After weeks of intensive cross-country drives to find the perfect home (inc. refilling the car every 2 days and hours spent poring over Melway maps and getting lost and frustrated), we finally received a call from the real estate agent in charge of a property we'd submitted a tenancy application for.
"You've got the approval!" she said over the phone.
In case you're wondering what's the fuss, there's no guarantee that you'll get a place even if you go through the hassle of filling out a Residential Tenancy Application, and that's not just because there may be other interested parties. It's the landlord's call, and he has the right to demand all sorts of supporting docs and/or to impose restrictions (e.g. no pets, which would have posed a problