phone. This means that you get better value for money. One of the biggest advantages of moving in with friends is the company factor, especially if you are moving out of a big, loud, family household. There are other people around to interact with, who you can tell how your day was and who can help you out when you are upset about something or in a jam. Living with other people, especially people you are good friends with, makes life so much easier. You can share the cooking,
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cleaning and maybe even the washing—much better than living by yourself and having to do all the chores every week on your own. The actual rent that you will end up paying depends on the area you decide to live in, and how many people will be living there. The area that you live in will determine how much the total rent is, and the number of people living in the house will determine how many times the rent is split—the more people you squash into a house, the cheaper your share. This is a good economical option if you have a few good friends who are also looking to move out, and who you could see yourself living with happily. [[TIP012]]
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There’s an old saying that you don’t really know anyone until you’ve lived with them. It certainly applies to sharing accommodation with friends. Be prepared to accept that living together can actually destroy a friendship. Jake or Melinda might be the best friend you’ve ever had—but it’s not until you live with someone that you really find out about their annoying habits, or that they don’t do their fair share of the chores or pay their share of the expenses on time.
Those little annoying habits your friends have got that haven’t bothered you in the past because you’ve been able to walk away and go home are something you’ll have to live with if you’re flatting together. So choose flatmates carefully. On the other hand, I know plenty of friends who have flatted together very successfully because their friendship has meant that when they had any problems with each other they were comfortable talking about them.
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Moving into an established place This is where you move into a place with people you don’t know. You usually find this kind of arrangement in the ‘share accommodation’ section of the newspaper, where the ads state the particular set of attributes that are being looked for in a flatmate—female, nonsmoker, no pets, etc. Just as in living with a group of friends, you are splitting all the bills with your housemates, making it a cheaper option than living by yourself. When you move into an established place you may find that the connection fees and security deposits for the essential services have already been paid—gas, electricity and phone—and that all you have to pay is your portion of the bill. In this option you still get to socially interact with other people and hopefully avoid being lonely. Another plus is that you get to know a whole new bunch of people, which can be really interesting. One problem of moving in with people you don’t know is that you may not feel comfortable about sharing some of the chores. You probably wouldn’t want to wash underwear for someone you don’t really know. Privacy could be another issue that you have to think about—it’s not like living with a best friend who you can barge in on at any time. Another issue to consider is personality clashes. What if you find that you are the total opposite of the people you are living with? You may have different tastes, lifestyles, temperaments and opinions. In this situation you need to be careful, as these factors can lead to major fights or disagreements in the house. This is a good economical option if you are a fairly extroverted person who feels comfortable about moving into a place where you don’t know anyone. It is also a good way to make friends if you are moving into a new town or city.
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LIVING BY YOURSELF This is where you shop around, sign a lease and move into an apartment by yourself. Maybe you are lucky enough that your parents have bought you one to live in. Don’t laugh, it does happen. The main reasons a lot of people choose to live by themselves are that they enjoy the tranquillity or can’t find anyone they want to move in with. When you live by yourself you get a lot of peace and quiet, which can be a godsend for some—you have a lot of privacy and get to have everything done your way with no personality clashes or arguments. Other people may find that they get bored with their own company, with nothing going on around them. Personally, living alone is not for me. I get terrified whenever I am the only one home for the night and really struggle to get to sleep— I like the thought of someone else being in the next room. I would also get really lonely having no one to talk to when I got home from work. Living by yourself is also heaps more expensive because there is no one to split the bills with. You have to cover rent, gas and electricity all by yourself. Living alone could be a good option if you have a bit of money to spend on rent and prefer to have your own space.
LIVING WITH A RELATIVE There are heaps of different living arrangements, including some where you might find yourself living with a relative. You could live with your grandma, or even with an uncle or close family friend. Think about who has a granny flat out the back of their house or a spare room they might like to rent to you. My friend Kate, who lived in the country, had to come to uni in the city. She couldn’t afford to live at college on campus. Her aunt
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lived near the university and had a spare bedroom, which Kate rented from her. Kate ended up paying her aunt $50 a week for full board (rent and all her meals), which was a great deal!
Living with another relative is often a really good option; it is usually quite cheap because they are not looking to make a profit from you! It is a great option if you have to move to another area for some reason and want to stay in a home environment. Living with relatives isn’t a really good option if you are looking to move out of home because you want greater independence. You could find that living with your grandma, or any relative for that matter, is just like living with your parents—so why bother moving? Each of these types of accommodation has advantages and disadvantages. The way to work out which option suits your situation best is to decide what your major priorities are. Why not ask yourself questions like: • • • • •
How much rent am I prepared to pay? Would I prefer to live alone, or would I rather live with other people? Do I need to live in a particular location, for example, close to uni? Do I want to cook for myself, or would I rather pay a bit extra and have somebody cook for me? Do I have any good friends who are also wanting to move out?
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3 Renting a place Renting a place
Once you’ve decided it’s time to go, the next burning question is where to go. Practicalities will have to be considered here. For example, while you might love the beach and can picture yourself living in a place with a great balcony that will become famous for the best parties on the strip, if that beach is far away from uni or work and you don’t have transport, you may have to can that idea for a few years.
SELECTING A SUBURB When it comes to moving out of home and renting a place, you have to think really hard about which suburb you want to move into. Moving is such a big effort that you don’t want to move in somewhere and find you hate it and have to move everything out and into a new place a couple of months later. In some cases you can find yourself stuck there until your lease expires. So do your research first. If you want to check out your rights and the exact procedure of renting before you start a serious search, then get a copy of a great
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little book called The Renting Guide. I got mine from a real estate agency. It’s put together by the New South Wales Department of Fair Trading, so you could get a copy from them as well. In other states, check with the Real Estate Institute and see if there is an equivalent on offer. Basically, the Guide tells you what you can and can’t do and what the landlord can and can’t do. It’s best to know what should happen when you apply for a rental property so you can have all the stuff ready. For starters you’ll need references. If you’d already rented somewhere, the landlord and agents would want previous renting references, but because you haven’t you’re going to have to have some pretty great character references. One from Mum that says ‘David is a good boy who always picks up his wet towels and undies’ won’t cut it. This is serious stuff so treat it as you would a job application. If you’ve worked anywhere get references from your boss, your minister if you go to church, and some teachers or people who’ve known you all or most of your life. You will also need proof of income, even if it’s Youth Allowance. Landlords aren’t a charity. They only rent places to make money, so they’re going to want to know you can pay. Some agencies will ask for a holding bond of one week’s rent if you are seriously being considered for the apartment or house, so you will need to have that money immediately available. They’ll check you out during that time. Armed with this material, you can start looking.
Step 1—The money When selecting a suburb the first question you need to ask yourself is, ‘What can I afford?’ Once you have worked this out you won’t waste time looking at suburbs that are way out of your price league, or fall into the trap of taking up a lease in an area that doesn’t really suit your needs or lifestyle.
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I think when we first dream of moving out we all see ourselves in some really cool apartment fitted out with all the latest stuff. But the truth is that unless we’ve just inherited an incredible trust fund or won Lotto, that’s unlikely to be what happens. We can all pick places where we’d like to live—but just like the movie says, reality bites. Realising what we can actually afford can be a bit of a shock. That doesn’t mean we have to settle for Cockroach City, but it mightn’t be as comfy as home and it probably won’t be like it is in the movies. So before you make any rash decisions or set your heart on a certain area, do some homework. The real estate guide in your local paper will give you a good idea of what you can expect to pay. Or try the Internet. <www.domain.com.au> is a great site that allows you to check out rental properties in every city Australia-wide. Not only will it tell you what rent to expect, but you’ll be able to see what sort of properties are available. I have to jump in here and say I don’t mean you have to pick the cheapest rental when you don’t have heaps of money. That can blow up in your face as well. But it does help to know what the rent could be. Rent is going to be the biggest single expense and it’s important to know exactly how much you can afford to contribute to it.
Step 2—What am I looking for in a suburb? Now that you have worked out how much you can spend, and which suburbs you are most likely to be able to afford, you need to think about what your lifestyle requires and what your primary needs are. There’s a lot to consider so let’s try to break this down into bitesized chunks. Despite the advice to start with the money, we still need to be close to where our particular action is. That means a lot of thinking and planning—and compromises will have to be made. Using long-distance public transport might be cheaper in the long run than using your own car—but the word to focus on here
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is ‘long’. If getting to work or uni or college ends up being a threehour trip one way there’s not going to be any time for parties or beach walks. And transport is just one thing to consider when you are thinking about which suburb to choose. Others could be proximity to parks or ovals, nearness to shops and entertainment, safety and the number of rental properties available. Most university cities or uni areas have a lot of nearby accommodation aimed at students. These areas usually have great public transport. If you work, check out the areas close to your workplace. Even if you aren’t at university or college, one great reason for choosing a university suburb is the high demand for rentals, which means you should be able to find someone to share pretty easily. Also, if you do have to break your lease for any reason, in a highdemand area you stand a greater chance of beating any penalties that might arise out of breaking it because the owner or agent should be able to rent it again quickly. Quite often you will have to make a trade-off between the convenience or desirability of a particular suburb and the quality of the place that you rent. You may need to decide if it is worth living in a shabby flat located in a classy suburb, or whether a comfortable place located in an ordinary suburb better meets your needs.
SHOULD I GO FOR A HOUSE OR AN APARTMENT? When you have decided what suburb or suburbs you want to move into, the next step is to decide whether you want to live in a house or a flat. There are reasons for and against both of these options and I guess it depends on heaps of things, including how much money you have, how many people you are moving in with, and how much you like mowing the lawn! Once you have made that decision, the next step is actually going out and hunting one down.
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Houses Houses can be more expensive than apartments, depending on the area, but if you got a big place you could share with more people, so in the long run it might work out cheaper. The downsides of houses are that you do have to worry about lawns and gardens and you mightn’t have as much security as in an apartment. Then again, if you get a kind landlord who doesn’t mind pets—maybe you could get a big Rottweiler and that should keep you pretty secure! But then again you’d have to feed and register the dog and keep up his vet bills—so maybe that’s not such a good idea . . . Another thing to remember when you sign a lease for a place that has a garden is that, unless you enjoy gardening, you are virtually increasing the rent as every week you have to use either your time or your money to maintain it. The problems of lawns and gardens can be stomped on if you use your heads, however. If one of those regular garden services is too expensive (at perhaps $50 a time), why not ask if there are any local garden-loving pensioners or kids who’d do the job (with their own equipment) for $25 or so. If there were, say, five of you, and you only had the job done every two weeks (maybe less in winter), it would only cost about $2.50 each a week. Not much money to offload a heap of hassles.
Apartments The major disadvantages of apartments are that they are so much smaller than houses, and at times not that much cheaper. I’ve got a friend living at Bondi who pays $300 per week for a one-bedroom apartment. It’s a great location, which is why the rent is so high. Because the rent was killing her, she decided to divide off part of the big living area and sublet that as a bedroom to help out. If you’re thinking about this, check your lease to make sure it doesn’t say you can’t have anyone else living there.
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James, another friend, rented a three-bedroom apartment in Cronulla for $500 per week. Three bedrooms meant the rent was divided by three, so it ended up being quite a reasonable price. Apartments usually mean more security, but they also often mean parking problems—and sometimes apartment blocks are jammed up so close to each other that they become pretty dismal. Don’t forget this is going to be your house now . . . your home. I know you think you’re going to spend most of your time going out, but you’ll be amazed at how much time you do spend at home. [[TIP012]]
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I suppose the biggest downfall of an apartment is that the neighbours are close. For anyone who is renting an apartment, neighbour relations are critical—particularly if the rest of the units are full of owner-occupiers. The last thing you want is the neighbours constantly shaking their heads about ‘those unruly renters in apartment such and such’. Go out of your way to introduce yourself because if you respect their privacy and space, they’ll respect yours and you’ll be ‘those nice young people renting in apartment such and such’. And good neighbours can come in handy when you can’t be home to open the door for a delivery, or for general security. But I’ve always found the biggest attraction of renting an apartment is the fact that the body corporate (a group of apartment owners) looks after maintaining everything outside your door . . . which means you don’t have to do it—one less hassle.
REAL ESTATE AGENT OR PRIVATE LANDLORD? Should you rent privately or through a real estate agency? Who do you turn to for help when something goes wrong with your rented
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house or apartment? Naturally the agents are going to tell you they’re the best bet. And the truth is, unless you really know the private landlord personally, they probably are the best in this situation. It’s kind of like going to a foot specialist with a sore ear. Both are doctors but the foot specialist isn’t going to know quite as much about ears as an ear, nose and throat guy. After all, that’s what he’s specialised in . . . It’s the same with real estate agents. Basically you don’t want to have any hassles, just to pay your rent. The rest is up to the agent to worry about. If, for example, something needs repairing, you only have to let the agent know and then it’s up to him or her to follow it through. Going through a real estate agent is the best way for an inexperienced renter. Agents are bound by the rules and conditions of the Residential Tenancy Act, whereas private landlords are also bound by these rules but may not follow them as closely. Take inspections, for example. Maybe you don’t realise it but any place you rent is subject to regular inspections by the landlord or agent. In theory these can occur as often as every three or six months. When it’s time for these inspections, agents have to give you seven days’ notice but a private landlord mightn’t do that. So, if the private landlord walks in to see your old newspapers, empty Bacardi Breezer bottles and VB cans all over the living room, your Guinness Book of Records attempt for the highest Pizza Box Tower and three days of garbage ponging up the kitchen, he mightn’t be happy. He might also think you’re not responsible and decide he doesn’t want you in his house. On the other hand, while the agent also represents the landlord first, the agents I contacted claimed that there is more give and take with an agent, and they believe there’s more chance a tenant’s rights will be protected.
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One positive aspect about renting privately is that on some occasions the landlord will offer an open-ended rental period. That means that you can leave whenever you like, you aren’t bound to stay for a minimum period. The trouble with that, though, is that they can kick you out whenever they want as well. Sometimes you might find that you get a mixture of real estate agent and private landlord. Some landlords only use a real estate agent to do the hassling around of finding a suitable tenant and organising the lease—from there the landlord takes over. From then on you deal directly with the landlord whenever you make rental payments and require repairs. Always make sure, if you are dealing with a private landlord directly, that you get a receipt every time you pay the rent to act as proof of payment. If in doubt, use a professional!
CHECKING OUT WHAT’S ON OFFER . . . John Henderson from the Street Real Estate chain was pretty helpful when I told him about this book. John’s son had to move away for work and he knew exactly what we needed to know. One thing he told me to be aware of is that even though there are anti-discrimination laws in place, some landlords put a bar on renting to anyone under 25. It’s not supposed to happen but it does and there’s not much we can do about it. You might think you’ve found this really cool place that’s just perfect, but the landlord might have other ideas about it. John’s son became involved in a difficult situation when he and some friends were renting a place in a block of units—after a party one of the other tenants made a complaint to the strata management. The guys really liked living there, but that one complaint meant they had to canvass the entire block of units and ask if anyone else had a problem. Luckily no one did and it all turned out okay, but
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the results of that canvass still had to be put to the strata management and a decision still had to be made. John says to check out heaps of properties and really see what’s available. Don’t just grab the first thing you come to—but on the other hand, remember that if you’re looking in a high-demand area you won’t be able to sit on a beach for two weeks and think about it.
KEY THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR When you are going around inspecting rental properties, there are a few key things that you need to look out for before you make any big decisions.
Parking I mentioned this above because it can be a biggie. Lots of city apartments don’t offer parking until you get right up to the top end of the market. It’s really easier to get around the city on public transport, but if you have a car and can’t live without it then parking becomes pretty important. If you find you have to leave work two hours before everyone else or skip two classes to get home in time to get a decent park, then maybe this apartment isn’t for you. One friend of mine once had to park so far away that she ended up catching the bus back to her unit—and the same the next day! Crazy! If poor parking is a problem and you still insist on having a car, I’d get the oldest bomb possible because it’s going to be out in the weather and, depending on where you live, it could be a magnet for vandals.
Public transport If you don’t have parking at work or uni, there is no point talking yourself into renting an unreal place six kilometres from the nearest
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train station, especially when there are no buses in your area. You’d still have to find parking near the station! If you don’t have a car, the availability of public transport has to be one of your most important considerations. No matter how cool a place might be!
Facilities When you inspect a rental property, go for a drive around the area. Find out how close you would be to the local shops, restaurants, parks and ovals. Life is so much easier if you can just pop around the corner for a loaf of bread and a litre of milk.
Sunlight Light deprivation can definitely be a form of torture so make sure you will get enough—and not just from fluoro lights, your $20 disco ball, a wave light from the local market or the TV! Real light! Sunshine! You will enjoy your place so much more if it gets a bit of sunlight in to warm it up; real light also makes a place feel heaps cosier.
Smells Does the place smell as if Peppy the Pooch had a free run in there for the past five years? Worse—does it smell as if he died there? Peppy might have had fleas too—if you’re not sure, then give this one a miss. Better to be dousing yourself with suntan lotion than calamine lotion.
Neighbours and noises What about the neighbours? Maybe you’re not going to spend enough time there to actually become best friends with them but try to find out as much as you can. On your visits to check the place
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out, listen for noise, arguments or trumpet lessons coming from next door. Of course, if they have great taste in loud music it maybe won’t matter. Could save you some money on the latest CDs. But sometimes you might want to study or even sleep . . .
Safety If you are interested in a place why not go back to get a night view. Look at things like the street’s safety and the parking situation. Look at street lighting and how well lit the entrance to your place is. Are there lots of dark shrubs right near your front door? Does it look safe? Who’s hanging around after dark? It’s too late once you’ve signed the lease to find out your front fence is the meeting place of the local gang.
LET’S GO SHOPPING! Actually going and looking at apartments or houses can be really confusing, especially if it’s your first time. What do you say to the landlord or agent? Should you show enthusiasm? What is the deal with deposits? These are only some of the many questions you probably have regarding this daunting process.
Step 1—Understanding the jargon It’s really important that you understand real estate jargon so you can read the ‘properties to let’ section of the newspaper. I know it seems like double-dutch, but if you don’t understand the jargon you will have a hard time trying to work out the features of all the different properties that are being advertised. You wouldn’t want to take the time to go and inspect a place that you thought was two bedrooms and one bathroom, when really it was two bathrooms and only one bedroom. Here are a few general terms to get you started:
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Jargon b.r. Bthrms Mod LUG W/w carpets Stn Int. lrdy Sep. din Balc Grd flr Car sp B’ins Kit Dwshr Pol. flrs
Interpretation Bedrooms Bathrooms Modern Lock up garage Wall-to-wall carpets Station Internal laundry Separate dining room Balcony Ground floor Car space Built-in wardrobes Kitchen Dishwasher Polished floors
Step 2—The inspection An inspection is when a real estate agent or landlord takes you around a place that you are interested in renting. They show you all of its selling points, features and layout. If you are seriously looking to rent a place, and you know exactly what you want, you have to be aggressive as you may find that there are more people wanting to rent the kind of place you are after than there are rental properties. When the Saturday paper comes out all the people who are looking for a rental property get it first thing in the morning and pore over it, marking all the properties they are interested in. They look at the inspection times, and develop a dayplan of how they are going to fit all the different inspections in. Most places have general inspection times, of anywhere between fifteen minutes and two hours, on Saturdays or Wednesdays. You may find that you can only inspect some places by organising an appointment with the real estate agent, so they can take you through
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the place on your own. Alternatively, sometimes the real estate agent is happy for you to take the key and the address of the place, taking a $20 key deposit to ensure you come back.
Step 3—Filling out an application form Renting a house or apartment can be just like applying for a job. When you decide that you really like a place and want to rent it, you have to fill in an application form. The real estate agent or landlord then collects all the application forms, and selects the people they see as the most attractive tenants. After the landlord or agent has gone through the application forms and narrowed down the number of applicants, you may be asked to come in for an interview so that they can see what you are like. Trying to land the place that you want can be a very competitive process. Here are a few tips on how you can make your application better than those of the competition: •
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•
•
Presentation: First impressions count for everything, so make sure that you are neatly dressed, well groomed and polite. I don’t mean wearing a suit or anything, but just do the little things like making sure that your shirt is ironed and that your hair is brushed. Efficiency and enthusiasm: Make sure you are one of the first people to hand in your completed application form. This shows that you are an organised person, and really want the place. Be the best: Include your very best references to show what a good tenant you are. If this is your first rental, you could include personal or job references to show how reliable you are. Go that little bit further: Why not include extra information that is not necessarily asked for but shows what a good candidate you are? You could include things like proof of income or even getting your parents to go guarantor on the place.
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Follow it up: Make sure that the landlord or agent doesn’t forget how much you want the place. You could show how keen you are by following up your application with a phone call to check that it has been received, or maybe even deliver it in person.
Step 4—Waiting for a response The next step is probably the most painful, because there is nothing else you can do but sit and wait to find out if your application has been successful. Although it is good to show the landlord or agent that you are keen by enquiring about your application, if you do this too many times they will begin to think that you are a bit of a pain. If you haven’t heard back in a reasonable period of time, you may like to call just to check that you definitely have lost out to someone else. This will allow you to stop wondering, move on and to start looking again. My friend Pip, who is 23, has recently moved out of home. She lived at home for the whole time she was completing a degree in primary school teaching. The year after she finished she was placed in a school that was at least an hour’s drive each way from her parents’ house. After commuting from her parents’ place for the first school term, she decided she had to move closer to work. Luckily she had two friends who were in the same situation, and they decided to move out together. They were after a three-bedroom flat, with two bathrooms being a bonus. They decided on three suburbs that they would really like to live in, and were determined to find a place in one of them. For four Saturdays in a row, the three of them got up
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really early and got the paper first thing. They then called each other and worked out which flats they were going to inspect that day. They put in five applications and just missed out each time. They didn’t give up, though, and their sixth application was accepted—for a three-bedroom place with a main bathroom and an ensuite. When I spoke to Pip, she told me that the way to succeed was just to be persistent and continue to put in applications—and just keep on thinking that in the end your turn has to come.
TAKE A DEEP BREATH BEFORE YOU SIGN THE LEASE! Take a deep breath before you sign the lease, and check out your Renting Guide again. Find out how long the owner is going to rent the place for. If you get in and get all settled only to find out the owner has decided to sell up you could be in deep water. Well, at least in the deep blue yonder if you haven’t got anywhere to live . . . If the owner has the property on the market, you should know about it beforehand. First you have to be handed a copy of the lease or tenancy agreement. Read it carefully and if possible have someone more experienced check this out with you. Make sure you read it all yourself though and ask about anything you don’t understand. Don’t just sign ’cause you’re relieved someone will actually take you! With that copy of the lease you must also receive a Premises Condition Report. This is a document that you will fill out, usually in conjunction with the agent. Don’t brush this off or rush it, as it could end up costing you your bond money when you leave. Go over every last corner of the property and make a note of every scratch on the kitchen benches, every chip in the bathroom and every stain on the carpets, etc., so that there is a record that they were there before you moved in. This form comes in triplicate and you get to
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keep a copy, so file it away carefully. The top of the pizza pyramid isn’t a good place—put it somewhere safe. Remember, furniture is also included in the condition report, so go over every item. I’ll talk about whether it’s better to go furnished or unfurnished a bit later. [[TIP012]]
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I reckon the Premises Condition Report is your most critical document. It is the one single bit of paper which will determine whether you get your bond back or not . . . so treat it like gold. A few years back we rented a townhouse. At the end of the rental period the landlord refused to refund our bond, claiming we’d destroyed the garden and damaged the inside of the property. It really annoyed me so I took the landlord to the Tenancy Tribunal as it was then called. Thankfully, I had a copy of our original condition report and, mysteriously, a copy of the real estate agent’s condition report on our departure turned up in the post (I think the agent must have felt sorry for us). I also tracked down some previous tenants and found this landlord had a history of keeping bond money in the hope that no one would be bothered taking any action. The big day came to front the tribunal (I felt like someone in Law & Order or The Practice). I pulled out the condition reports and comments from previous tenants and blew the landlord out of the water. He mumbled and bumbled his way through some weak explanation, the Tribunal Commissioner berated him and I received my bond within 24 hours. The moral of the story is that your Premises Condition Report is your bible . . . safeguard it carefully.
If you are moving in with a couple of friends, make sure that everyone’s name is on the lease—not just yours! This way you are all
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equally responsible and liable for paying rent on time and keeping the place in good order. [[TIP012]]
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If your name is the only one on a lease it means you have the legal responsibility to pay the rent. If a flatmate doesn’t pay their share of the rent it becomes your responsibility. As far as the landlord is concerned, the name on the lease is the person who must pay all the rent. So to protect yourself from wayward flatmates, make sure all the names are on the lease.
You should also be given a document listing all entry fees payable by you to get into the property. This will certainly include the bond and the holding fee, and may include phone connection and electricity connection (these are normally disconnected at the end of a lease). The bond should be the equivalent of four weeks’ rent in advance. It’s sent to the Bond Board or Renting Services Branch of Fair Trading (depending on the state you live in) and held there until you leave the property. If you really mess the place up, any repairs you are liable for have to come out of this bond money—and I’ve heard of a few people who lost the lot. The loss of money alone would hurt—but it gets worse. It means you mightn’t get another rental place because you’ll have acquired a bad reputation. If you’ve read your Renting Guide you’ll know that some things are illegal for the landlord to add to the tenancy agreement (lease), so don’t fall for any shonky tricks. (This is why you use a professional.) Things to look for are added clauses that say you have to have the carpets cleaned when you leave, or replace the tap washers or electric stove elements. These additions and amendments are illegal.
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Make sure you get a proper receipt for all your entry costs and— again—put them in a special file with your rent receipts, somewhere safe. You can’t be charged for keys, and everyone listed on the lease has to get a full set. That means security doors, garages, letter boxes and windows. If it needs a key, you should have the key.
YOUR RIGHTS AS A TENANT If you’re paying for a property in good condition, then that’s what you’re entitled to. That means if the toilet leaks or the back door is warped and won’t close properly, then the landlord has to fix it— and if it’s serious it has to be done immediately. If it’s not so serious—like a dripping tap, something irritating and wasteful but not life threatening—the owner should get it fixed as soon as possible, but he doesn’t have to break the four-minute mile to get there. Privacy is the biggie with rental properties. The landlord can’t barge in on your backyard barbie just because he owns the place. The landlord or agent can only come onto your property in the following circumstances: • • • • • • • • •
To carry out a general inspection (seven days’ notice, no more than four per year). To carry out necessary repairs (two days’ notice). For urgent repairs (no notice necessary). To show prospective tenants the property if you are vacating (only during the last fourteen days of tenancy, and notice must be given). To show prospective buyers the property (notice must be given). If the property seems to have been abandoned. In an emergency. If the tenancy tribunal orders that access be allowed. If the tenant agrees.
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YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES AS A TENANT There are always two sides to a story and just because the landlord and agent have rules to follow doesn’t mean we get let off the hook. • •
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The tenant has to keep the yard and building in a reasonable state of cleanliness. The tenant can’t be negligent or forgetful and as a result cause damage to the property. Like don’t leave a heater on, or leave the bathroom tap running! The tenant is also responsible if one of their guests wrecks something. So, if your mate sits on the kitchen counter and falls through, it’s your problem . . . The tenant can’t add fixtures or change the permanent look of the place without first asking the landlord—this includes things like putting up hooks to hang paintings. The tenant must pay the rent on time, even if there are repairs that need doing. Your lease says so—and it’s a legal document.
SOME FINAL TIPS This really is going to be a great adventure—but we still have to be careful. Do the right thing. Big Brother will be watching everything you do . . . These days there’s a computer register called TICA, run by the TICA Group—this is a default tenancy control system that covers Australia and New Zealand. It’s a list of all tenants and it’s a bit like Santa’s list. It’ll tell your next landlords and agents if you’ve been naughty or if you’ve been nice. If you’re just moving from one place to another and you’ve been on TICA’s nice list you won’t have to worry about lodging another bond fee; it can simply be transferred.
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And remember that if you leave before your lease is finished, you might attract a penalty fee if the agent can’t re-let the place before your time to move out. My advice, based on what I’ve learned, is that it’s never too early to start looking around. So even if you’re not planning on the big move for a few months or longer, start to get a feel for the area you think you’d like (or need), start saving that bond money and work on getting some good references!
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4 Moving into an established place Moving into an established place
Actually finding someone you want to move in with can be the hardest part of moving out of home. You may have been best friends with someone since kindergarten, but could you really live with them? Do they put away their things? Do they clean up after themselves? Will they play loud music at 3 am? Will they constantly have friends over? Do you even like their other friends? Are they reliable? These are the types of questions that you have to ask yourself when you move in with someone.
THE PROS AND CONS OF SHARE ACCOMMODATION There are many benefits to share accomodation. Living with others can reduce your living costs. The benefits should be assessed, taking in all considerations. Here is a list of the pros and cons of share accomodation.
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Pros
Cons
Lower cost You usually get better value for your money: for example, a better quality living environment in a better location for much less than you would pay if you lived alone. Along with this, costs like gas and electricity are shared.
Personality clashes You may find that you are the total opposite of the people you are living with.You may have different tastes, lifestyles, temperaments and opinions. Any of these factors could lead to major fights or disagreements.
Social interaction A major advantage is that you get to interact with other people and develop friendly relationships. For most people this is much nicer than coming home to an empty house after uni or work.
A selfish or untrustworthy flatmate Other people out there may not be as nice as you or have your values.You may have a horror flatmate who leaves the whole place looking like a pigsty, or a flatmate you don’t feel comfortable staying alone with; this is a major issue for girls in particular.
Relocation If you are moving from another environment (from interstate, another town or even just across town), it is nice to get to know instantly people who can show you around.This is a major advantage for people moving to go to uni in another city.
What if your flatmate can’t pay their share? In share accommodation you are relying on other people to pay their fair share. What happens if they can’t make the rent one particular month? Are you going to have to cover for them?
FINDING SHARE ACCOMMODATION The best place to look for share accommodation is in the newspaper that covers the area that you want to move to. If you live in Sydney have a look in the Sydney Morning Herald and the Daily Telegraph; in Melbourne look in the Age or the Herald Sun; check the relevant papers in other major cities and towns. These newspapers will have a section dedicated to share accommodation; the most comprehensive section usually appears in the Saturday edition. Another good place to look for share accommodation is on noticeboards. Especially on those at universities and TAFE institutes there are usually dozens of notices advertising accommodation in the area.
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Be careful! Whenever you go to check out a potential room, it is important to take all necessary precautions to ensure your safety—this is a really important issue, especially for girls. I’m not trying to scare you, but there have been a number of cases where people went alone to answer ads regarding share accommodation, only to be viciously attacked or raped by the person who had placed the ad. If you are going to have a look at share accommodation, take a friend with you and let someone know when and where you are going (give them the address), and preferably take your mobile phone as well. If the person you speak to on the phone sounds at all suspicious, don’t go! Take the same precautions when you are advertising for new flatmates yourself. Make sure that there is someone else in the house with you when prospective flatmates arrive. If you live alone, be wary of giving this information to prospective flatmates over the phone. They could use this knowledge to break into your apartment when you are alone. Enough with the scary stuff! It is also really important to feel confident that you are compatible and will be comfortable with your new housemates before you move in (although this is something you can never be certain of). It is also important that you reach agreement on their house rules—you can’t move in and immediately demand changes in the way things are done. Here are a couple of issues you should have a think about before moving in with a stranger: •
If one flatmate steals property from another, it won’t be covered by home and contents insurance because the flatmate has a key. But this is a matter that the police can deal with, so make sure that you have the identification details and keep the references of all of your flatmates.
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You must also make sure that your flatmates are responsible; if they carelessly leave windows or doors open, you won’t be covered by insurance if your home is broken into.
Questions to ask When you find a share accommodation advertisement that you are attracted to, there are a few questions that you need to ask before you start moving your bed in—after fighting off (so to speak) the other 20 people applying for the room! • • • • • • • • •
Why did the last person move out? How much are the bills? And how are they divided? Are you bound to the lease? If so, what are your obligations? Are you allowed pets? Can I smoke? How much notice do you have to give before you move out? How much is the bond? What do you have to do to get your bond back? How much rent do you have to pay and when?
While you are there, you might ask to chat to potential flatmates. After all, it doesn’t matter how unreal the apartment is, if you can’t string together a conversation with your flatmates it won’t work out. Find out if any of them do night work. If they do, they will be sleeping during the day when you want to watch TV or play music; also, they could be really noisy when they come home in the middle of the night and you are sleeping. This point is definitely food for thought! It is also important that you take notes. If you are checking out several places, all the interviews can begin to blend into one. If you get an offer to move in, you need to be able to refer back to your notes from that interview to see how you felt at the time. If you have only ever lived with your family, a major issue that you are going to face when you move in with other people is trust.
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You need to be able to trust the people you are living with. If you think you wouldn’t be happy to go to sleep at night, or to leave your valuable things in the house with a prospective flatmate, the answer is simple—don’t move in.
Moving in Once you move into a household that has been established for some time, the biggest issue that you face will be how to fit in. The best way you can go about it is to be considerate of your other housemates. It is important to remember that everyone has their own way of doing things, as I’m sure you do, and there is nothing more irritating than a new person coming in and stuffing up the system. Don’t interfere; just find out how the house works and try to quietly fit in. If you have never lived in shared accommodation before it is important to respect the personal space of the other people you are living with—just as you would at home. This means you don’t play loud music late at night, you don’t have to talk all the time, and you don’t barge in on other people while they are in the private space of their own bedroom. Remember that all the little things count, and it is these things that will help you to be accepted and loved by the people that you live with. For example, writing down phone messages, cleaning up your mess in the kitchen, not having friends over who eat everyone else’s food, replacing the milk if you are the one to finish it, asking before you have a friend stay the night, and making sure you always lock the door behind you.
ADVERTISING FOR FLATMATES I thought that finding a new flatmate would be one of the easiest parts of living out of home, but after speaking to a few friends I soon discovered I was totally on the wrong track. It can be really hard to
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find an ideal flatmate from a bunch of people you don’t know from a bar of soap. The ideal flatmate is probably a friend who you know
is trustworthy, honest and reliable, but there are only so many of them out there. The next best thing is someone recommended to you by a person you trust. Failing those . . .
Work out who you are looking for The first thing that you have to do is work out what kind of person you are looking for, what qualities and characteristics you want in a flatmate, and specify that in your advertisement. You might want a female non-smoker with no pets and a full-time job. You might also like to specify a certain age group, because a 50-year-old probably wouldn’t want to apply to live in a house full of partying 19-yearolds. Other details you should include are the location, rent for the room, whether it is furnished or not, and whether there is parking— all the things you would want to know if you were looking for yourself—and a contact phone number. Here are a few examples of share accommodation advertisements to give you a bit of a guide: North Melbourne. Fully furnished, large bedroom in 2-bedroom house, share with 1 other. $150 pw. 8877 6655
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West Lakes. Male or female to share 2-bedroom unit, double room, new paint and carpet, furniture required. 2 minutes to train. $120 pw + bond and expenses. 4433 2211 Paddington. Female to share spacious, partly furnished, 3-bedroom house, quiet location, close to shops and transport. Views from rooftop garden. $180 pw + bond and expenses. 1212 3434 It is good to remember that if you place a classified ad (such as those above) over the phone, you don’t have to put in the abbreviations for the terms—you simply dictate the ad in full, and the newspaper people will abbreviate it for you.
Where are you going to advertise? The second thing you need to do is work out the medium you are going to advertise in. Are you going to use the noticeboard at your local TAFE, Internet noticeboards, your local newspaper or a major city newspaper? You need to choose the method that the type of person you are trying to find is most likely to read. If you are a 20-year-old student you may advertise on your uni noticeboard or on the Net; if you are a young professional you will most likely advertise in a major newspaper. Share accommodation agencies, which screen prospective flatmates and match them to your requirements and interests, are becoming more popular with people who don’t have the time to interview lots of people. Although this is a great service, there will be a fee involved.
First contact The third thing you need to do is to work out a set of questions to ask over the phone so that when people call you can screen them before you invite them to come for an interview and a look around. You don’t want to give out your home address to just anyone.
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Ask everyone who calls up in response to your ad whether they meet each of the requirements set out in the ad. You would probably like to ask a few other questions to check them out—like whether they are studying or working, why they left their last place, do they have references, etc. Make notes of their answers. This simple phone interview gives you a chance to work out whether or not you want to speak to this person face to face in your home. Always ask for their full name and phone number before you give out your address to a stranger.
Face-to-face interview The fourth thing you need to do is to meet prospective flatmates face to face and show them around your home to see if they are still interested. No matter how closely a person meets your guidelines on paper, you need to make sure that you get a positive vibe from them when you meet them in person. You have the right to knock back prospective flatmates for whatever reason you like. Before your potential flatmates arrive, make sure that you put away expensive items and give the place a good clean up. Do all the little things like open all the doors, maybe put out some flowers, and show them around the whole place. You need to work out the questions you want to ask before a prospective flatmate arrives. Try to keep the interview in the form of a friendly discussion, but don’t be deflected from the questions you want to ask. These could be along the lines of: • • • •
Why are you looking to move? Why did you leave your last place? Where do you work? How long have you been working there? Can I see some references?
You also need to let them know about the house rules at this point. That way you aren’t wasting time considering people who might knock back an offer later on when they hear your rules. House rules
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may include things like not smoking inside the house, no pets, and asking your housemates if you want friends to stay the night. Remember to write down your impressions immediately afterwards so that when you are trying to decide who you want to give the room to, you have something to refer back to.
The decision The fifth step is to decide on who you want to move in. When you let that person know they have the room, you should run through with them again the details of the bond and the rent (how much and when it is paid), the house rules, and any other guidelines and policies. You need to make sure that your new flatmate is fine with all of these things. If they aren’t going to move in in the next couple of days, ask for a deposit to ensure they don’t do a runner on you and leave you in a sticky situation. Another thing that you should remember is that you shouldn’t give anyone a key until they have paid the bond and the first instalment of rent in advance. A couple of years ago my friend Toby made the decision to leave home and go to uni at Newcastle. Unfortunately all his mates were going to uni in Sydney, and he didn’t know anyone else who was going to Newcastle. This meant that he had to find a place to live in Newcastle and people to live with. Toby first applied to live in one of the dorms on campus but was knocked back because priority was given to students coming from overseas. So he decided to rent a place of his own, just around the corner from the university, and find a couple of other students to live with him. Toby wanted a three-bedroom place, for a reasonable price, within walking distance to uni. He decided to use a real estate agent because he didn’t want any hassles; he just wanted to pay
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his rent each week and have the real estate agent deal with the rest of it. Once Toby found a place he decided that the best place to advertise for flatmates was on the noticeboards around campus. Within three days he had the other two bedrooms filled with two guys who were around his age and had similar interests. Toby found this was a great way to make friends and start to fit in.
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5 Going solo
Going solo
Going solo means just that—that you choose to live by yourself rather than with a few mates, your boyfriend or your girlfriend. These days around 25 per cent of the population lives alone; this is heaps compared to 50 or so years ago when this figure stood around 5 per cent.
THE ADVANTAGES As I’m sure you can imagine, there are quite a few advantages to living by yourself.
Peace and quiet One of the first things you notice when you move in with a bunch of people is the amount of noise that a few 20-year-olds can produce. The funny thing is that this level of noise somehow increases on a
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Sunday morning around 10 when you have a hangover and just want to sleep in. So you can see how getting some peace and quiet is a major advantage of living alone. You can sleep whenever you want to without being disturbed, and you can be up at any hour and pottering around the house without worrying about waking anyone else up.
You get to do things your way It is only natural that when you live with other people you need to compromise and accommodate other people’s habits. If you live by yourself you get to do everything your own way—from cooking and cleaning to positioning furniture. Just think, what if you lived with some guy who wanted his favourite tatty old brown lounge chair in your perfectly colour-coordinated living room.
Privacy There is no doubt about it, when you live with other people you always lose your privacy to some degree, whether you live with your family, a girlfriend or some mates. When you live alone you get 100 per cent privacy and you don’t have to worry about someone barging into your bedroom at the wrong time or locking the door while you have a shower or even walking around in your birthday suit.
No arguments I’m sure that we all have a friend who lives with the roommate from hell. Even if you are living with your best friend in the whole wide world you are bound to have an argument at some point, even if it’s only over something as small as not replacing the toilet paper. One of the best things about living alone is that you avoid fights, disagreements and arguments over the minor day-to-day stuff. You also don’t
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have to waste time on mediation efforts and house meetings to resolve trivial disputes.
You don’t have to rely on anyone else A major problem of living with other people is that you have to rely on them for a number of things—from paying their share of the rent and the bills to doing the food shopping when it’s their turn to being able to trust them to leave your things alone and not to steal anything. When you live alone you don’t have to rely on anyone else. This means that you can plan for all your bills, you are never out of pocket because you’ve had to cover for housemates short of cash, and you don’t have massive phone bills while a flatmate calls his girlfriend in London every night.
THE DISADVANTAGES Along with the advantages there are quite a few disadvantages to living all on your lonesome.
Loneliness and social isolation One of the major problems of living alone is that it can get lonely at times. There is no one immediate for you to talk to about your day at work or uni, to share exciting news with, to help you out when you are in a jam, or even to argue with over silly things like who will replace Steve Waugh as the next Australian cricket captain. You have less opportunity to meet new people, such as your flatmate’s friends—you never know, you could end up falling in love with one of them. You also miss out on the extra opportunities that might be available to you, such as finding out about a really good job opening where your flatmate works. You never never know.
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No one to split the bills with Although service bills are less when just one person is living in a house or apartment, you usually pay more individually than the amount you would pay if there were two people living there. For example, when you live alone you have to pay the entire electricity bill, which covers, say, your bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and living area. If you lived with someone else the bill would increase a little bit because of lighting the extra bedroom, but because the cost for lighting the rest of the place is split between two people, your share of the bill is much less. It is important to remember that the more people you live with, the less will be your share of the bill.
Feeling unsafe A lot of people, especially girls, don’t like the thought of living by themselves purely for safety reasons. There is nothing I hate more than having to stay home by myself. I just don’t feel safe. When I am trying to get to sleep all I can think of is the latest horror movie that I have seen or thriller that I have read. Personally, I need to know that there is another person in the house who can help me beat up any robbers or bad guys that try to break in. I know a few people that are paranoid about a fire breaking out or having an accident of some kind that means they can’t get to a phone and having no one there to help them or call for assistance.
No one to share the chores with A major disadvantage of living alone is that there is no one to share the domestic chores with, a major drawback especially for all those lazy guys out there! There is no one to share in the cooking or the washing, or to rotate the battle of late-night grocery shopping. When you live alone you are stuck with all the chores. It is so much easier when you live with other people and you can get some kind of roster
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system going—for example, where you each cook, say, two nights a week. When you are already cooking for one, cooking for three doesn’t make much difference. Two years ago my friend Skye, an avid snowboarder, moved down to the Snowy Mountains to work at Thredbo for a ski season. She didn’t know a soul when she left Sydney. When she got to Thredbo she decided to live by herself because she knew no one there that she would trust and want to move in with. She visited her local real estate agent, and ended up renting a small studio apartment. That season she got a job in a ski/snowboard hire shop and made heaps of good friends. She enjoyed the season so much; the only problem was that she always got really lonely when she came home at night, and so sick of her own cooking! Skye had such a good time that she decided to return the next year and move in with some of the friends she made in her first season. When I was speaking to her about her living out of home experiences, she told me that her second season was so much better than her first.The first time around she really missed her family and felt lonely and unsafe at times. She loved living with her friends the second season; she said they were like one big family.They took turns to cook dinner each night and had the best meals—because each person only had to cook every four days they put heaps of effort into the nights that they cooked, so they all had brilliant meals throughout the whole season. The verdict according to Skye—share accommodation wins hands down over going solo. She is very much a people person and is always looking for a good chat.
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6 Living in college
Living in college
This is where you live in on-campus accommodation when you move away from home to go to uni. Most universities have on-campus accommodation to cater for students coming from overseas, from another city or from the country. Most unis also have a housing service to help you find off-campus accommodation as well. When you look into living at college you will find that there isn’t one standard type of college—there are heaps of different options to choose from. First you have to decide if you want to live in a co-ed or single-sex college. Then you have to decide on the type of set up that you want: • • • • •
Full board, which means that breakfast and dinner (seven days a week) are provided for you. Half board, where only dinner is provided for you. Self-catered, where you have cooking facilities and do all of your own meals. Shared room or single room. Shared bathroom or private bathroom.
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Before you accept a place in any college, it is important that you inspect the place before you pay your fees, just to make sure it meets your expectations. In general you can assume that each college will provide you with a comfortable room containing a single bed, a personal telephone, computer and Internet access points, and you should have some sort of access to recreational facilities.
THE ADVANTAGES There are several advantages of living in college accommodation.
Proximity to classes One of the best things about living on campus is that you only have to allow a few minutes to walk to classes. This means that you cut out the masses of travel time that can be spent on getting to uni via public transport or in peak hour traffic. You would be amazed at how much longer your day seems when you don’t have to join the daily rat race!
A good way to meet people One of the hardest parts of moving to a new city to go to uni is that you probably won’t know many people, if any. Living in college on campus is a great way to instantly meet people. You are thrown into situations where you have to share bathrooms, living areas and kitchens or dining halls with strangers—and you would be surprised at how quickly you begin to make friends. It is likely that most of the other people there are in a similar situation to you, and also looking to meet new friends. You never know, you could make several life-long friends!
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Studying is easier Another major plus of living in college is that it helps you to study. Not only does it cut out transport hassles and give you more time in your day to spend on your uni work, but it also creates an environment that is beneficial to study. Some colleges provide in-house tutors or study skills help; not only that, but you are probably living with people doing the same course who might be able to give you a bit of help in areas you might be struggling with.
Good for first-year students Moving into college is a really good option for your first year at uni, even if you are not an out-of-towner. It enables you to meet new people and make some great friends. After your first year you may find that college is getting a bit expensive and restrictive, and heaps of people move out in their second year with the friends they have made in first year.
Social life Moving to another area to go to university can be a really scary thought. Moving into college accommodation instantly grants you a great social life. You get to make a whole new group of friends, there are heaps of parties, and inter-college activities and competitions in areas such as sport and the arts.
THE DISADVANTAGES Although there are heaps of advantages of living at college, you also have to be aware of the disadvantages.
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The expense One of the major disadvantages of living at college is the expense. Although you will probably get some government assistance, you or your parents will still have to make up a portion of the fees. To give you a rough idea of what to expect, for a room with no ensuite and full board you are looking at up to $250 per week. If that is way out of your price range, a room with self-catering facilities costs up to $150 per week—which is a bit more reasonable.
You can’t choose who you live with College administration decides who you are going to live with. Although you can make token requests for your accommodation to be near that of friends, little weight is given to such requests when room allocations are being made.
Incompatibility Just as in a share accommodation situation, there can be compatibility problems in college. At times you may feel as though you are living in each other’s pockets, especially if you are doing the same course as the people you live with. What if you get sick of being around those people 24/7? Different tastes, lifestyles, temperaments and opinions can all lead to major fights or disagreements.
Rules! If you are trying to decide between share accommodation and college, college definitely has more rules and regulations. While it isn’t nearly as strict as boarding school, and students are relatively free to come and go, there are still rules that have to be followed.
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Very few spaces A major problem with wanting to live at college is that there are so few spaces to meet the actual demand; college is the first preference for many students. If you really want a place, you will have to apply early and do a great job filling out your application form.
THE APPLICATION PROCESS Step 1—Get an application form The first step is to decide on which university you are applying to, and then get an application form for the particular college that you want to get into. You need to do this as soon as possible in the year before you want to start university. College applications usually close at the end of October, long before you know whether you have made it into the course.
Step 2—Filling out the form All applications must be submitted on the actual application form. You will be asked to supply personal details, who is going to be responsible for paying the accommodation fees, what course you are applying for and which particular on-campus college you are applying for; then there will be some short-answer questions on yourself and why you want a place. You then need to make sure you send off your application form so that it gets there before the closing date, along with the application fee, which is usually around $20.
Step 3—The interview Once your application form has been reviewed, you will be asked to come in for an interview. These interviews usually take place around late November/early December, and enable selectors to determine
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whether you would fit into college and how much you want a place— in other words, whether you are suitable college material. When selectors are reviewing applicants, there are a number of criteria that have to be met. Examples include the geographic isolation of an applicant (meaning how much you need the place), how good your academic record is, and how much you are going to be able to contribute to the college (for example, leadership skills).
Step 4—Offers You usually find out if you have been offered a spot at college after you have got into the course at their particular university. The majority of the offers come out towards the end of January, to give the people who didn’t get into college enough time to organise some kind of off-campus accommodation before uni starts. The type of college accommodation that you are offered is usually based on one full year.
Step 5—Acceptance You need to make sure that you accept your offer in the specific way that it states, and by the closing date of acceptance, or you risk losing your place. In some cases you may have to send off a deposit, or enrolment fees, with your acceptance. My friend Liz, who is from Sydney, had her heart set on doing a music degree at the University of Melbourne. The problem was that she didn’t know anyone there, and for that reason was a bit hesitant about going. Because Liz really wanted to do that particular course, her parents encouraged her to go to Melbourne and apply to live on campus there. They told her that if she got into a college they would help out with the fees.
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Liz put enormous effort into doing her application for college, as she had decided that if she didn’t get in she wasn’t moving to Melbourne—she would be too lonely. In the end it all worked out really well. Liz got into her course at uni, and was offered a place in one of the colleges. Speaking to her a few weeks ago, I found out that in her first year in Melbourne she made some great friends and ended up moving out with them in second year. She is still there finishing her degree, and having an unreal time with her new friends in the house they are renting together.
If you are moving away from home for the sole reason of going to a uni located too far away from your parents’ home to do a daily commute, living at college is probably your best option.
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7 Basic set-up costs
Basic set-up costs
When you have lived at home with your parents for eighteen or so years, you tend to view the world through rose-coloured glasses. Unfortunately, sooner rather than later, you are going to have to understand the facts of life. No, I’m not talking about the birds and the bees, I’m talking money and the costs you are going to face when you move out of home—bond, rent, groceries, bills, water, the phone and electricity.
BOND The bond is the amount of money that you must pay before you move into a place as a kind of insurance. You will get this money back when you move out as long as you have stuck to your tenancy agreement and not damaged the premises. The bond also acts as a security blankie for the landlord so that they won’t be out of pocket if a tenant does a runner and leaves the place run down.
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The actual amount of the bond will be written in your lease, but it is usually equal to four weeks’ rent for an unfurnished place and six weeks’ rent for somewhere that is furnished. So if you are looking to move out of home you need to save up for your bond money before burning your bridges with Mum and Dad, because it ends up being quite a big expense. The bond money goes to the Bond Board or the Renting Services Branch of Fair Trading in your state, where it is held until you move out of the place and want it back. (In NSW it goes to the Department of Fair Trading; in Queensland the Office of Fair Trading; in SA the Office of Consumer and Business Affairs; in Tasmania the Office of Consumer Affairs and Fair Trading; in Victoria the Office of Consumer and Business Affairs; in WA the Ministry of Fair Trading.) The landlord is required to refund your bond money when you leave, as long as you have stuck to the tenancy agreement and not damaged the premises at all—kind of like the deposit you pay when you hire a boat for a couple of hours, which you get back when you return it in one piece. If you have never rented your own place you probably don’t know what you have to look out for when you lodge your bond money. To ensure that you get it back: • • •
Step 1—Pay your bond money (usually the same as four weeks’ rent) to your landlord or real estate agent. Step 2—Make sure that you complete and sign the bond lodgement form, and keep a copy of it as your receipt for now. Step 3—Make sure that you receive your official receipt from the Bond Board or the Renting Services Branch of Fair Trading in your state. This receipt is really important because it allows you to reclaim your bond when you leave. It also shows you that your landlord or agent has lodged your bond with the correct authority.
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Never, ever make a bond cheque out direct to the landlord. A bond must be made out to the appropriate government agency in your state. Do not be persuaded to do anything else. If a landlord starts to get a bit pushy and insists on the bond cheque being made out to them, you be just as firm in insisting the cheque goes to the government agency. If you are threatened with not getting the place unless you follow the landlord’s instructions, report the landlord to the government agency which will take further action. You have rights and safeguards in this area, so use them.
As I mentioned earlier, to get your bond money back you need to have stuck to your tenancy agreement and left the place how you found it. Circumstances when you won’t get your bond money back include chipping paint off the wall, breaking the oven, putting a hole in the wall during some rowdy party and staining the carpet— you need to keep that red wine under control! Breaking windows in a game of backyard cricket is a no-no, as are not maintaining the garden and not leaving the place in a clean condition. Any repairs or cleaning that the landlord has to do to fix these sorts of things come straight out of your bond money. And I have heard of a few people that have lost the lot! It is important to remember that the worst part of losing your bond money isn’t necessarily your being out of pocket a few hundred bucks—it’s that you will get a really bad reputation and might
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find it hard to get another rental place. Remember I talked about TICA on page 45 at the end of Chapter 3. At some point in your renting life you are likely to experience a landlord who seems to hate your guts for no particular reason. In cases like this you may have some trouble getting your bond money back when you leave, even if you leave the place immaculate. Don’t worry, the landlord is not entitled to keep it. Bond disputes can be resolved by filling out a claim form and sending it to the Bond Board or the Renting Services Branch of Fair Trading in your state. When my friend Skye, who I was talking about earlier, moved into her first place in the Snowy Mountains, she took up a six-month lease on the studio she rented from a private landlord. She was required to pay a bond of $500, which she paid from the bond money she got back when she left her last place. Skye realised that the value of looking after her new home was not only to get her bond money back but also to get a good reference from her landlord and keep her reputation as a good tenant. So whenever she had friends over she did the little things to keep her landlord on side (or sucking up, as some of us may call it), like warning the neighbours that she was having people over and that there might be a little bit of noise but they would keep it down after 10.30, and making sure that none of her friends did any damage to her place.
RENT When you move out of home, rent is probably the biggest regular expense that you are going to face each week. Not only do you have to pay the bond, but as rent is usually paid in advance you have to find the money for the first rental payment as well. Rent is usually
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paid fortnightly or monthly in advance. The amount you have to pay must be agreed upon before you move in, and written in your tenancy agreement. It is important to remember that rent is GST-free. According to the Renting Guide put out by the NSW Department of Fair Trading, you must get a receipt every time you pay your rent. If you pay in person you should get a receipt on the spot, and if you post your rent a receipt must still be filled out and sent to you. The only circumstance where you don’t need a receipt is where you pay your rent directly into your landlord’s or real estate agent’s bank account, as your bank statement will show a record of that transaction. I know this sounds confusing, but it is a matter of life or death (so to speak). Receipts for rent must show: • • • • • •
The address of the place that you rent. The name of the person who is renting it (you). The landlord’s or agent’s name. The amount of rent that has been paid. The date that the rent was paid. The period of time that the rent covers—so if you pay your rent monthly the receipt should state that this payment covers the time period of one month. Ensure the actual dates covered by your payment are specified as well.
If a landlord decides to increase the rent, they have to give you at least 60 days’ notice before the increase can take place. If your landlord tries to increase the rent, have a look at your tenancy agreement—under a fixed-term lease the rent can only be increased if there is a clause allowing for an increase to occur. If there is no such clause, the rent cannot be increased until your tenancy agreement expires.
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I know . . . we all hate paperwork. But when you’re renting, having some sort of filing system and spending a couple of minutes each week making sure receipts and correspondence are kept could save you a lot of time, grief and money in the future.Whenever there is a dispute with a landlord or a fellow flatmate, the person who has kept the best records will always win. So make sure it’s you.
BILLS AND DEPOSITS It is good to have a rough idea of how much telephone, electricity and gas are going to set you back when you move into your new home.
Phone I’ve got some bad news—not only do you have to pay your phone bills, but you also have to pay a security deposit. Telstra charges a connection fee which varies depending upon whether there is an existing line and handset (around $50) or whether a new connection is needed (around $200). You must ask your landlord’s permission to install any additional phone lines. You would be surprised how expensive organising phones can be. Remember my friend Toby, who moved to Newcastle for uni? When he and his two flatmates moved in there was only one phone line, in the kitchen. The first problem they faced was that they all needed an Internet connection in their bedrooms, because they all used computers for their uni work.They decided to have individual phone lines in their bedrooms anyway, because all three were from Sydney and were constantly calling home to
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family and friends. They thought that everyone having their own lines to use would be easier than dividing up the phone bill. Installing all the phone lines they needed ended up costing around $600! So watch out—this kind of expense definitely adds up!
So far I have just talked about the installation costs—we haven’t even started on the phone bills. For some people phone bills can be one of their biggest expenses. The thing with the phone is that unlike rent, which is a known quantity, a phone bill can be as small as you like or as large as you like depending on a variety of factors. Most phone bills are issued quarterly (every three months). If your credit rating is poor the phone bill may be issued monthly, and in certain cases bars may be placed on your phone—for example, you might not be able to call long distance or call mobiles. While the rental and service charge elements of the phone bill are pretty constant, the amount you pay for calls will depend on: • • • •
How hard you shop around for the best rates. What time of day you are making your calls (peak versus offpeak). Whether you make a lot of long distance calls or not. How many calls to mobiles you make; this is definitely the killer for me, because I often forget whether I am on the phone to someone’s mobile or their home phone . . . and rack up the minutes.
The best way to combat this cost is to budget for it and see what you can afford. Obviously the first period is the hardest, because if you have never paid a home phone bill before you may have no idea what a ballpark figure is. So why not ask your parents or a few of your friends what to expect.
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To get you started, these are the contact numbers for the major phone providers: Telstra—13 22 00 Optus—13 30 66 AAPT Smartchat—13 88 88 Don’t forget that if you have a mobile you need to add the cost of this to your budget as well; this can be a major expense. I know that over the last six months I have been fighting a constant battle with my little Nokia, and as yet have been unable to get my monthly bill below $60. Some phone providers (e.g. Telstra) offer a discount if you have your home phone, mobile and Internet access with the same provider. [[TIP012]]
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An interesting idea to make sure everyone pays their share of the phone bill is to install a pay phone in the house . . . check with a phone dealer, but they are reasonably priced and ensure everyone is accountable for their calls.
Electricity Electricity companies also charge a connection fee and a security deposit, generally $100. The deposit is refunded with interest after you have paid your final bill. If you move into a room in an established house, this deposit will already have been paid and you will generally only have to pay your share of the actual bill each period. This is another bill that I would check on with friends or family so you can budget for it. Remember that if the place is all-electric,
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winter bills will be much higher than summer bills, because heaters use much more power than fans! You could try calling the electricity company to see if they can give you a rough estimate. You would need to tell them the size of the house, for example, three bedrooms, and how many people will be living in it.
Gas You will probably find that a gas company will charge a $20 connection fee in addition to a security deposit of $100. Once again this deposit accumulates interest and is refundable after the final bill is paid. As with electricity, if you are moving into an established house you may not face this expense, and will just need to pay your share of the actual bill each period. Again, a winter bill which includes heating is likely to be higher than a summer bill.
EXTRAS As well as the major expenses of rent, phones, electricity and gas, you are going to face a lot of other little annoying costs that can really start to add up. The key is to make sure that you budget for everything! Can you live without pay-TV and hours of The Simpsons repeats, or is it a necessity? If it is, you are looking at around $40 a month in subscription fees plus a one-off connection fee. The amount of the connection fee will depend on how easy it is to hook your place up, whether your street already has the particular pay-TV cable and the degree of isolation of your home. Parking is another issue that you have to look into. If your place doesn’t come with its own off-street parking space/s, things can get really complex. If you are living in the city you will probably have to apply to your local council for a parking permit, especially if you live
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in the central business district or the inner suburbs. Your local council can tell you whether you are eligible for a permit, whether you are able to apply for a visitor’s permit, how long the permits last, and how much they cost. Most permits cost about $25 and last for twelve months. If you can’t get a parking permit and there is no garage linked to your place, you will have to look at other alternatives. I guess you could just get rid of your car, but there are better options, such as renting a garage nearby. Have a look through your local newspapers; you should be able to get a decent garage spot for about $30 a week.
GROCERIES If you have never lived out of home before you will get a very rude shock at how much your first big supermarket shop costs you. The first time I ever did a full shop for myself I couldn’t believe how much it was—who would have thought a week’s worth of milk, meat, bread and a few veggies could cost over a hundred bucks! The most expensive grocery shop you will have is the very first one you do when you move into your new place. This is because you need to stock up on the kinds of items that you don’t buy weekly, like detergent, Vegemite, toilet paper, soap, deodorant and tomato sauce—you get the picture. Allow yourself at least a hundred dollars to spend on the basics when you first move in (see Groceries—the first shop, in Appendix I).
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Another point to remember with a big grocery shop is how you are going to get it all home. I was on a working holiday in Canada when I moved into a house with some friends and had to do my very first grocery shop. I was so excited to be buying real food, because I had been living on Macca’s and KFC for the first few weeks, that I did the biggest shop ever. I paid for everything and piled all the groceries into the trolley (forgetting I wasn’t back home in Australia). When I wheeled the trolley into the snowy carpark and realised that I didn’t have a car there (of course it was back home) I was stuck with a big problem—how on earth was I going to get twelve bags of groceries home through the snow! Boy, did my arms hurt after two trips walking home carrying six bags!
After that first shop your repeat shops shouldn’t be as expensive. Once you start to work out what products you like best and how
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Understanding, and fighting, the tactics supermarkets use to make you spend more will save you in the end. • Items at your eye-level on the shelves are the most expensive. Look at the bottom or the very top shelves for the bargain-priced products. • Bins at the end of aisles are meant to tempt you with items that are not necessarily bargains . . . so avoid. • Don’t impulse buy from the racks at the checkout just because you’re bored. • The reason milk is at one end of a supermarket and bread is at the other end is to make you walk past all the other items and tempt you to buy something more . . . keep your blinkers on! • Always take a list and stick to it.
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much they cost, after a while all of your shops will start to be around the same figure. This will allow you to revise your budget accurately. Remember that big supermarkets are much cheaper than the local corner store.
THE BASICS I know this seems like a really vague term, but ‘the basics’ includes things like cutlery, plates, glasses, cups and pots, the items that you can’t effectively function without—it’s a bit hard to eat a roast without any cutlery, for example. You need to buy the basics preferably before but at least as soon as you move in. Basics can be separated from the things that you don’t really need on the very first day—things like salad bowls, tea cups, water jugs and pizza cutters. Unlike furniture and appliances (which I talk about next), these basic items can’t really be picked up at the local garage sale or secondhand store. Because you use them daily it is more economical to buy cheap but sturdy things that are new and going to last than secondhand items you have to replace fortnightly. A checklist, called ‘The basics’, of the items that you need for survival when you move out of home appears in Appendix I. The basics are another major expense that you have to take into account when you move out of home. If you plan to move out in a few months’ time, I suggest you start buying a couple of things each month to lower the amount you will have to spend when you are supporting yourself. Maybe your parents have a spare crockery set that they never use. If your birthday or Christmas is coming up, why not put a few of these things on your list. I’m sure Santa could leave a few pots and cups in your stocking!
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FURNITURE AND APPLIANCES Furniture and appliances include all the big-ticket items like couches, a fridge, TV, microwave and bed—stuff that you aren’t going to buy every day. I know heaps of people who have gone to move out of home and been quite shocked when their parents said they couldn’t take their beds with them! It is important to check what your parents are allowing you to take or not take when you go. It’s often worth trying your other relatives and family friends, asking if they have any spare furniture hanging around that they will give you or sell at a good price. A checklist of the furniture and appliances you will probably need appears in Appendix I. Buying furniture and appliances for your new place is not as simple as it seems, especially if you want to make sure that you are getting a good deal. The key is to know exactly what you are looking for and where to find it. When you are shopping around you also need to know what your rights are, and be aware of the traps that are intended to suck you in. You have several options.
Buying new Buying stuff new doesn’t always mean paying a fortune. There are heaps of places where you can get brand-new stuff at a cheaper price—warehouses, factory outlets and even seconds stores. There are even a few bargain hunter’s guides around which can come in handy. Furniture stores normally sell their most current stock at a high price because they have to pay for advertising and the location and surroundings of the shop. If you can buy from the factory that produces for that shop, you will find that the same products, of the same quality and durability, are sold at a much cheaper price. These factories, no-frills kinds of places, are usually located in industrial areas on the outskirts of cities where rent is much cheaper—this is
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why they can offer the products at a much better price. The factories may also have last year’s/season’s stock, which is also sold at a big discount to make room for new stock. Don’t worry, though; last season’s furniture doesn’t become out of date like last season’s coat might. Many manufacturers have set up factory outlet stores where they send last season’s old or outdated stock to be sold at a discounted price. The actual size of the discount depends on where you go and what you are buying. The price you get something for can depend on what season it is, how desperate the store is to get rid of certain goods, or luck. Don’t worry—the big discounts are out there. If you find a sofa that you really love in an expensive shop in the middle of the city, the chances are that a cheaper place may have copied it and be selling it at a smaller price. [[TIP012]]
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Make sure you don’t buy something just because it is ‘a bargain’—it isn’t a bargain if you don’t really need it.
It is also important to remember that people love shopping at factory outlets because they think they are getting a bargain. Shop around before you buy so that you can work out if something really is a bargain, or whether you are being charged the regular price. When you are searching for major appliances in particular, it is a good idea to have a look through seconds stores. I am sure that you have all heard ads for them. The one that stands out in my mind is ‘a tiny ding is beautiful, a tiny ding cuts price’. They sell brandnew products that have a slight defect, which means that they can’t be sold in the regular Grace Bros or David Joneses of this world, so they are sold at seconds stores at a discounted price.
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My friend Rosie was shopping for a fridge at the major department stores—but she couldn’t find anything that had the features she wanted that was in her price range. So she decided to try a seconds store, and picked up a perfectly good fridge with a ding in the front of it for 40 per cent less than the same fridge cost in the major department stores.
Some of the big department stores or retailers will offer a discount if you purchase a few appliances together—for example, toaster, kettle and washing machine—and others will offer a discount if you pay in cash.
Lay-bys A lay-by is basically an interest-free alternative to using credit, where you buy something and pay it off over several instalments. Unlike a pair of jeans that you can buy on your credit card, when you put something on lay-by you can’t take it home straightaway. In fact, you can’t take it home until you have paid the whole thing off. The major advantage of lay-by is that you don’t have to pay any credit charges. When all the payments are added together they equal the total cost of the product—there’s no extra cost. In this case, your patience in doing without the item is rewarded by not having to pay big credit charges. The major disadvantage of lay-by is that you can’t take the product home until it is totally paid off. This means that if you need something right away, lay-by is out. Cancelling a lay-by is also a problem because, according to the law, the retailer doesn’t have to refund all of your money. I’ll talk a bit more about that later. You are probably aware of the way lay-by works, but if you’re not . . . When you find something that you really like, but don’t need to take it home with you right then and there, you can ask the salesperson if you can put it on lay-by. You enter into a lay-by agreement with the store by placing an initial deposit on the item, which acts
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as your first payment. There is no set amount that should be put down, but the Australian Retailers Association recommends up to 20 per cent of the price. On the day you enter into the agreement you need to ask the salesperson for the conditions of the lay-by, and the types of charges you might face if you cancel it. Cancellation charges end up being the cause of most lay-by disagreements. Legally, the store must provide you with their conditions of lay-by before you enter into the agreement. These conditions should state how often you have to make a payment, the minimum deposit required, and what charges you face if you cancel the agreement. When you make a lay-by agreement with a retailer, you need to get a written statement from them that acts as proof of your agreement. This can be in the form of a receipt or a stamped sales docket. According to the Department of Fair Trading, the lay-by statement should show: • • • • •
The purchase price and the initial deposit that was paid. The dates on which the other payments are due. The outstanding balance (the amount that you have left to pay before you can take the product home). Any cancellation charges that might apply. How long the product will be held for.
Every time you make a payment to the retailer, you need to get a new receipt or lay-by statement to prove that you have paid more money off and to tell you how much you still owe. If by some chance you decide that you really want to cancel the lay-by, you will have to pay the cancellation charge that was agreed upon in the lay-by agreement. Remember that, by law, you are not entitled to a refund just because you changed your mind. The only way that you can get your money back is if :
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There isn’t a written lay-by statement. There is no cancellation fee on the lay-by statement. The lay-by statement is misleading. The retailer does something against the terms of the agreement. You don’t get what you thought you were paying for.
The retailer can also cancel the lay-by agreement if you don’t stick to the agreement to make payments on time. When I was speaking to various people about this issue, they warned me never to enter into a lay-by agreement for unseen goods that are being made or that are on order. You may find that when you are buying furniture you have the option of getting it made in a certain way, like having couches covered in a particular fabric or a dining table made to a certain size. The Department of Fair Trading also advises against entering into a lay-by agreement for unseen goods; instead, you should wait until the goods arrive in the store so that you are certain that they are what you want. When my friend Amy decided to move in with Belinda and Sarah, the three of them sat down and worked out what furniture and appliances they could bring to their new place.They decided that instead of buying things together, it would be a lot simpler if they each bought one big thing. That would make things a lot easier when the time came to move out. They agreed that Belinda would buy a television, Sarah a washing machine, and Amy a fridge. The rest of the stuff they needed they managed to find lying around at their parents’ places. When Amy was shopping around for her fridge, she found that she was going to have to spend around $1000 to get a decent one. She didn’t have that much money in the bank, and they weren’t moving in for at least four weeks, so she decided to put it on lay-by.
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She managed to find one that she really liked for $900, and entered into a lay-by agreement with the retailer. She paid a $300 deposit on the spot, which came out of her general savings account. Amy got paid weekly, so she decided to pay it off at $150 a week over the next four weeks. At the end of the four weeks, Amy made her last payment on the fridge and was free to take it home. Since they were only a couple of days from moving into their new place, she organised for it to be delivered straight there on moving day. Amy found that the lay-by agreement worked really well for her, because she was so committed to paying off the fridge and because it was interest free. But she said that she could see how some people run into trouble, because it wasn’t easy having to fork out so much hard-earned cash every week.
Interest-free periods . . . and the catches What is the first thing that you think of when you hear that something is free—Cool, where can I sign up? I know I usually do. I’m sure that you have all seen the advertisements for interestfree periods which seem to be offered by most department stores and retailers these days. You have probably heard the familiar lines of ‘Buy now, pay later’ and ‘Nothing to pay for six months!’ When you are about to move out of home and have very little furniture to your name, these deals sound unbelievably attractive—but who ever gives anything out for free these days? When you start to read the fine print in these deals, you will see that finance companies provide the retailers and department stores with this credit. The biggest catch is that these loans are only interest free if they are totally paid off within a particular time period, usually six or twelve months. If you don’t pay them off entirely, you then have to pay interest from the day you entered into the agreement all those months ago. You need to find out what the interest rate is,
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because in some cases it is much higher than you would pay on a credit card or a store card. If you are going to enter into one of these interest-free agreements, you must be aware of and understand all of the terms and conditions. According to the law, under the Consumer Credit Code credit providers have to give you all the details of the fees and charges that you are going to face. They are also responsible for making you aware of your rights and responsibilities. If you do run into trouble with interest-free periods, the best thing to do is to contact the Department of Fair Trading or Office of Consumer Affairs in your state or territory and see what advice they can give you. Remember how Amy bought the fridge for her new place on layby? Well, Belinda had to get the TV. Unlike Amy, she didn’t think that she could rustle up enough money in the four weeks before they moved in to be able to pay off a lay-by. Instead, she decided to buy the TV by entering into an interest-free agreement. This meant that Belinda could take the TV home the day she bought it, and pay it off in constant monthly repayments over the next twelve months without having to pay any interest. Belinda thought that this was much better than using her credit card for the purchase. Luckily Belinda was smart enough to read the fine print, and realised that she had to make all the payments within the twelvemonth period or she would be facing a massive interest debt. She managed to put away enough money to do it apart from one month where she had to borrow some money from her parents to cover it. In the end it all worked out, and Belinda paid her TV off in time. But she realised how lucky she was to be able to get some help from her parents when she needed it. When I was talking to her about it, she said that she probably wouldn’t enter into an
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interest-free deal again, because it was so stressful trying to make all the payments and knowing the consequences if she didn’t.
Interest-free periods can be a really good alternative if you have a regular income and can commit yourself to paying back the loan by the end of the set period. But remember—even if the smallest amount, say $50, is still owing at the end of that time period you will have to pay interest on the entire amount from the day that you entered into the agreement. Personally, I would not enter into an interest-free agreement just in case something unforeseen prevented me from paying back the loan in the set period—like getting retrenched from my job. You never know what can happen. [[TIP012]]
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Be careful how you pay for your new stuff. You may have found the best bargain in the world but if you choose the wrong way of paying for it you could end up costing yourself a packet. So a couple of tips: • Don’t be lured by ‘interest-free, no deposit’ credit deals. If you don’t meet the repayments on time, interest is charged from the date you bought the item—and the interest rate can be as high as a whopping 24 per cent. • Store cards are an easy way to arrange credit but their interest rates can also be as high as 24–30 per cent. • Choose your credit card carefully. If you won’t be able to pay the balance off on time, then use a card with a low interest rate and no interest-free period. If you will be able to pay off the balance on time, then use a card with a high interest rate and an interestfree period.
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Buying second-hand There are basically three ways of buying second-hand—through second-hand dealers, through private sellers like the ones you find in newspapers like the Trading Post, or through auctions.
Second-hand dealers Second-hand stores are a bit harder to come by than regular shops. But if you do take the time to track them down, it can end up being very worth your while. Remember that when we are talking second-hand stores we aren’t talking antique shops. You will get a rude shock if you walk into an antique store and ask the prices of their ‘second-hand’ dining tables— I’m sure they will be a bit more than you are prepared to pay. When you are buying furniture or appliances from a second-hand dealer, things to look out for are: •
•
• •
•
•
Whether the goods are fit for the purpose you want them for— there is no use having a freezer that isn’t cold enough to make ice, for example. Whether they are safe—you don’t want to buy a dining table that has splinters coming off it or a washing machine with frayed wires poking out. Minor defects that may have been disguised, no matter how good the item looks on the surface. Try to determine whether the item is going to last for a reasonable length of time—you don’t want something that will fall apart as soon as you get it home. Whether the dealer is prepared to give you some kind of warranty on the item—not as silly as it sounds; remember that car dealerships give warranties on second-hand cars. Whether the item will fit into the allocated space—be especially careful with the width and height of a fridge, as there is usually only one place it can go.
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Keeping the above points in mind, you can’t be too hard on secondhand goods. You can’t expect them to look as good as new goods because of the wear and tear they have already suffered—that is why you are getting them at such a good price. Before you rush out and buy furniture or appliances from secondhand dealers remember that they are selling things they have bought from someone else. This means that the dealer has to make a profit somewhere, and that usually means from you.
Privately No matter who you are buying from—whether it is your parents, a friend, from a garage sale or someone who has advertised in the Trading Post—you really need to check out what you are buying, maybe even get a second opinion from a friend or relative, before you hand over the cash. When you are buying an appliance do things like plug it in to see how well it works; maybe ask for a demonstration. Maybe you can get a second opinion from a friend or tradesperson who has knowledge in the area. When you buy an item privately you should: • • •
Get a receipt showing what you have bought, when and from whom. Find out the specific details of the product—age, manufacturer, model, quality, etc. Find out if any kind of warranty still exists on the product—you would be surprised how new some second-hand items are.
Always make sure you know what you are buying—read the advertisements and make sure you know what the differences are between different models. If you know someone who has the same model, see what they think of your intended purchase.
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If you are a bit strapped for cash and are prepared to put in a bit of hard work, garage sales are a good place to hunt down cheap furniture and appliances. Most garage sales take place on weekends, with Saturday being the most popular day. They are advertised in the classifieds section of the paper, in alphabetical order by suburb. Most ads include the address of the garage sale, a contact phone number, the day and times of the sale, and the major items to be sold. Most people then work out a plan of attack to make it around to each of the sales that they want to check out. Make a list of what you want to buy, and stick to it. Get to the garage sale early, because the good items will go very fast. The best thing is to get there just before starting time so that you can have first dibs on everything. Finally, even though garage sales are a great alternative if you don’t have much cash, they have a few disadvantages. Unlike buying from a shop or factory, if you buy a big appliance or piece of furniture, like a fridge or a couch, there is no home delivery—which means that you will probably have to organise a trailer or truck to pick it up in, and then find some mates to help you get it up the stairs. Along with this, the majority of items that you buy at a garage sale won’t come with a warranty or safety guarantee. [[TIP012]]
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• Make sure you know what you are buying. • Don’t allow yourself to be bullied or pressured into a purchase.
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I know this doesn’t come under the heading of a necessity, but my friend Alex bought the best second-hand pool table in a private sale. He went around to a few pool shops to learn a bit about what to look for in a good pool table before he started looking to buy, then he regularly checked the second-hand sale section of his local newspaper. He checked out a couple of prospective purchases before he found a pool table that he really liked. Because he knew what to look for, and whether he was getting ripped off or not, he knew a good deal when he saw one!
At auction Buying second-hand goods at auction is really different from buying them from a dealer or privately—it is really serious stuff. When you intend to bid for something at an auction, the first thing you need to do is register; you may have to sign some sort of agreement that will contain the rules of the auction. Goods at an auction are sold by lot number, and you bid on the lots you want to buy. The highest bid is the one that is accepted unless the bid doesn’t match what the seller wants for the lot—this is called the reserve. When you have made a bid and it has been accepted by the auctioneer, you have entered into a legal agreement with them. The first problem with auction sales is that you don’t get the same level of protection that you do when you buy from a second-hand dealer. If the goods end up being faulty there is nothing you can do about it. The second problem is that it is way too easy to be trapped into paying too much. If you have your eye on something that is being sold at auction you need to: • •
Closely examine the goods before you put in a bid. Check the terms of sale.
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•
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Have a strict limit and only bid what you can afford—don’t get caught in the trap of going higher and higher just to outbid someone else. Remember that if you have any doubts about buying something, don’t buy it!
Renting household goods Have you ever considered renting furniture? You can rent everything from chairs to TVs, stereos, beds, couches, fridges and washing machines. Renting furniture and appliances can be a great option in the short term because: • • •
•
•
It is a fairly inexpensive way of furnishing your whole home. It is less for you to transport on moving day. It allows you to keep up with the latest trends and innovations, because you can swap furniture or appliances over when they start to become out of date. There are a variety of different ways to pay for it, so you don’t face a big expense up-front—for example, weekly or monthly payment plans. You can change the way your home looks when you get sick of certain things. For example, you could change your couches every six months for a different look.
Renting furniture is also really convenient because not only do the rental companies pick up and deliver to your home, but they also set up everything when they get there. So there is none of the hassle of trying to get your bed up the stairs and set up, or tuning-in your video. Another good thing is that if something breaks down the company will do repairs free of charge and even replace the item if it can’t be fixed. You are probably thinking this sounds too good to be true, and wondering what the catch is. As with renting a place, of course, you
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are paying to use something that you don’t own, spending money you could otherwise be saving to buy your own. The basic costs you face are delivery fees, the rent on the item, plus insurance on big items like TVs and DVD players. You will also have to pay quite a bit of money if you damage any of the furniture or appliances—if your friends spill red wine all over your rented couch, you’re the one with an expensive cleaning bill to pay as well. It isn’t all bad news, however—the longer you rent a particular item the less rent you have to pay on it because it is depreciating in value. Many companies will allow you to buy an article after you have rented it for some time. Renting appliances in particular—like a washing machine, TV or video—can be a good option for the short term. You can also get really good package deals if you shop around. But remember that ‘rent money is dead money’. My friend Emma rented a washing machine for four years, and in the end calculated that she had paid for the purchase price twice over and still didn’t own the machine!
Making do—looking at alternatives By this I mean that you look very hard at your situation and work out how much you really need a particular piece of furniture or appliance—assess what you have to have to live, and what you can get by without. Have a good think about each big item that you are planning on buying and evaluate it: •
• •
Washing machine: How often am I going to use it? Can I get by with going to my parent’s place or the laundromat to do my washing? Is there a communal laundry in my building? Couch: Do I need a new one? Is there anything lying around my parents’ place that I could use? Could I use beanbags? Dining table: Am I going to eat at the table each night or will I most likely sit in front of the TV? How often am I going to have people over for dinner? Could I make a table or do I have a friend
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•
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who could make me one? Would the old door left over from my parents’ renovation, and a couple of trestles, do the job? Bed: Can I bring my bed from Mum and Dad’s? Can I make do with just a mattress? VCR/DVD: How much am I going to make use of this? Would I be better off spending my money on going to the movies once a month? TV: Is this a basic necessity? Do Mum and Dad have an old one sitting around the house that I could make do with? Fridge: Do I need a proper big fridge or could I make do with a smaller one like a bar fridge? If Mum and Dad need a new one, what are my chances of conning them into getting a new one for themselves and giving me the old one? Microwave: How often am I going to use it? Can I make do using the oven or the stove? Do I know anyone who is thinking of replacing their microwave and might give me their old one?
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8 Hidden costs
Hidden costs
So far we have gone through all the obvious establishment costs you will face when you move into a new place. This section goes through a few other issues that you may not have thought of, and might like to quiz your landlord or agent on before you move in.
WATER ISN’T ALWAYS FREE In most cases your water is free, but sometimes it isn’t—it is really important that you clear this matter up with your landlord or agent before you move in, as I’m sure you don’t want any unexpected surprises in the form of extra bills! Even if it turns out that your water isn’t free, the only thing that you can be asked to pay for is the water usage portion of the water bill. Making you pay for water usage isn’t usually in standard leases, but some people write it in as an extra clause. Check this on your lease before you move in.
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A few things that you need to know if you are going to be charged water usage: • •
• •
As a tenant you can only be charged for the metered amount of water that you use. The water meter must be read and the figure recorded on the Premises Condition Report that you fill in at the start of your tenancy. If this isn’t done, your landlord won’t be able to accurately separate your water usage from that of the previous tenant. If there is no individual meter for the premises you are renting, you can’t be charged for water usage. You are entitled to a photocopy of the water account before you pay each bill.
It is important for you to know that as a tenant, under no circumstances are you required to pay water connection fees. All water connection fees must be paid by the landlord or agent as it is their responsibility to provide these basic services to you, the tenant.
SEWERAGE I’m sure that sewerage is the last thing that you want to think about when you move into a new place, but there can be a ‘hidden charge’ involved here. Believe it or not, according to the Renting Guide some water authorities charge a fee for sewerage discharge or waste water. This fee is usually based upon the amount of water that is supplied to your home by that particular water authority. Like the water usage charge, this fee is sometimes passed on to the tenant. If this is the case it should be stated in your lease, so read the fine print!
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INSURANCE IS A MUST! There are no two ways about it—you really need to insure the contents of your home. Financially it is too big a risk not to. What if there is a really bad storm that ruins your computer, bed, carpets, couches or even your TV! Where are you going to get the cash to cover the replacement of these essential items if you haven’t got home contents insurance? I know so many people who have totally forgotten to budget for home contents insurance. Remember that if you are renting you will only need home contents insurance to cover your own stuff, not home and contents insurance. Since you don’t own the place you don’t have to pay for the insurance to cover it. Home contents insurance basically covers the likes of clothes, furniture, appliances and personal items in the event that they are stolen, or damaged in the case of fire, burglary or natural disasters— floods, earthquakes and storms. No, a major party is not considered to be a natural disaster and any damage caused by one won’t be covered! When you take out a home contents insurance policy, you have to work out the value of the contents of your home—this is the amount that you want covered by the policy. Estimating the correct amount can be a big problem for lots of people, and it is so important that you get this figure right. If you undervalue the contents of your home you could be in real trouble—what if you lost everything in a fire and couldn’t afford to replace it from the insurance agency’s payout? Here are a couple of ways of working out the value of the contents of your house: •
To estimate the current value of the major items in your house, have a look through the Trading Post and see how much they or similar models are selling for.
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There are basically two types of contents insurance policies and you get what you pay for. Replacement policies have a cheaper premium but simply replace an item stolen or damaged with a similar item. If your ten-year-old sofa is nicked, the insurance company pays for another ten-year-old sofa. New-for-old policies are a higher premium, but that ten-year-old sofa is replaced with a new sofa of equivalent standard.
• • •
To estimate their value for a new-for-old policy, check the current retail prices of the same or equivalent items. For miscellaneous items such as crockery, cutlery, ornaments and linen goods, do rough estimates. For jewellery you might like to go to a local jeweller’s to have it valued—you may have to pay for this service.
Remember that every time you buy something that is really expensive, like the latest DVD or flat-screen TV, you must update your home contents policy to cover it. It is important to note that if you don’t feel that the security on your place is up to scratch, you can ask your landlord to install a security door or perhaps an alarm. Often landlords are quite happy to upgrade security. Just like car insurance, the premium that you pay on your home contents insurance varies according to a number of factors— things like: • •
Where your home is located—whether it is in a dodgy (high-risk) area or in the middle of suburbia. The actual value of the contents—if you have the latest $20 000 flat-screen TV the premium will be higher than if you have an old black and white thing of Mum and Dad’s.
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How often (if ever) you have made claims in the past. What the security is like on your home—whether you have an alarm, locks on all your windows, a chain on your door, etc. The construction of your home—whether it is wood, fibro or brick. This affects the likelihood of damage in the case of fires or storms.
While I was researching this section I realised that I had no idea how to actually make a claim. I found out that the correct process to go through in the unfortunate circumstance that something happens to your place is: • •
• •
Step 1—Contact the police and let them know what has happened, as in the case of a fire or burglary. Step 2—Do what you can to reduce the damage; for example, mopping up the water if your home has been damaged by a major storm. Step 3—Contact your insurance company and let them know what has happened. Step 4—Try to collect any information, or even evidence, that you think might be useful to your insurer. Things like any clues as to why a fire may have started, or who may have burgled your home.
If you are burgled and there is damage to your house, like a broken door or window, you should tell your landlord or real estate agent ASAP. Back to my friend Toby—when he and his housemates moved into their place at Newcastle, one of their mums reminded them that they had better get home contents insurance. They had to sit down and work out not how much all of their stuff was currently worth, but how much it would cost them to replace it—which ended up being quite a bit because of their three expensive computers.
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The good thing was that they could all be on the same policy, because they only had to get one policy to cover the whole house. This made the cost of the policy heaps cheaper for them, since they could split the premium three ways. They ended up taking out a policy from NRMA, paying around $350 to insure the contents of their home for the whole year!
WHAT IF YOU DAMAGE THE PLACE? Damage can be defined as any harm that you have caused to the premises that you are renting, even if by accident. The cost of any repairs that the landlord or agent has to make to the premises, as a result of damage that you have caused, comes directly out of your bond money. As I mentioned before, damage can include everything from chipping paint off the wall to breaking the door, breaking the oven, putting a hole in the wall or staining the carpet (beyond normal wear and tear). My friend Nick moved out of home with a mate into an apartment just outside the centre of the city.When they moved in they had to pay a bond of $700, which Nick covered himself because he was certain he would get it all back again—and thought it would be a good bit of savings to get back when they moved out. A couple of months after they moved in it was Nick’s housemate’s twenty-first birthday, so Nick decided to throw him a big surprise party. (I bet you can guess what happened next.) About 50 people turned up (I was one of them), way more than Nick had expected, and not only were neighbours complaining non-stop about the noise but the place was wrecked—not deliberately, but so many people were cramped into a tiny apartment that a few accidents started happening. It all started with red wine being
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spilt on the cream carpet, then the guys were mucking around and chucking a ball inside . . . which ended up through a window. They knew that if they contacted their landlord about the incidents he would have paid for the repairs out of their bond money. So instead Nick shopped around for the best carpet cleaning and window replacing quotes. In the end the damage cost them $450—it was a very expensive party!
Just as in Nick’s case, you might like to think twice before calling on your landlord when you do a little bit of damage to your place. You could try fixing it yourself or shopping around for a really good quote—something your landlord mightn’t bother to do since he is paying for the repairs out of your bond money. Remember that earlier I talked about the fact that the consequence of losing your bond money isn’t only being out of pocket, but the risk of getting a bad reputation and reference from your landlord or agent when you leave. [[TIP012]]
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It’s in your interests to build good relations with your landlord . . . most are nice people who appreciate good tenants. A good way to start is to offer to do some of the minor repairs yourself. Ring the agent or landlord to record the problem but then ask if they want you to fix it. Good deeds like this are usually appreciated, which can come in handy around rent review time or when you want a favour done.
WHO HAS TO DO THE REPAIRS? Repairs are something that landlords and agents have to do in order to keep the premises in a state fit for you to live in. The landlord or
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agent is responsible for fixing anything on the premises that isn’t your fault or the result of damage that you have caused—for example, a leaking tap. It is your responsibility as a tenant to keep the place clean and in good condition. It is the responsibility of your landlord or agent to ensure that the premises are clean and fit to live in at the start of your tenancy. The landlord must then make sure that your home is kept in a ‘reasonable state of repair’, the level of which usually depends on the amount of rent you are paying and the age of the premises. If you are paying $150 a week you probably can’t expect your landlord to come and fix all the little things. If you are paying $1000 a week you could expect him to do a bit more. For example, my aunt lives in an apartment building that has a caretaker on call 24/7 to fix anything, from a broken door handle to changing a light bulb. But if you are renting a unit or townhouse at a cheap price, don’t expect this kind of service. According to the NSW Department of Fair Trading’s Renting Guide, landlords or agents must organise for any urgent repairs to be done as soon as reasonably possible. Urgent repairs include things like: • • •
A gas leak, a serious roof leak, serious storm or fire damage, and blocked or broken toilets. A failure or breakdown of any essential service on the premises for hot water, cooking, heating or laundering. Any other fault or damage that is causing the property to be unsafe or not secure.
If you can’t reach your landlord when an urgent repair has to be carried out, you are entitled to spend up to $500 getting the problem fixed and to be paid back by your landlord within fourteen days. All the details on this kind of stuff can be found in your tenancy agreement. I’m sure that you have heard stories from your friends of landlords who don’t return phone calls and never get around to doing
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repairs. According to the Renting Guide there are five steps to follow to try and get your landlord to do your repairs: •
•
•
•
•
Step 1—Call your landlord or agent in person and explain to them in a straightforward way what you think the problem is and what you would like to be done. Keep detailed notes of the dates and times you contacted your landlord or agent, what was said and what was decided upon. Step 2—If you get a favourable response, write the landlord or agent a letter that confirms what was agreed upon in your conversation. Include the date of the conversation in your letter. Step 3—If you get a negative response, you need to decide whether the problem is big enough to justify the hassle of taking the matter further. If you think it’s a really important issue, write your landlord or agent a letter that states what you want done and in a reasonable time limit. Step 4—If what you wanted done doesn’t get done in that reasonable time limit, write a final letter to your landlord or agent saying that you are intending to contact the Residential Tribunal in your state. Step 5—If this fails you can apply to the Residential Tribunal for an order stating that the landlord has to carry out the work in order to maintain your place in reasonable repair. Other things that the Tribunal has the power to do are to grant compensation, or even allow your rent to be paid to the Tribunal (instead of the agent or landlord) until the repairs have been completed.
It is important to remember that no matter how slack the landlord or agent is, you can’t simply stop paying the rent! My friend Cathy was renting a house with a few friends—but only her name was on the lease. From the time they moved in the roof in the back room of the house had leaked a bit when it rained. She had told her landlord about the problem, but he told her that
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the leak was so small that fixing it wasn’t high on the list of repairs he had to do. Then, after one massive storm, the part of the ceiling that had been leaking totally fell in, flooding the room in the process. Cathy tried to contact her landlord straightaway to notify him of this urgent repair. He got back to her within the hour and organised for someone to come and fix the roof and clean the carpets the next day. Cathy considered herself lucky that in the end her landlord had come through with the goods and fixed the problem. But she couldn’t help wondering if the roof would ever have fallen in if her landlord had come and fixed the leak in the weeks before—imagine the money he would have saved himself!
CAN I MANAGE A GARDEN? I’m sure you all know what a garden looks like; most of you have probably spent a bit of time in one—occasionally mowing the lawn for your parents or scooping up Labrador droppings. But do you really understand what it is like to take sole responsibility for maintaining a garden? In general, if you take up a lease on a place that has a lawn or garden it is the responsibility of the tenant to keep it neat, tidy and in good condition. The details of your specific duties will be stated in your lease. It is unlikely that the landlord will have a contract with a gardening service to regularly mow the lawns and weed the flowerbeds—and even less likely that you will find a lawnmower in the garage!
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If you fall in love with a place which does have a garden, it needn’t be the end of the world. If you are moving in with a couple of mates you could get a gardener to come every couple of weeks to maintain it, and split the cost between the three of you.
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9 The week before you move . . . The week before you move . . .
It doesn’t matter whether you are moving out of your parents’ house where you have spent the last 21 years, or a rental place where you have spent the last six months, there are heaps of things that you have to organise the week before you move. There is no moving fairy who is going to redirect your mail or pack up your room for you— these jobs, and more, have to be done by you. Appendix I includes a basic checklist called ‘Moving in’—you may think of other things to add to it.
START PACKING No matter where you are moving from, you will be stunned by the amount of stuff you need to pack up! I know that when you are moving out of home, for example, when it feels as if you have hardly any of your own stuff, you will probably end up filling at least half a dozen big boxes.
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Before you can start packing you need to make a list of the things you have to get hold of so that you can pack properly. Make sure that you at least get the essentials, things like: • • • • • •
Really strong boxes. Packing tape. Big textas to mark the boxes. Bubble wrap for all breakable items. Butcher’s paper. A few weeks’ worth of newspapers.
Millers Self Storage and Kennards Self Storage sell really strong packing boxes and tape for reasonable prices, around $3–$5 per box. They also have a wide range of box sizes, including hanging wardrobe ones designed for moving your clothes, and sell bubble wrap and plastic mattress and couch protectors. Otherwise, try your local supermarket for unwanted packing boxes, or the delivery docks of major department stores (Myer, David Jones or Grace Bros) as they unpack large TV and microwave boxes every day and are usually happy to give them away for free. It’s also worth asking your friends whether they have kept packing boxes stored away in the garage from the last time they moved. I know that packing can be a really frightening task when you face a house full of stuff, but the best way to get it done is by concentrating on one room at a time. You might like to start with an easy room first, like the bathroom, then move onto the major rooms last like your bedroom. When you start packing it is also a good idea to start with the things that you need the least, and get them out of the way—things like Christmas decorations, ski stuff and any formal dining room stuff. Leave the things that you are going to need right up to the day before you move, like kitchen equipment, to do last. Packing boxes need to be really sturdy. It is important to make any box secure at the bottom by taping it together properly—how
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many times have you seen someone carrying a box when the bottom just falls out! It is also really important that you label every box with the room it belongs in and a general description of what it contains. This way, when you get to your new place it will be really easy to locate things. I’m sure you would want to be able to pinpoint the location of essential items like your toaster the day after you move in rather than having to go through every box! A major moving nightmare —imagine opening up your boxes to find all your breakables, including your favourite porcelain doll or German bierstein, smashed. Don’t worry, there are ways of preventing this. Wrap your breakables in the bubble wrap you bought. When you have carefully packed them into a strong box, and closed it, you must mark ‘FRAGILE’ in big letters on the top and on the sides—in red if possible! When it comes to general items, like your clock radio or your teddy bear, it is fine to wrap them in butcher’s paper for protection. Don’t use newspaper for wrapping anything, as the ink tends to rub off on everything. The newspapers are for stuffing any empty spaces in the boxes to make sure that things don’t shift around and get damaged in the move. I know that most big items won’t fit in boxes, things like your bed, fridge, chest of drawers and dining table. But there is still a lot that you can do to protect them in a move. You can cover things like tables or shelves in old sheets, take apart anything that is bolted together (like your bed and dining table), and stuff other things, like the fridge and washing machine, with old towels. Tricky things that
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have sharp edges or are big and breakable, like a glass TV cabinet, must be carefully wrapped and padded to prevent damage. Plastic bags that lock at the top (zip-lock bags) are great for miscellaneous items, all the stuff that you can’t bear to part with that has been jammed in drawers around the house for a few years— things like old coins, stickers, autographs and the findings from that gold-panning excursion in Year 5.
REDIRECT YOUR MAIL One of the most annoying parts of moving anywhere is that some of your mail never makes it, and the letters that don’t arrive are always the most important. This could end up being a tragedy if you miss out on party invitations or, even worse, your mobile is cut off because you never got the bill. In order to stop these hassles, and many more, Australia Post has set up a website at <www.movepost.com.au>. This site gives you information on redirecting your mail, details of the mail redirection service, and what it costs. Australia Post’s mail redirection service ensures that ‘your mail follows you when you move home’. There are several steps to follow: • • •
Step 1—Get an application form from your local post office or off the Movepost website. Step 2—Complete the form, making sure all three copies are exactly the same. Step 3—Go to your local post office in person to submit the three copies of the application form for processing. You have to pay for the service at this point, and have to show personal identification before your application form can be processed. There are three ways of proving who you are: – By photo identification, such as your passport or driver’s licence (student ID cards aren’t accepted).
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– By showing two forms of identification carrying your name, current address and signature, such as a bank statement and a credit card. – By submitting a statutory declaration—you can get this form off the Australia Post website or from a newsagent. The table below gives you an idea of how much you are going to have to pay for this service as a private customer: Period of redirection
The cost
1 month
$7.00
3 months
$18.00
6 months
$33.00
12 months
$66.00
It is important to remember that Australia Post needs three business days’ notice to process your request before the service can start. This is definitely a task that you have to do in the week before you move to avoid any stuff-ups with your mail. [[TIP012]]
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Moving house also means making sure you protect your finances. So along with redirecting your mail through Australia Post, notify: • • • •
Your bank—for all your accounts, savings and cheque. Your credit card company. The pay office at work for group certificates and company records. Your superannuation fund . . . if the super trustees lose track of you, your super gets paid to the Tax Office for safe keeping. • The RTA for your driver’s licence.
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TELL FAMILY, FRIENDS AND WORK YOU’RE MOVING If your mum is anything like my mum, she has to have your contact details in order to get to sleep at night. It’s no use giving people your new contact details a week or two after you have moved in. You could have had heaps of people frantically trying to contact you in that time, and worried silly about your whereabouts. You should do this before you move, because you will be so busy trying to get organised in the first month you are in a new place that the last thing on your mind will be giving Nanna your new address. Making an effort to give as many people as possible the details of your new home will mean you won’t need to have your mail redirected for so long, and hence the less you will have to pay in redirection fees. Nowadays there is really no excuse for not telling friends your new details. It would take you all of five minutes to do a group email to your friends, two minutes to tell your boss about the changes as you are finishing your working day, and one phone call to Mum or Dad to tell them and ask them to pass on the info to the rest of the family. If worst comes to worst and you just don’t have time to give everyone your new details, they will always be able to get you on your mobile or by email—thank goodness for modern technology!
ORGANISE REMOVALISTS OR FRIENDS TO HELP In almost all cases you will need someone to help you move. No matter how strong you are, it is a bit awkward trying to get a bed up a few flights of stairs on your own. If you are moving out of home for the first time, say into an established place with friends, you will probably find that you won’t have that much to take with you. Sure, you will have a whole bedroom
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full of things, but no kitchen, living room or dining room stuff. In this case you could probably get by with just asking a couple of people to help—your dad, brother, cousin or friend—and hiring or borrowing a ute or small truck. On the other hand, if you have been living out of home for a while you have probably accumulated quite a bit of stuff. In this case it may just be easiest to use a removalist company. This means that you don’t have to organise friends to help you or hire a truck—the removalists provide the lot. I have heaps of friends who have moved into a place with two or three other people, and then had to move again for some reason. In this case it is a really good idea to hire a removalist, because when you have, say, four people all moving from one place to another—four beds, chests of drawers, closets— it can become a massive production. Using removalists makes the whole process heaps easier, and it doesn’t work out to be that expensive when you divide the cost four ways. So you have decided to use a removalist. What next? Now you have to work out which removalist you are going to use, and this will depend on a number of things: • • • • •
How much you can afford to spend. Which companies service your area. Which companies have a good reputation. Whether you want your removalist to do your packing, or whether you want to do it yourself. Whether you want your removalist to do your unpacking, or whether you want to do it yourself.
Remember—you need to book in early, as some removalists are booked up six weeks in advance!
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There are a few things to look out for when checking quotes by removalists. The quote will take into account a number of factors, such as the number of stairs they have to climb (at each end) and how easy it is to park outside each place. As a general rule of thumb, don’t accept a quote that is heaps below the others. This probably means that the quality of the service is poor. Make sure that you read all the terms and conditions of the contract the removalists give you. Feel free to ask them about anything you don’t understand or that seems a bit odd—don’t be intimidated! Make sure that the removalist you are planning on using is a member of the Australian Furniture Removers Association—an organisation that demands quality and ethical service from its members. My friend Ned, who is 22, has been living out of home with his mate Dave for about eighteen months. When the lease on their first place finished, they decided they didn’t really like the area and wanted to move somewhere new. After spending a bit of time looking around, they found a great flat a block back from the beach. The only problem was that the flat was on the second top floor of an eight-storey building. During the eighteen months that Ned and Dave spent at their first place they accumulated quite a bit of furniture to fill their roomy flat. A couple of weeks before their move, they began to work out the logistics of getting all their stuff between the two places. They worked out how much it was going to cost them to hire a truck, how many trips they would need to do, how many friends they would need to help them, then got stuck on how they were going to get all their stuff up to the seventh floor of their new building. After adding up the costs, and weighing up the hassle factor, Ned and Dave decided to pay a bit more and hire removalists to do the job for them. Because they didn’t have too much money
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to spend, they decided to do all the packing and unpacking themselves to keep the cost down. In the end it worked out really well for Ned and Dave. Because they were splitting the cost of the removalists between two, it didn’t seem as expensive—and it saved them a huge amount of time and hassle.
ORGANISE THE CONNECTIONS In the week before you move into your new place you need to organise for the phone, electricity and gas to be connected, so that you are all set up when you move in. A lot of people get so busy organising themselves to leave their old place that they forget about all the things they have to organise in their new place. There is nothing worse than moving in and not being able to turn on the lights or call your friends because you forgot to get the electricity or the phone connected. Before you get the telephone connected, find out where the existing connections are, and decide whether or not you want your phones to go there. If you do it is just a matter of paying a security deposit and organising for the particular phone company to activate the line. If you want new lines put in, or old ones relocated, the process is a bit more complex—and more expensive. Organising to get your electricity connected is a fairly simple process—just call the electricity company. You will have to pay a security deposit before the power is turned on. Connecting the gas is also pretty simple, a matter of calling the gas company and paying a connection fee and security deposit. If you are moving into a room in an established house the gas and electricity are probably already connected, but in the week before you move in you should check out what the deal is with the phone. In some places there will be one shared line in the living room; in others there will be a line in each room, in which case you will
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probably have to organise for the line to be activated. If there isn’t a phone line in your room, and you really want one, you will have to organise for a new line to be put in, but remember to get your landlord or agent’s permission first. [[TIP012]]
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If you can, organise a deal with the previous tenants where they have their electricity and telephone meters read rather than disconnected. This way you should save money on the reconnection fees. Remember to ensure the previous tenants change the names over on the accounts as well.
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10 On the day . . . moving in On the day . . . moving in
For most people moving day is a blur of chaos and hard work. You can help to reduce this confusion by being organised, and making a list before you move of the things that you have to do on the day. Of course, the list will be no good unless you follow it!
THE ESSENTIALS BOX You would be amazed how great it is to have an essentials box with you the day you are moving, especially when you aren’t using a removalist company. I can tell you from experience that it really boosts morale and makes you work that much harder—everyone needs a tea and bikkies break. A basic essentials box includes things like: • •
Coffee, tea and sugar. Milk—make sure you put it in a thermos to keep it cool, especially if you are moving in summer.
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• • • • •
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Water—who doesn’t want a sip after they’ve carried a wardrobe up seven flights of stairs! Biscuits—good to nibble on. Sandwiches—especially if you are several blocks from the local takeaway shop. Toilet paper—you can guarantee the bathroom box will be the last box! Pain-killers and bandaids—who doesn’t need them after accidentally dropping a wardrobe down seven flights of stairs!
You might think that putting together an essentials box is a waste of time—but trust me, it isn’t. Moving day is such hard work, especially when you aren’t using removalists to help you, that you really need to recharge the batteries. It’s also a nice thing to do if a bunch of your friends have given up their time to come and help you out.
MEETING REMOVALISTS OR HELPERS ON TIME After you have made up the essentials box, either the night before or early on moving day, it is time to meet the people who are going to help you move. If you are using a removalist company, you need to call them at least on the morning of your move, but preferably the day before, to double-check that they have the correct addresses of your current house and where you are moving to. When they are due to arrive you should meet them outside, whether it is downstairs and outside your apartment building or out the front of the house. When they arrive they usually tell you what their plan is, which stuff they are going to start moving out first, and roughly how long it is going to take them. It is important that you are there the whole time that the removalists are there. They will need you to instruct them, and you need to make sure that they get everything. When they finish unloading at
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your new place, you will have to check that they have brought absolutely everything with them. They will get you to check and sign an inventory form to prove this. If you are not using a removalist company but getting a few friends to help you, you need to start the day by picking up your rental truck or ute really early in the morning. You should make sure that you are back home in time to meet the people who are helping you move. It’s important when you’re loading up to start with the heavy items. Remember Toby, who moved to Newcastle? Well, when he decided to move into share accommodation with two other students, he realised that he was going to have to move all his stuff up to Newcastle to furnish the house. Had he got a place in college, he would have been provided with a bed, desk, cupboards and other things like that. The three of them sat down and worked out what they had lying around their parents’ places that they could bring to Newcastle to furnish the house. The three guys all came from different areas, so they each had to organise to move their stuff individually. They worked out that Toby would bring a set of couches from the rumpus room at his parents’ house, a coffee table, and some plates and cups. As well as this, Toby had to furnish his bedroom. The problem was that he wanted to keep stuff in his room at home because he would be home for holidays and some weekends. So Toby had to get a new bed, a desk, computer, computer desk, chair, and other odd things like lamps for his desk and bedside table. When Toby was shopping around for a bed he discovered that he could buy a bed in Sydney and have it delivered directly to his place at Newcastle. That meant he would have one less thing to take up with him.
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Toby shopped around for prices, and worked out that the cheapest way of moving his stuff was to rent a truck for the day. The type of truck he needed had to be driven by someone over 25, or else the amount he would have to pay for insurance would have gone up. The answer—get Dad to drive it up. So Toby organised for one of his mates and his dad to help him move. He bought some big strong boxes and packed up all the clothes, books and other stuff that he wanted to take. First thing on the day Toby was moving, he and his dad went to pick up the truck. His mate met them at home and they started loading. Toby’s stuff fitted in perfectly, and the three of them headed up to Newcastle. One of his housemates had already arrived, got the key from the landlord and begun to check over the condition report.Toby, his dad and his mate got all his stuff unloaded by mid-afternoon, and were back in Sydney to return the hire truck at the scheduled time.
THE FINAL CHECK As kids, whenever we went on holidays anywhere, it was drilled into us to check under our beds, in drawers and closets before we checked out of a place. The same principle applies here. While your removalists or friends are packing your stuff into the truck, you need to constantly check that everything has been packed from each room. When everything has been taken out of the house you need to do one final check. You can’t be slapdash about this— doing it thoroughly is the only way to go. Remember that you might not get another chance to look for anything that you have left behind. Even if you are only moving out of home to a flat a couple of suburbs away, you will save yourself some time and hassle if you can move out all at once and not leave anything behind. I’m sure your mum and dad would love the visit—but I know that if I left anything
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behind it would be gone by the time I was out the door, thanks to my little brother and sister. It might be a good idea to write up a list the night before of the things you should check just before you walk out the door for the last time—cupboards, drawers, lights, power points, hotwater service off (but not if you’re moving out of your parents’ place!), windows and doors locked.
ON ARRIVAL If you haven’t done it the day before, the first thing you have to do is meet the landlord or agent to pick up the keys for your new place. I know of one person who moved all her stuff out of her old place, and was unable to get hold of the new landlord to get the key to her new place—so make sure this doesn’t happen to you. The day you arrive at a new place you have to fill out several forms, the most important of which is the condition report, which should be filled out as soon as you get there, preferably before your furniture starts going in. The real estate agent or landlord will fill out the condition report first, then you have to go around and doublecheck that you agree with what they have listed and fill out your part of the report. Don’t rush it— just take your time. Make sure that you keep a copy of this document—it is vital to getting your bond money back. One of the first things you need to check is that the services you organised have been connected. Plug your phone in and test the lights and power points. If for some
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When you are filling out the condition report, make sure that you include absolutely everything that has a tiny bit of damage— chips in the kitchen bench, every broken tile, stains in the carpet, and even the state of the garden. Remember that when you move out of the place your landlord will assess its condition, and if there has been any damage at all the landlord will not refund your bond, but use the money to make repairs.
reason they haven’t been connected, get onto the service provider ASAP. It doesn’t matter whether you are using removalists or your friends are helping you—you need to be around for the whole time they are unloading your furniture. It can save a whole lot of hassle if you have worked out where you want everything to go before you move in. That way your stuff can be placed in the exact position you want, without your going ‘just leave it there for now and I’ll move it around later’—that is such a waste of time and energy. Even if you only work out where you want the big, heavy items—like your fridge, wardrobe, chest of drawers, dining table, TV, washing machine—I’m sure you get the picture. If you are using a removalist company, it is really important that you check for damage to your items as they bring them in. It is no use finding damage to your stuff a month after you have moved, as you have no way of proving that it was caused by the removalists. This is when you also need to check for missing items. Most removalists will make you sign an inventory form, where you check off that all of your items have been transported from your old place to your new one.
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If your friends are helping you out and you find that there are items missing or that stuff has been damaged, there isn’t anything you can do about it. In most cases you won’t be covered by moving insurance, and it’s not as if you can blame your friends for it—they were doing you a favour. This is just one of the risks that you take when you don’t use a removalist company.
PLAN FOR TAKEAWAY THAT NIGHT When you’ve moved into a new place, unloaded all of your stuff from the truck and started to unpack, the last thing you feel like doing is cooking. I recommend you plan to have takeaway the night you move in. If you are going to do this, make sure you have a bit of cash in your wallet to save you the hassle of trying to hunt down an ATM in your new area. This is also a good opportunity to try out the food in your new neighbourhood. Takeaway could also be very fitting if the first night in your new place is also your first night out of home. I had a few friends move out of home a couple of months ago. After helping them move all day we got takeaway, and had a celebratory dinner in their new place—their first night of freedom!
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11 Learning to live with other people Learning to live with other people
If you are an only child moving into a house full of young people you are probably going to get a major shock! If you come from a large family where there is constant noise, like mine, you may fit in a little easier. When you move in with other people you have to understand that they will do many things differently to the way you do them. They will have different habits and tastes, they may be extremely messy or pedantically clean, and they will have different temperaments—some will be patient, some will be hot-headed. Some like to leave the toilet seat up and others like to leave it down, so to speak. The biggest thing you have to remember when you move into a house with other people is that although you all live together you are not a family. So the wobblies you may have got away with at home will not work here. You can’t snap at your housemates because you’ve had a bad day in the way you might have snapped at your brother or sister without thinking twice about it.
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SETTING THE GROUND RULES When you move into a house with a group of friends, no matter how close you are, the group has to set ground rules. If you don’t, someone will end up overstepping the line and annoying everyone else. As usual, the best way to avoid major disagreements is to solve potential problems before they erupt. While writing this book I have interviewed many friends, and friends of friends. Every time I spoke to someone, I asked them what rules had been established at their place to make life more peaceful. From their answers, along with my own experiences, I have put together a list of general ground rules that you might like to start with as a guideline: • •
• • •
•
• •
Always knock before you enter someone’s room, and wait for a response. Each household member has their own food cupboards and space in the fridge—unless you have agreed to all cook and shop together. Share the cost of common household items—toilet paper, cleaning products, etc. Do not eat other people’s food without asking them first. Do not have friends stay the night unless you have cleared it with your other housemates beforehand. You must follow the house roster—rosters are usually implemented so that everyone takes their turn at things like cleaning the bathroom, vacuuming, mowing the lawn, etc. You must clean up after yourself. You must wash and dry your own dishes—this means every day, not just at the end of the week!
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You must do your own washing. Don’t have a party without asking your housemates. Always pay your rent and other bills on time—never expect the others to cover for you. Don’t bother someone who is studying, and take phone messages for them unless the call is urgent. No smoking inside the house.
When you move into a room in an established house you will most likely find that the ground rules have already been set. If this is the case you need to be sure what the rules are, and follow them at all times. Breaking the rules, even in your first week, is sure to create a bad impression.
ESTABLISHING ROUTINES Here I am referring to the tasks that you perform on a regular basis. When you have lived with a certain group of people for a while, you should be able to get a routine going that works well for everyone. The daily routine for a household usually starts with people getting up at various times for work or uni. After a while you begin to work out when each person gets up and has to leave by. Then you will find that you start to establish a routine where someone
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will get up earliest and have the first shower, while the next person has their breakfast before they have their shower, and so on. This prevents the time-consuming situation where all four of you are standing in line outside the bathroom waiting for your turn to shower. In the evenings you will also begin to establish routines. You will work out things like who gets home from work earliest, and perhaps be able to stop for pizza on the way, and who gets home latest. You will also work out who likes to eat early, or late, so that you know you won’t get in other people’s way when you are cooking. You will begin to work out who you get to share the remote control with, and who likes to read, along with who goes to bed early, and which girls you have to keep away from when PMT strikes . . . Once you have lived with a certain group of people for a substantial period of time, you also begin to learn their routines for the stuff that doesn’t happen every day. You will understand how certain flatmates deal with exams—whether they cope okay or are a total no-go zone for that three-week period. You will also fall into routines on weekends as you recognise the couch potato, the active one and the one who likes to sleep all day. When you begin to understand other people’s routines, and fit in with them, conflicts and disputes between flatmates become fewer. With luck, everyone learns to respect each other and treat each other with courtesy.
CONFLICT RESOLUTION Living with other people is so much fun, but you must recognise that the odd conflict or personality clash is bound to occur. You and your flatmates will have different tastes, lifestyles, temperaments and opinions, all of which are factors that can lead to fights or disagreements, just as they do in any household or family.
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When you have a conflict between two housemates you need to solve the problem as soon as possible. The last thing you want is for the fight to turn into a stalemate, which makes it even harder to solve, or, even worse, a situation where each of them tries to recruit other flatmates to their cause. You could end up with a totally divided house over something as small as who was the last person to clean the bathroom or whose turn it was to buy toilet paper. [[TIP012]]
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It’s amazing how little things get blown out of all proportion because people let issues fester rather than talk about them. Try to develop an environment where someone can get a problem off their chest immediately without everyone else taking it personally. None of us are mind-readers and we’re all different. Simply sitting down and talking through problems, no matter how small, can knock arguments on the head early.
Mediation When a disagreement or conflict arises between people in a shared house, and they are unable to resolve it themselves, one of the best ways to start solving the problem is through mediation. The first thing that you need to do is to appoint someone as a mediator to help solve the problem before it reaches breaking point and erupts into something bigger. Mediation is a non-binding process, basically one in which a neutral person (the mediator) sits down with the people involved in the argument and helps them to define and communicate the problem and its cause. The neutral person helps to develop options for overcoming the problem, gets the people involved in the dispute
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to consider the alternatives, and helps them to reach an agreement which they are both happy with. For this to work, the flatmates in conflict must recognise that they have to listen to each other and try to relax, even though their emotions are running high. The mediator, the neutral person, can be anyone from another flatmate to a neighbour or a complete stranger. Their role is to help resolve the disagreement by bringing in a new perspective and offering alternatives that may not have been considered. Depending on the size of the problem, mediation can take anywhere from fifteen minutes to a few hours. If the issue is really complex the problem may not be able to be solved on the spot, but will take another session of mediation to work through all of the issues. The major advantages of mediation are: • • •
The people involved in the dispute are directly involved in the negotiation of an outcome that they can both agree with. Because the mediator is a neutral third party, they can view the dispute fairly and without being biased to one particular side. The people involved in the dispute are much more likely to be able to continue a good relationship, because they have reached a resolution early on. Amy, one of my really good friends, moved out of home for the first time a couple of months ago with Belinda, a friend from work, and Sarah, one of Belinda’s old schoolfriends, who was still at uni. Belinda and Sarah had decided to move in together, and found this really cool three-bedroom townhouse. They needed an extra person to move in with them so Belinda asked Amy, who had frequently talked about wanting to move out of home. Belinda introduced Sarah and Amy to each other, and they seemed to get along. So the three of them decided to make it definite and all three signed the lease.
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Everything went really well in the first few weeks, but as Sarah got closer to her exams she began to freak out and get annoyed about the smallest things. One day Sarah had been at home studying all day and called Amy at work to see if she and Belinda could bring home some ice-cream. Amy was really busy at the time and Sarah’s request went right out of her head. When they arrived home that evening Sarah couldn’t believe that Amy had forgotten about the ice-cream, and that’s when they both just snapped! Amy couldn’t believe how upset Sarah was getting over such a minor issue, and they began to argue, Amy complaining about how hard Sarah was to live with, while Sarah complained that Amy forgot everything and never did anything to help around the house. Amy and Sarah didn’t talk to each other for the rest of the night, and it went on for a few more days. By Saturday morning Belinda had had enough. She called a meeting, and she was determined to solve the problem. She sat them down on opposite sides of the living room and sat herself in the middle to act as the neutral moderator. Belinda helped them to communicate with each other in a civil manner, asking each of them to tell the other girl what their main problems with the other’s behaviour were. Belinda put forward a few good alternatives, suggesting where Amy could do a bit more around the house and how Sarah could try to cope with her stress a little better. The mediation ended peacefully, with both Sarah and Amy going away feeling that the other understood where she was coming from and what the major problems were. So far so good—Amy has told me that they have been getting along pretty well since that incident a few weeks ago.
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Taking it a step further If for some reason the mediation process between two flatmates fails, and they can’t come to a solution with the help of a mediator, they can turn to an informal arbitration process. I know what you are thinking, that this is all getting a bit complicated—but just hear me out. In informal arbitration, a neutral person, or a panel of neutral people (maybe all the other housemates), hears both sides of the story from the people in dispute, who then agree to accept the decision that is made by the arbitrator/s on how the dispute is going to be resolved. Because this isn’t a legal proceeding, but a really informal one that will probably take place in your living room, it is up to the disputing parties to abide by that decision. You may have found yourself in an arbitration situation at home. I know that in my family, if my sister and I had a fight we would have to sit down in front of Mum and Dad and each tell them our side of the story. Then Mum and Dad would make a decision and we would have to stick to it. In arbitration the disputing parties need to convince the panel of their case, and the arbitrator has to decide who has made the better case—kind of like in a school debate. In mediation, since the outcome has to be accepted by both parties and the mediator is really only aiding communication, the disputing parties need to negotiate with the other side. Sometimes mediation and arbitration both fail, and the only answer is for one or both of the disputing parties to leave the household. Hopefully it will happen without too much bad feeling, and you can agree to disagree.
THE FLATMATE WHO DOES A RUNNER A runner isn’t only when someone leaves without paying their rent; it also refers to someone leaving without paying their share of bills,
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or stealing property. As I mentioned earlier, if one of your flatmates does steal your property it won’t be covered by home contents insurance because the flatmate had a key to the place. To prevent yourself from being out of pocket because a flatmate has left you in the lurch, a couple of precautions that you can take ahead of time may help you to track down an ex-flatmate, or even prevent the same thing happening in the future: •
•
Make sure that you get the current identification details of all of your flatmates, so if one of them does do a runner, you can easily track them down. You could ask for details like their parents’ and employer’s contact details. Make sure that every flatmate keeps their rent paid up to date. This means that if one of your flatmates does do a runner, you won’t be out of pocket while you find a replacement.
If you are unfortunate enough that one of your flatmates does do a runner, there are a few things that you can do to avoid getting into a financially sticky situation: •
•
•
If your ex-flatmate has left behind outstanding debts or damage, explain the whole situation to the landlord or the agent and see if they will allow you to access your ex-flatmate’s share of the bond money to cover the problem. Start advertising for a new flatmate as soon as possible. If you get someone else in really quickly, this will help you to cover the escalating costs of your ex-flatmate’s share of the rent and other bills. If your ex-flatmate does owe you money, or has caused damage to the place, you could try approaching their parents. Outline exactly how much you are owed and what it is for; for example, rent or the phone bill. Perhaps your ex-flatmate was irresponsible, but maybe their parents can talk to them and convince them to cover the costs. However, be aware that some parents will take the side of their child regardless.
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When it comes to money, be tough—none of this ‘Can you just wait a couple of days?’ or ‘Be a mate and lend me this week’s rent’. • If you let someone get behind in their payments you are asking for trouble and it will cost you. • Flatmates who are constantly short of cash but go out a lot or constantly buy clothes spell trouble. • You’re not your flatmates’ bank and if they can’t get their financial priorities right (that is, paying the rent first, and on time) then they should move back home or find another sucker to live with.
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12 Household chores and rosters Household chores and rosters
One of the best things about moving out with other people, rather than living by yourself, is that you get someone to share the household chores with. No having to do them all on your lonesome! Let’s just get one thing straight—the definition of chores here is not just ‘cleaning up your own mess’. I know that at home most of you will wash a couple of dishes and empty the bin when it is spilling over, but there is no mum around to do the rest of the stuff for you when you move out. When you move into share accommodation, there are a few things that go without saying, things that people expect you will just do without even thinking about it. Stuff like hanging up your towels on the towel rail (not on the bathroom floor), wiping the kitchen bench every time you use it, putting the toilet seat down if you are living in a co-ed household, and never leaving your toothpaste spit or shaving hairs in the basin . . . always wash them out!
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PUTTING TOGETHER A FAIR ROSTER I am sure that you have all seen a roster at some point in time—at work, school or even at your parents’ place. If by some chance you haven’t, a roster is basically a timetable of duties which states when each person who is part of the roster is required to perform each particular duty. My first memories of rosters come from family holidays, when Dad would try and relax for a week away from work—and fail miserably! By the second day of every holiday he would be writing up a roster for us kids. It would include things like who had to make lunch each day, who had to clean up after breakfast, lunch and dinner, and who had to vacuum the holiday house (which he would make us do every couple of days). I know he sounds like a bit of a slave-driver, but looking back on it now, it meant that everything was always done and it did prevent a lot of arguments about who unpacked the dishwasher last. [[TIP012]]
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One of life’s little miracles . . . I never thought any of my kids would admit that this was a good idea!
Putting together a roster that will last, and which is fair for everyone in the household, can take a bit of time and effort. Arguments would definitely spark if someone was rostered on vacuuming the house every week, and the same with cleaning the bathroom—the key is to rotate people through activities or jobs. Here is a step-by-step guide to help in putting together a good roster.
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Who is involved? The first thing to do is to work out exactly who is going to be involved in the roster. Obviously you will include yourself and all of your housemates. You could also negotiate to add in people who are permanently hanging around the place (by this I mean girlfriends or boyfriends) and give them a couple of jobs too. You need to take into account people’s days off to make the roster realistic. You don’t want to roster one of your housemates to clean the kitchen on a Thursday when they have to work 9 am to 9 pm because of late night shopping.
What jobs need to be done? Before you start writing up the roster, you need to sit down with all of your housemates and agree on what jobs need doing. Look at which jobs need doing on a daily basis, which need to be done weekly, and which need to be done monthly. You might like to take it a bit further, and work out if there are any particular jobs that are more suited to one person than another. Quite a bit of strength is required to push a big old lawnmower around a steep lawn, for example, while the tallest person in the household might find it less of a strain to wash windows than someone very short.
Doing the maths This is definitely the hardest part. You need to make sure that everyone in the house has an equivalent workload, and that yours is not lighter than the rest just because you put together the roster. The best place to start is with the daily chores. Write the chores down the left side of the page and the days of the week along the top. Then divide the page into a grid so that you have a kind of table. Using pencil, put people’s names into the boxes and then play around
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with it until you think you have got it as fair as possible. Have a look at the example below:
Daily roster Task
Mon.
Tue.
Wed.
Thur.
Fri.
Sat.
Sun.
Washing the dishes Cleaning the kitchen Emptying the garbage
Jill Toby Sam
Toby Sam Jill
Sam Jill Toby
Jill Toby Sam
Toby Sam Jill
Sam Jill Toby
Jill Toby Sam
Weekly roster Task
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Cleaning the bathroom Vacuuming the house Grocery shopping
Sam Jill Toby
Toby Sam Jill
Jill Toby Sam
Sam Jill Toby
Putting it all together After you have done the same thing for the weekly and monthly chores, put all three rosters together and give them a final lookover to make sure that you have done it as evenly as possible. Pretend that you are each housemate in turn, and follow your name through the roster to check that your workload is fair.
Getting the thumbs up Now it’s time to show the roster to your housemates. Don’t just shove it up on the wall, but explain how you put it together and how it works. Get agreement from everyone on what should happen if they don’t do a particular duty. You might also like to get agreement on rules about job-swapping, and when it is or is not okay. I know this all sounds a bit bossy, but once you have a roster up and going you will be amazed at how much easier life is and how few
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disagreements or hassles come up. However, be careful to avoid falling into the role of policeman as this is guaranteed to cause more stress in the long run.
CAN YOU AFFORD OUTSIDE HELP? I know most people around our age don’t have much money to spare. But then again, who really has much time to spare, in between work, study and social activities? Jobs around the house may be where you have to make a trade-off between time and money. Some people will be prepared to use a considerable amout of their spare time to do everything around the house and save a bit of money. But then there are the people who have very little spare time who would much prefer to employ someone to do these jobs. If you are living alone, you will probably find that getting someone in to do the jobs is too expensive. But, if you are sharing a house, paying other people to come in and do your jobs for you isn’t such a stupid idea. You could hire a cleaner once a week. If you shop around you could probably find someone to come for around two hours a week, for around $15–$20 per hour depending on the size of your house. Life would be a lot simpler—no more vacuuming, cleaning the bathroom, dusting, cleaning the kitchen, washing the floors. You might even negotiate to have the windows washed from time to time. All that is left is making sure that people clean up after themselves, wash up and empty the bin once in a while. If there are four of you living together, $50 between four people is only $12.50 a week. You may not find this too much to spend to get your whole house perfectly clean once a week. You may even decide that you can get by with a cleaner coming fortnightly, which would mean that it would cost you only around $6 a week. Think about it—all you would have to do is forego two beers a week to have a perfectly clean house!
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If you are sharing a house rather than a flat, you will probably find that you have some kind of garden that you need to maintain. You could get lucky, and one of your flatmates could love gardening. But if you’re not one of the lucky ones, consider hiring a gardener to come in and mow the lawn and maintain the garden every two weeks. A gardener usually charges around $40 or $50 to do that; it could be less if you have a small garden or if you hire a schoolkid who is looking for a bit of extra cash. Again, $40 every two weeks divided by the four of you is only $5 a week, which is not much to pay to have a whole garden maintained. Another advantage to hiring a gardener means that you don’t have to fork out cash on things like a lawnmower, whipper-snipper or leaf-blower—the gardener will usually provide all that kind of stuff. (The after-hours schoolkid will not, however.) The catch with hiring someone to come and help with household jobs is that everyone in the house has to be happy to spend the money. It is no good if half of you want to save money and do the cleaning yourselves. You either have to be all for it, or all against it.
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13 Ongoing expenses
Ongoing expenses
Earlier on I talked about the major expenses you face when you move out of home into a place of your own, whether you are living by yourself or sharing with others. Obviously, when you live by yourself you have to pay all the household expenses yourself; when you live with other people you split the bills between you. Expenses need to be discussed as soon as you decide to move in together. Usually they are shared equally, but in some cases you need to make exceptions.
RENT The rent is generally split evenly between the people sharing a place. If there are four people in a four-bedroom place you divide the rent by four and that is what each person pays. This doesn’t happen in all situations, however. Where you have a couple in one bedroom and single people in the three other bedrooms, for example, you will
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find that the couple who are sharing a bedroom don’t pay as much per person as the people who have their own bedrooms. This is because they have less space to themselves. Often one of the bedrooms in an apartment/flat/house is much larger than the other bedrooms (and in some cases has its own ensuite as well). In this case, the rent on this room is usually more expensive. Likewise, the room with the best view, most sun, best interior and least noise may also be a bit more expensive.
SERVICES In almost all cases, your electricity, water, gas and telephone bills are evenly split between everyone who lives in the house. But if one particular person uses a lot more of one particular service, they are obviously expected to pay extra. For example, if one of your flatmates calls their best friend in Canada every second day, the phone bill is going to skyrocket—and it is that person’s individual responsibility to pay for the extra expense. One issue common to a lot of shared houses is people struggling to pay their share of service bills on time. The problem here is that they don’t budget for these bills, and when they arrive haven’t got the money to make the payment on time. They get themselves into trouble by relying on their flatmates to help them out, and often find it difficult to pay them back. To save the stress of trying to get everyone’s money together to pay these bills on time, I suggest you set up a separate bills kitty. This is where each of your flatmates puts in a regular amount each week to cover the bills when they arrive. This way everyone gets to treat the bills as a regular expense, and has to budget for them on a weekly basis. This also means that if one of your housemates does a runner, or leaves without giving you much notice, you aren’t going to be short for the next bill. It is kind of like a pay-as-you-go scheme.
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FOOD Paying for food is where things start to get really tricky. Because people don’t eat the same amount of food, have different schedules and have different likes and dislikes, it is really hard to split up the food bill fairly. After speaking to my friends, and from my own experience, here are a few different ways of dealing with food in a share accommodation household: •
•
•
•
Each person puts in $30–$50 a week for groceries: The person who’s rostered to do the shopping goes to the supermarket and buys as many groceries as they can for that particular week with the kitty. This works well in a household where everyone has the same tastes and eats roughly the same amount, most likely an allgirl or all-guy place. You take turns doing the weekly shop: Every time it’s your turn to do the weekly shopping, you pay for the whole lot. This is based on the principle that weekly shops usually add up to roughly the same amount, and it works itself out in the long run. This also works best when everyone eats the same amount of food. Everyone buys their own food: This is where everyone has their own cupboard space, and their own section of the fridge, and they buy (and eat) only their own food. This is a really good option when you have people who eat different amounts, fussy eaters, and people leading irregular lifestyles who are in and out all the time. A kitty for the essentials: This is where everyone puts in, say, an extra $10 a week with their rent, which goes into a kitty that is used
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to buy the essentials that everyone uses. It covers things like bread, milk, coffee, sugar, tea, toilet paper and soap. After this, everyone is responsible for buying the rest of their groceries individually.
OTHER COSTS There are very few other expenses that you face as a household. But if you decide that you are going to hire a cleaner or a gardener, you need to make sure you budget for these expenses or maybe create a kitty solely for that purpose. Other than that, the only items you have to budget for are those that you purchase on an individual basis—like clothes, shoes, CDs, presents and holidays. When I was talking to my friend Toby about expenses (remember Toby who moved to Newcastle?), he told me that in his household they chose to do everything through a kitty system. Every week the three guys each put in $15 extra with their rent in order to buy the items they saw as essentials—milk, bread, Coke, icecream, coffee, sugar and cereal. They bought all the rest of their food on an individual basis. When it came to the bills for services, the three of them were really reliable. Toby said that they split the electricity, gas and water bills evenly—and they all managed to get their share together before the bills were due. They all had their own phone lines which they treated as an individual expense and budgeted for on their own.
SHOPPING CHEAPLY For most of us money is pretty tight when we move out of home for the first time, so we need to have a look at all possible areas where
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we can save a buck. That brings me to food shopping. This is one expense that you can definitely cut down if you look around for the best prices and deals. I know that when you live at home you rarely think about how much food costs. When was the last time you ate a roast dinner at home and wondered how much it cost? But trust me, when you move out of home you will be surprised at how often that thought crosses your mind. One thing that you may not know is that you don’t have to save your bargaining tactics for the markets. You can bargain at your local fruit shop, the supermarket and even the corner store. Here are a few tips to remember: •
•
•
•
If you find damage or a fault in something in the shop that affects only its looks, not its edibility, show the manager and set a price that you are willing to pay for it. The other day my mum was buying a lettuce. Finding one with a few spots on it, she looked worried and showed the greengrocer. He told her there was nothing really wrong with it, but knocked the price down from $2 to $1.50. A shop can charge you any price they like for goods, which means that you are totally free to negotiate a lesser price. It’s their choice as to whether or not they accept your offer. If you plan to do this in a supermarket, it is best to find a manager, because junior shop assistants won’t have the authority to make a decision. Make a reasonable offer and don’t be rude. There is no point wasting your time or the salesperson’s by making ridiculous offers. Who is going to let you pay five cents for a Paddle Pop (my favourite ice-cream in the world!)? Be aware of shops that display massive markdowns to entice you inside in the hope that you will end up buying the expensive nonsale items. Don’t go into an expensive convenience store to do your grocery shopping just because they have a really good deal on Mars Bars.
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Not only do you want to be able to hunt down a good bargain and save yourself some cash, but you also want to stop yourself from being ripped off at the same time. All you have to do is be a smart shopper. When you are shopping keep your eyes open for advertising that is wrong or misleading, and keep in mind that if an offer appears too good to be true, it probably is.
Homebrand versus brand goods All the major Australian supermarkets sell both brands and homebrands. A brand is a well-known label, such as Arnott’s biscuits, that spends a lot of money on their product, packaging and advertising and therefore charge a higher price. A homebrand label spends little money on packaging and advertising, and a reasonable amount of money on the product, meaning that a much lower price can be charged and they will still make a profit. When you are looking at homebrands versus brands, the general perception is that there is a major trade-off to be made. Do you pay a higher price for a better quality product, or a lower price for a standard quality product? Once you have tried a few different brands you will find that in most cases this isn’t true, and that it is very hard to differentiate between a brand item and a homebrand item. It definitely pays to give homebrand products a go at least once, because at times they can be half the price of premium brands. A few examples of homebrands are ‘No Frills’ at Franklins, ‘Homebrand’ at Woolworths, and ‘Coles Brand’ or ‘Farmland’ at Coles supermarkets. Last time I moved out of home, boy, did I rely on homebrands! I tried the homebrand versions of all the products I could find at least once to see if I liked them. For some things, like orange juice, I decided that I preferred to pay a little bit extra for the brand
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label version, but in most cases I was so satisfied with the quality of the homebrand product that I kept on buying it. It got to a point, just before I moved back to my parents’ place, that I could actually see the money I was saving on a regular basis.
BUYING AND COOKING TIPS Even though I have lived out of home on several occasions I am definitely not an expert on cooking or shopping. My mentor is my mum, and here are a few tips she gave me when I was asking her about this section of the book: •
•
•
•
•
If you are after the best bargains do your shopping just before closing time. You would be surprised at how many deals are done then, because the shops want to get rid of today’s stock to make way for tomorrow’s. You will pick up the best bargains at the butcher and the greengrocer, and in those sections at supermarkets. Buy in bulk, because the more you buy at the one time the better the deal the store will give you; they may even throw in extra products. For example, if you buy meat in, say, 2 kg lots instead of small purchases, you can save up to $2 a kilogram. Develop good relationships with your local store people; you may find they will throw in extra products or give you a better deal. I remember the guy at our old fruit shop would give us free strawberries because we always bought our fruit and veggies there. Fill the oven when you turn it on. You would be surprised how much power is used to heat an oven. You can save money on your bills if you think ahead and cook a couple of meals when you have the oven on. You can freeze them for later. Cook in bulk if you are living on your own. It is much cheaper to cook in bulk than individually. Instead of buying little jars of
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pasta sauce, it is heaps cheaper to buy a family-size jar and make up a big bolognaise that you can use for a few meals. Keep those shopper dockets. I know they can be a pain, but you never know when you might be able to use them to save money.
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14 Time to leave . . . moving out Time to leave . . . moving out
I have tried to cover all of the different aspects of moving out of home into your own place. But what happens when you decide for any reason that you want to move out of that place? What procedures should you follow? In this chapter I am going to give you a brief rundown on what your rights are, on handling disputes with your landlord or agent, what the deal is with giving notice, how you should go about terminating a lease early, leaving the place just as you found it on day one and, most importantly, getting your bond money back.
DISPUTES A few landlords aren’t the nicest people in the world, at times resembling the Wicked Witch or Wizard of the West, but that is no excuse to let yourself be pushed around. There are two things that you need to remember—landlords aren’t always right and you have rights too.
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If some kind of problem develops with your landlord or agent, the very first thing that you should do is re-read your lease or tenancy agreement. The agreement should give you all the facts relating to the particular problem, and from it you will be able to work out where you stand. There might be some instances where you get all fired up over an issue, thinking that your landlord is being dishonest—but you could be mistaken. If you always refer back to your agreement, you can’t go wrong. This is the first step you should take when trying to resolve a problem. Before a problem develops into a major dispute, the best thing you and the landlord can do is to try and resolve the problem between yourselves without involving a third party. This will save a lot of time, money and hassle for both sides. If you do manage to come to an agreement, make sure you get it in writing and that both of you sign it. That will act as proof that you have resolved the issue, should a similar problem arise in the future. If you are unable to resolve the problem between yourselves, for whatever reason, it may be a good idea to contact the Department of Fair Trading or Office of Consumer Affairs in your state or territory. They will be able to advise you on the matter, and give you your basic options and rights. If you still can’t manage to resolve the dispute, your final option is taking it to the Residential Tribunal of your state or territory. (In NSW this is the Residential Tribunal; in Queensland the Residential Tenancies Authority; in the Northern Territory the Tenancy Section of the Office of Consumer and Business Affairs; in the ACT the Residential Tenancies Tribunal; in SA the Residential Tenancies Tribunal; in Tasmania the Residential Tenancy Commissioner; in Victoria the Residential Tenancies Tribunal; and in WA the Small
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Disputes Division of Local Courts.) The role of such a tribunal, or third party, is to act as an arbitrator. They will hear both sides of the dispute, that of the tenant and of the landlord or agent, and make a decision that must be followed by both parties. When I was on a working holiday in Canada I lived in Banff for three months. I was lucky enough to get a room in a share accommodation household, in November, a block out of the centre of town. The day before I moved in I had to pay a $500 (in Aussie dollars) bond. I had no idea what my rights as a tenant were, or what happened to my bond money. I was so excited to have found a place to live that I didn’t think of any of that. I was never asked to sign a lease, which meant I was free to leave at any time just as long as I gave enough notice. When it came time to go back home for the start of the uni year, at the end of February, I made sure to give my landlord enough notice that she wouldn’t be left with an empty room. When I gave my notice she told me I would get my bond money back the day I left, as long as I cleaned my room. That day I duly handed in my keys and asked for my bond money back. She had originally promised to give it to me in cash, because I was flying back to Oz two days later and wouldn’t have time to hang around while the cheque cleared, but on the day she said she didn’t have time to go to a bank, wrote me a cheque and told me to deposit it when I got back to Australia. When I banked the cheque, keeping in mind that international cheques take 21 working days to clear, it came back saying that a stop had been put on it and I couldn’t get the money. Because I was in a different country there was absolutely nothing that I could do without it ending up costing more than the actual bond amounted to—lawyers, international calls, etc. Not only that, but I had no idea what the Canadian laws said about this kind of thing or what my rights were.
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One thing I learned from this experience is that it is very important to find out what your rights are and that if something is suspicious you must check it out—otherwise you are going to be the one out of pocket.
GIVING NOTICE No matter how deeply you fall in love with a place when you move in, there will come a time when you will want to move out. It might be because the owner wants to sell it, you need to relocate to another area, or you find you have just got sick of it and want a change. Whether it is you who wants to move out, or the landlord or agent wants you gone, notice has to be given to the other party. If your fixed-term tenancy agreement or lease is about to run out, you the tenant, or the landlord or agent, have to give 14 days’ notice to the other party to end the tenancy. If the lease has ended and you are still living there without its having been renewed, you have to give at least 21 days’ notice, but the landlord or agent has to give you at least 60 days’ notice. More notice is required when you aren’t in a fixed-term lease because the landlord isn’t expecting you to move out, and vice versa. When you want to move out right at the end of a lease period, you only have to give 14 days’ notice because your landlord is prepared for it—but you still have to give notice, to allow the landlord or agent time to find someone else to move in. Conversely, your landlord or agent has to give you notice if they aren’t going to let you stay on or sign another lease so that you have time to find another place before the agreement expires. According to the NSW Department of Fair Trading, your notice, as well as the landlord’s or agent’s, should: •
Be in writing, either through the mail or delivered personally; a phone call won’t do.
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State the address of the place that it relates to. Be signed and dated. Be given in the correct period of time. Give the exact date that the tenant either wants to or is forced to move out. Give the reasons why the agreement is being ended; for example, whether breaches have occurred. If given to the tenant, include information about their rights and obligations under the tenancy agreement.
It is important to remember that if at any time during your tenancy the landlord or agent breaches your agreement, for whatever reason, you can give 14 days’ notice and leave. This also works the other way—if you the tenant breach the contract in any way, the landlord or agent can give you 14 days’ notice to pack your bags and move out. When it comes to the place that you are renting being sold, the owners have to give you at least 30 days’ notice. Also note that they are only allowed to sell the property and kick you out if your fixedterm lease or tenancy agreement has expired. My friend Jo used to live in a studio apartment by herself. She had lived at home until she got a great job with an office located on the other side of the city. When she found that it would take her forever to get to and from work, she decided to move into a place closer to work and signed a twelve-month lease. Over the course of the twelve months, Jo found that while she really enjoyed living in that area, she wasn’t too keen on living alone. A couple of weeks before her lease was due to expire, she started asking among our friends whether anyone wanted to move into a larger place in the same area with her. Our friend Gill thought this was a great idea, so they started shopping around and eventually found a two-bedroom place they really liked.
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By the time Jo and Gill had found a flat, and Jo knew that she was definitely moving out, it was just over a week before her twelve-month lease expired. She wrote out her notice and took it around to her landlord, who was pretty annoyed that she wasn’t giving the two weeks’ notice that she was required to give. His solution was that even though she was moving out in a week, she still had to pay two weeks’ rent because there was no way he could advertise and find a tenant to replace her in only one week. He was going to be out of pocket at least a week’s rent otherwise. Jo thought that this was a reasonable solution and agreed to it, but she also asked him to put it in writing in case he changed his mind later on.
TERMINATING A LEASE EARLY If you need to move out of your place for some reason or another and are worried about breaking your lease, don’t worry, it can be done. But the consequences of doing it can often depend on how nice your landlord is. If you want to break your lease early, the best thing you can do is give your landlord or agent as much notice as possible. You should give your notice in writing, and make sure you keep a copy just in case you run into any problems along the way. In your notice you need to tell your landlord or agent the exact date that you intend to move out and that you want them to find a new tenant, along with all the other details listed earlier that should be included in such notice. No matter how nice you are about it, terminating a lease early will probably cost you money. In most cases you will have to keep on paying the rent until a new tenant moves in, which can be very costly if the landlord takes a while to find someone. Along with this, you will probably have to pay the costs for the property to be advertised
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in the local newspapers. You may even have to pay a re-letting fee if the property is let by an agent who charges the landlord a fee for finding new tenants, usually equal to one week’s rent. Not everything is against you, however. The landlord has a duty to put in a proper effort to find a new tenant, not just letting things slide because they have your rent coming in. Also, if you terminate the lease close to the expiry date, you can’t be made to pay all of the fees and advertising charges because the landlord could reasonably expect to have to pay for them in a few weeks anyway. According to the Department of Fair Trading, for a landlord to get money from you to cover these fees they must be able to show that their loss was caused by you breaking the agreement early. Back to my friend Toby. Halfway through his second year at uni in Newcastle, he got a great cadetship with a big company in Sydney. He discussed this with his lecturers, who said that he could keep on doing his course by correspondence; it would just take him a bit longer to finish. The problem that Toby faced was that he had signed a twelvemonth lease on the place he was renting in Newcastle with his two friends.The guys he was living with decided that they would rather find a two-bedroom place on their own when he moved out than find a third guy to take over his room. This meant they would have to break the lease on their current place. Toby wrote a letter of notice, and made a personal visit to their agent to explain the situation. Their agent was really nice about it, and congratulated Toby on his good fortune, but explained that he and his mates were going to have to cover advertising costs and continue to pay rent on the property until a new tenant moved in. Luckily, because the property was located within walking distance of the uni, there was a high demand for it, and they only had to pay two weeks’ rent from when they moved out to when the new tenants moved in.This actually worked out really well for
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them all, because it happened during uni holidays.The other two went home to their parents’ places for a couple of weeks so they weren’t paying rent twice.
LEAVING IT AS YOU FOUND IT When you walk out the door for the very last time you must ensure that the property looks the same as when you first walked in, apart from any ‘fair wear and tear’ that has occurred during your tenancy. Fair wear and tear is basically the deterioration that occurs over time to any property, and is not the fault of the tenant. It includes things like damage from natural elements, cracks in the walls from settlement or earth tremors, and tiles and curtains faded by the sun— basically the stuff that still happens even though you have done your best to maintain the property. It is a good idea to do a big clean before your final inspection to make the place look as good as new. You should do all the things that you wouldn’t do on a weekly basis, like windows, the oven, fireplace, cobwebs and mould. You will be surprised at how much dust you will find when you move all the furniture out, along with odd marks on the walls or carpet that you might want to get rid of before the landlord or agent inspects the place. You might like to organise a cleaner to go through the place after you have moved your stuff out. This will hopefully ensure that you get all your bond money back. When you have finished your tenancy, you carry out a final inspection of the place with your landlord or agent. This is where you look at the original condition report which you filled out at the start of your tenancy (discussed on p. 121 in Chapter 10), and compare it with the current condition of the place. If there is any damage to the property other than fair wear and tear, the landlord or agent may be able to keep part or all of your bond money.
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This is why the original condition report is so important. This report should have covered everything, from cracked tiles to stains in the carpet to the state of the garden. If you weren’t thorough in filling it out, the landlord might be able to pin some damage on you that was in fact there when you moved in. I strongly suggest putting together a list, maybe the night before, of things you need to check just before you walk out the door for the last time. It could include things like: • • • • • •
Check all cupboards—kitchen, bathroom, dining room and built-ins. Check all drawers—kitchen, bathroom and built-ins. Turn off all lights, appliances and power points. Make sure all taps are tightly turned off. Turn off the hot water system. Lock all windows and doors.
This checklist is repeated at the end of Appendix I—you may think of other things you want to add to it. In the days before you move you should find out where the landlord or agent wants you to leave the keys when you lock up for the last time. Most will want you to drop them off immediately; others may let you keep them until you come to pick up your bond money. Whatever the arrangement, it is your responsibility as tenant to hand over all copies of the various keys to the property at the end of your tenancy.
GETTING THE BOND BACK Remember the bond that you paid at the beginning of your tenancy, which basically acts as insurance for the landlord or agent in case you cause any damage? You should have the receipt for this from the Bond Board that your bond money was lodged with.
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Once you and your landlord or agent have done the final inspection, and they are satisfied with its condition—meaning that you haven’t caused any damage, and the only variations from the original condition report are the result of reasonable wear and tear—you are entitled to get your bond money back. A bond claim form will be filled out by the landlord or agent and given to you to sign. The bond claim form is sent to the Bond Board, and they return your bond money. If you have difficulties getting your bond money back you can take the matter further—as long as you deserve to get it back. Contact your state’s Department of Fair Trading or Office of Consumer Affairs, and they will tell you what approach to take and which tribunal to apply to. If you have done major damage to the property, however, I wouldn’t bother taking this step—it will be a waste of time because they will find that you are not entitled to the money.
CONCLUSION If you’ve got this far you are probably sitting in one of two positions. One, you are settled into your new home. Two, you are still living at your parents’ place after realising that you aren’t as ready to move out as you thought you were. Either way, I hope that you are happy in your surroundings. Moving out of home is a natural progression that we all face sooner or later. As I have mentioned throughout the book, you need to make sure you don’t rush this process and that the time is right for you—not just for your friends who are trying to find an extra person to split their rent with! When you finally decide to take the
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step and move out of home, you need to make sure that you are prepared emotionally, financially and practically—which includes knowing how to cook for yourself and clean! I’m not saying that I’m an expert on moving out of home. But after researching and writing this book, along with my personal experience of its ups and downs, I have a much better idea of how to go about it the right way—and how to make it work. The most important thing to remember is that the best way to go about moving out of home is to take the time to save for it, think about it, plan for it— and then do it.
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Glossary of terms Glossary of terms
Arbitration Involves the adjudication of a dispute by a panel of neutral people (either one or several) who have the power to come to a decision that the parties involved in the dispute have to follow. Austudy Government income support payment for students aged 25 and over. Bond Acts as insurance for the landlord or real estate agent. It is the equivalent of four weeks’ rent in advance and it is sent to the Bond Board or Renting Services Branch of Fair Trading and held there until you leave the property. If you really mess the place up, any repairs will have to come out of this bond money. Budget Basically a table or chart that attempts to balance your income and expenses, and tries to work out how you can save at least a small amount of money. A budget lets you see, in black and white, where your money comes from, where it is going, where you can cut back, and where you can save. College On-campus accommodation provided for students who are studying at a university.
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Condition report The report filled in by you and your new landlord or real estate agent when you move into a new place. You record the exact condition of the premises when you move in, so that it can be compared to the state of it when you move out— enabling your landlord or real estate agent to compare what, if any, damage you caused with what was already there. Contract A legally binding agreement between two parties. Deficit When your income doesn’t cover your expenses. Dispute An argument or a disagreement between two parties, in this situation you the tenant versus your landlord or real estate agent. GST Goods and Services Tax. GST is the tax that is added onto goods and services which you have to pay when you buy something. Some commodities, such as unprocessed or raw foods, are exempt from GST. GST is balanced by the fact that most people now pay less income tax. Homebrand A store label that spends little money on packaging and advertising, and a reasonable amount of money on the product, meaning that a much lower price can be charged. Home contents insurance A type of insurance that basically covers the contents of your home, including clothes, furniture, appliances and personal items, against the event that the contents are stolen or damaged in the case of fire, burglary, floods, earthquakes or storms. Landlord A person who owns and / or leases land or buildings to another person. Lay-by An interest-free alternative to using credit, where you buy something and pay it off over several instalments. You can’t take the item home until you have paid the whole thing off. Lease A contract giving a person use of property for a definite period of time, in return for regular rent payments. Mediation A non-binding process in which a neutral person (a mediator) sits down with the parties involved in an argument and helps them to communicate and try to isolate the problem
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that is being disputed. The neutral person helps to develop options of how to overcome the problem, gets the people involved in the dispute to consider the alternatives, and helps them to reach an agreement which they are both happy with. Notice Where either the tenant informs the landlord or agent that they want to move out, or the landlord or agent informs the tenant that they want them to move out. Real estate agent A person who leases land or buildings, or sells land or buildings, to another person on behalf of a third person. Rent Regular payment made by a tenant to an owner or landlord for the use of land or a building. Residential Tribunal A panel of either one or several neutral people that hears both sides of a dispute between a tenant and a landlord or real estate agent. It has the authority to make a decision on the dispute which both parties have to follow, according to the law. Savings plan A plan created, from the information in your budget, with the aim of helping you to save. It outlines ways in which you can go about saving your money. Share accommodation Sharing a house or apartment with other people who may be friends or strangers. Surplus When you have more of something, in most cases money, than is used or needed. Tenant Someone who leases a house, unit or flat from a landlord or real estate agent. Youth Allowance A simple government payment scheme for young people who are studying, training or looking for work. Students or trainees receive the same amount of income support as young people who are looking for work.
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Appendix I
Checklists Appendix I
Checklists
I have included a couple of important checklists to help you get started. You would be surprised how useful they are if you take them with you when you are planning or going through with your move, so you can tick off all the things that you’ve got—that way you can make sure that you won’t forget anything. Who wants to move into a place and then realise that they have forgotten to get a bed or, even worse, the key to the front door!
FURNITURE AND APPLIANCES • • • • • • • • • •
Fridge Microwave Mixer Kettle/jug Toaster Hairdryer Clock radio/alarm Radiator/heater Television Video
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• • • • • • • • • • •
Couch/chairs/beanbags Coffee table Bookshelves Dining table and chairs Bed/mattress Wardrobe Chest of drawers/dressing table/mirror Washing machine Drier (you may be able to survive without it) Ironing board/iron Extension cords (the power points are never where you need them)
THE BASICS • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
163
Torch Cutlery Plates and bowls Pots and pans Glasses Mugs Plastic containers Cooking utensils (wooden spoon, spatula, etc.) Chopping board Cutting / carving knives Colander Rubbish bin Toilet brush, scrubbing brush Broom, mop and bucket Dustpan and brush Dish rack Dish mop Potscraper
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Vacuum cleaner Tea-towels Towels Bed linen Pillows Blankets/doona
MOVING IN • • • • • • • • • • •
Sign the lease. Organise removalists or friends to help you move. Redirect your mail. Notify friends and family of your new contact details. Organise connections for your new place—phone, electricity, gas. Put together an essentials box for moving day. Pick up the keys. Fill out the condition report. Meet removalists or helpers on moving day. Check that everything has arrived. Check for damage in transit.
GROCERIES—THE FIRST SHOP • • • • • • • •
Candles Light globes Kitchen sponge Cleaning products—detergent, window cleaner, toilet cleaner, carpet cleaner, etc. Air freshener Paper towels and tissues Toilet paper Soap
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Checklists
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
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Toothpaste/toothbrush Shampoo /conditioner Bandaids and antiseptic Salt Pepper Tomato sauce Olive oil Tea Coffee Sugar Flour Eggs Peanut butter, Vegemite, honey, jam Cereal Pasta /pasta sauce Rice Canned goods (baked beans, tuna, fruit, beetroot, soup, etc.) Biscuits /crackers Milk Juice Bread Fruit Vegetables and salads Salad dressing Butter /margarine Cheese Ice-cream Spreads (chutney, cream cheese, mustard, mayonnaise, etc.)
MOVING OUT—THE FINAL CHECK •
Check all cupboards—kitchen, bathroom, dining room and built-ins.
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Check all drawers—kitchen, bathroom and built-ins. Turn off all lights, appliances and power points. Make sure all taps are tightly turned off. Turn off the hot water system. Lock all windows and doors.
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Appendix II
Useful phone numbers, websites and publications Appendix II
Useful phone numbers, websites and publications
AUSTRALIA Centrelink—131 021 <www.centrelink.gov.au> Departments of fair trading and consumer affairs: NSW Department of Fair Trading—13 32 20 Residential Tribunal—9641 6400 (Sydney), 1300 135 399 (out of Sydney) <www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au> QLD Office of Fair Trading—3246 1500 Residential Tenancies Authority—1300 366 311 <www.consumer.qld.gov.au>
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SA Office of Consumer and Business Affairs—8204 9544 Residential Tenancies Tribunal—8226 8989 <www.ocba.sa.gov.au> TAS Office of Consumer Affairs and Fair Trading—1300 654 499 Residential Tenancy Commissioner—6233 4588 <www.justice.tas.gov.au/ca> VIC Office of Consumer and Business Affairs—1300 558 181 Residential Tenancies Tribunal—9628 9800 <www.consumer.vic.gov.au> WA Ministry of Fair Trading—1300 304 054 Small Disputes Division of Local Courts <www.fairtrading.wa.gov.au> NT Office of Consumer and Business Affairs—8999 1999 Tenancy Section—8999 5187 <www.nt.gov.au/dib/caft> ACT Office of Fair Trading—6207 0400 Residential Tenancies Tribunal—6217 4259 <www.fairtrading.act.gov.au> TICA General enquiries—02 9743 1800 TICA Default Tenancy Control System database Ph—190 222 0346 NB: calls are charged at $5.45 per minute (GST inclusive). Higher rates apply from mobile or pay phones. <www.tica.com.au>
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Useful phone numbers, websites and publications
Australian Flatmates Directory <www.flatmates.com.au> Share Accomodation—Australia wide <www.users.bigpond.com/sharemates> Real Estate Australia—share accommodation <www.realestate.com.au/share> Domain <www.domain.com.au> Toll Transitions (formerly Moving Home) <www.tolltransitions.com.au> Australian Furniture Removers Association 1800 671 806 <www.afra.asn.au> Kennards Self Storage 9764 4555 (Sydney) <www.kss.com.au> Millers Self Storage 1800 MILLERS or 9319 7770 (Sydney) <www.millersstorage.com> Coles <www.coles.com.au> Franklins <www.franklins.com.au> Woolworths <www.woolworths.com.au> Grace Bros <www.gracebros.com.au>
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NEW ZEALAND Ministry of Housing, Tenancy Services Bond enquiries—0800 737 666 Tenancy advice—0800 836 262 <www.minhousing.govt.nz/tenancy/> Work and Income NZ (NZ version of Centrelink—goes through accommodation supplements for students) General enquiries—0800 559 009 <www.winz.govt.nz> TICA General enquiries—09 476 5142 TICA Default Tenancy Control System database—0900 836 268 NB: calls are charged at $2.00 (GST inclusive) for the first two minutes and $4.00 per minute thereafter. Higher rates apply from mobile or pay phones. Change My Address—your moving home manager A free online change of address notification service and leading home moving helper. <www.changemyaddress.co.nz/> Flatfinder <www.flatfinder.co.nz> Flats Net NZ <www.flats.net.nz> Flathunt <www.flathunt.co.nz> Gay Flats Net <www.gayflats.net> The Moving Company <www.themovingcompany.co.nz>
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NZ Self Storage Part of the Self Storage Association of Australasia 03 547 6533 <www.selfstorage.co.nz>
Koch, D. and Koch, L. (1995) I’m Not Made of Money, Australian Financial Press Pty Ltd, Sydney. Koch, D. and Koch, L. (1995) Your Money and Your Life, Australian Financial Press Pty Ltd, Sydney. NSW Department of Fair Trading (June 2001) The Renting Guide.
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Index
AAPT Smartchat 76 absconding, by flatmate 131–2, 141 accommodation, furnished 70 advertising, misleading 145 advertising for flatmates 51–6 classified ads 52–3 face-to-face interview 49, 54–5 first contact (phone interview) 53–4 advice, from parents 14, 19, 75 affordability 5, 7, 28–9 age discrimination 34 allowances 8–10, 11 antique shops 89 apartments 30, 31–2, 37 appliances 81 buying at auction 92–3 buying new 81–8 buying privately 90–2 buying second-hand 89–93 interest-free agreements 86–8 lay-bys 83–6 making do 94–5 renting 93–4 application form, for rental property 39–40
arbitration 150, 159 informal 131 arguments 58–9, 65, 128, 135, 138 auctions 89, 92–3 Australia Post 110, 111 website 110 Australian Furniture Removers Association 114 Australian Retailers Association 84 Austudy 8–9, 159 autonomy 58 bank 111 bargain hunting 81–2, 88, 144–5, 146 beds 95, 109 bills 13, 60, 74, 126, 140 kitty 141 body corporate 32 Bond Board 43, 70, 72, 156, 157 bond cheque 71 bond claim form 157 bond lodgement form 70 bond money 45, 69–72, 101, 122, 155, 156 and condition report 41, 42, 121
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getting it back 156–7 reason for 43, 159 and reputation 71–2, 102 boxes, for packing 108 budgeting 5, 11–16, 75, 76–7, 159 balancing the budget 15 budget planner 13, 16, 17 for outside help 143 review 16 time period 13 burglary 50, 98, 100 carpet stains 71, 101, 102 cars 29, 35, 89 Centrelink 8, 11 independent status 8, 9 website 11 character references 28, 39 checklists basic equipment 163–4 first grocery shop 164–5 furniture/appliances 162–3 leaving home, final check 121 moving in 164 moving out, final check 156, 165–6 chores 4, 19, 60–1, 134, 136 outside help 138–9 classified ads 52–3 cleaners 138, 143, 155 clothes 5 college 159 social life 21 college accommodation 20–2, 62–3, 66 advantages 63–4 application process 66–8 cost 65 drawbacks 64–6 rules 65 commuting 30, 63 complaints 34, 101 condition report 41–2, 97, 121, 122, 155–6, 157, 160 confidence 6
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conflict resolution 127–8 informal arbitration 131 mediation 128–30, 160–1 consideration 51 Consumer Affairs Office 87, 149, 157 Consumer Credit Code 87 cooking 5, 60, 61, 146–7 in bulk 146–7 couches 81, 85, 94 credit 86 credit cards 87, 88, 111 crises 6 crockery 80 cutlery 80 damage, to premises 71, 101–2, 122 default tenancy control system 45 department stores 83, 86 source of boxes 108 dependence 6 deposits 55, 67, 70, 74, 83–4 dining tables 94–5, 109 disagreements see arguments discounts 82, 83 discrimination 34 disputes, with landlord/agent 148–50, 160 driver’s licence 111 earnings, amount allowed 10 electricity 14, 60, 76–7 connection fee 43, 76 meter reading 116 organising connection 115, 121–2 security deposit 76, 115 sharing costs 141 email 112 entertainment 30 entry fees 43 equipment, basic household 80, 163–4 essentials box 117–18 estate agents see real estate agents
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expenses 14, 140–3 estimating 14 extroverts 24 factory outlets 81–2 Fair Trading, Department of 84, 85, 87, 103, 149, 154, 157 Renting Services Branch 43, 70, 72 fair wear and tear 155, 157 fires 98, 100 first-year students 64 flatmates choosing 23, 49, 50–1 doing a runner 131–2, 141 identification details 49, 132 selfish 48 untrustworthy 48, 49–50, 133 flats see apartments fleas 36 floods 98 food 5 bulk buying 146 sharing costs 142–3 shopping 14, 78–80, 144–6 fridges see refrigerators friends helping with the move 112–13, 119–20, 122, 123 living with 22–3, 47, 52, 58 making new ones 24, 48, 63, 64, 68 furnished accommodation 42 furniture 81 buying at auction 92–3 buying new 81–8 buying privately 90–2 buying second-hand 89–93 customised 85 interest-free agreements 86–8 lay-bys 83–6 making do 94–5 positioning on moving day 122 renting 93–4
garage, renting 78 garage sales 91 garbage disposal 5 garden maintenance 31, 71, 105–6 gardeners 139, 143 gas 14, 77 organising connection 115 security deposit 115 sharing costs 141 granny flats 25 grocery shopping 5, 14, 78–80 checklist 164–5 ground rules 49, 54–5, 125–6 GST (Goods and Services Tax) 73, 160 habits, annoying 23, 58 handouts 12 Henderson, John 34–5 holding bond/fee 28, 43 home contents insurance 50, 98–101, 132, 160 making a claim 100 new-for-old policies 99 replacement policies 99 valuing contents 98–9 homebrand goods 145–6, 160 house meetings 59 house rules see ground rules house-sitting 18 household goods, renting 93–4 houses 30–1, 37 identification flatmates’ details 49, 132 personal 110–11 income increasing 15 proof of 28, 39 sources 13–14 Income Bank 10–11 incompatibility 65 independence 26 inspection times 38 inspections
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by landlord/agent 33, 44 final, when moving out 155–6, 157 of properties to let 38–9 insurance see home contents insurance interest-free agreements 86–8 Internet access 63, 74, 76 Internet resources Centrelink 11 mail redirection 110 rental property guide 29 interviews with agent/landlord 39 for college accommodation 66–7 with prospective flatmates 49, 53–5 jargon, real estate 37–8 jewellery, valuing 99 Kennards Self Storage 108 keys 44, 55, 121, 156 kitty for bills 141 for essential food 142–3 for outside help 143 landlords 32–4, 72, 99, 121, 160 relations with 102, 148–9, 153 responsibilities 102–3, 154 lawn mowing 30, 31 lay-bys 83–6, 160 cancellation charges 83, 84, 85 leaking roofs 104–5 leases 27, 45, 70, 103, 160 amendments to 43, 96, 97 breach by landlord 152 checking details 41 joint 42–3, 104 and problems 149 terminating early 30, 46, 153–5 life skills 5–6 lifestyle 29 living alone 5, 18, 25, 57
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advantages 57–9 cooking in bulk 146–7 drawbacks 59–61 living arrangements 20 college accommodation 20–2 main priorities 26 moving into established place 24, 76, 77, 115 sharing with friends 22–3, 47, 52, 58 living costs 9–10, 14 reducing 15 location, selecting 27–30 loneliness 4, 6, 24, 59 luxuries 14, 15 mail redirection 110–11, 112 cost 111 mediation 128–30, 160–1 microwave ovens 95 Millers Self Storage 108 mobile phones 75, 76, 112 money management 5, 7, 133 deficit 15, 159 surplus 15, 161 moving day 117, 118 arrival at new place 121–3 essentials box 117–18 final check 120–1 takeaway dinner 123 moving on 148 disputes 148–50 fair wear and tear 155, 157 final clean 155 giving notice 151–3 leaving premises as found 155–6 moving out drawbacks 2, 3–4 a natural thing 18 preparing for 18–19, 70, 80 see also budgeting readiness for 5–6 reasons 1–3 tension at home 7
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warning parents 19 natural disasters 98 necessities 14 needs 29 neighbours 32, 36–7, 101 new purchases 81–8 New South Wales Department of Fair Trading 28, 151 night work 50 noise 36–7, 57–8 note-taking 50, 55, 104 notice of leaving 151–3, 161 noticeboards, share ads 48, 53 notifying change of address 111, 112 Optus 76 outside help 138–9 overspending 16 owner-occupiers 32 packing 107–10 breakables 109 parents 87, 112 adjusting 18 advice from 14, 19, 75 as guarantor 39 keeping on side 1, 19 letting go 18 sense of loss 6–7, 19 parking 32, 35, 37, 77 permit 77–8 parks/ovals 30, 36 parties 4, 71, 98, 101–2, 126 pay office (work) 111 pay phones 76 pay-TV, costs 77 peace and quiet 57–8 penalty fee 46 people, learning to live with 124 personality clashes 24, 48, 127 pets 31 Porter, Alison 3–5 practice runs 18–19
Premises Condition Report 41–2, 97 see also condition report privacy 24, 25, 44, 58 private purchases 90–2 problem solving 128 proof of income 28, 39 proximity to facilities 30, 36 to work/study 29–30, 63 public transport 29, 35–6 rats 3–4 re-letting fee 154 real estate jargon 37–8 newspaper ads 29, 37–8, 48 real estate agents 32–4, 121, 161 responsibilities 102–3 Real Estate Institutes 28 receipts for bond 70, 156 for entry costs 44 for private sales 90 for rent 34, 73 record keeping 50, 55, 74, 104 references 28, 39 of flatmates 49 refrigerators 83, 85–6, 89, 95, 109 relations with landlords 102, 148–9, 153 with shopkeepers 146 relationship skills 5–6 relatives, living with 25–6 relocation 48 removalists 113–15 being around 122 damage/loss 122 inventory form 122 meeting on time 118–19 quotes 114 rent 9, 10, 11, 13, 29, 72–3, 161 estimating 14 increases 73 must be paid 104, 126, 132
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sharing 23, 48, 140–1 rental period, open-ended 34 Renting Guide 28, 41, 43, 73, 97, 103, 104 renting a home 27–8, 35 application form 39–40 competition 35, 38, 39 enthusiasm 37, 39, 40 property inspections 38–9 quality of place 30 searching 37–41 security 99, 100 suburb selection 27–30 website 29 renting household goods 93–4 Renting Services Branch, Fair Trading 43, 70, 72 repairs, to premises 44, 71, 101–2 getting them done 102–5 urgent 103 reputation, as tenant 71–2, 102 reserve (at auction) 92 Residential Tenancy Act 33 Residential Tenancy Tribunals 104, 149–50, 161 responsibility 6, 43 of flatmates 50, 59 restaurants 36 returning home 12 rosters 60–1, 125, 135–8 routines 126–7 safety 30, 37, 60 in share accommodation 49–50 sale of rented home 152 saving 12, 15, 161 second-hand dealers 89–90 second-hand purchases 89–93 seconds stores 81, 82–3 security 31, 32 of home 99, 100 in share accommodation 49–50 services cost of 14
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organising connection 115, 121–2 sharing costs 141, 143 setting-up costs 69 sewerage charge 97 share accommodation 22–4, 47, 61, 161 agencies 53 benefits 47–8 checking it out 50–1 correct behaviour 134 drawbacks 47–8 fitting in 51 with friends 22–3, 52 moving in with strangers 22–3, 49–51 newspaper ads 24, 48 outside help 138–9 shopper dockets 147 shopping cheaply 143–5, 146, 147 shops 30, 36 smells 36 social interaction 48, 64 social isolation 59 spare rooms 25, 31 spending, reducing 15 statutory declaration forms 111 store cards 87, 88 storms 98, 100, 105 street lighting 37 Street Real Estate 34 stress 18, 130, 138, 141 studying 64 subletting 31 suburbs selecting 27–30 university 30 sunlight 36 superannuation fund 111 supermarkets 78–80, 108 selling tactics 79 tape, for packing 108 telephone 14, 74–6 bills 75–6
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connection fee 43, 74 in established house 115–16 extra lines 74–5, 115, 116 meter reading 116 mobiles 75, 76 organising connection 115, 121–2 security deposit 74, 115 sharing costs 141 television sets 94, 99 Telstra 74, 76 tenancy agreements see leases tenants 161 responsibilities 45 rights 27–8, 33, 44, 71, 148 theft 49, 59, 98, 132 TICA 45, 72 Trading Post 89, 90, 98 transport see cars; public transport
trust 50–1, 52 unit living 32, 34–5 university, housing service 62 university suburbs 30 value of belongings, estimating 98–9 vandalism 35 VCRs/DVDs 95, 99 warranties 89, 90 washing machines 5, 94, 109 water charges 96–7, 141 Youth Allowance 8–9, 10, 161 zip-lock plastic bags 110
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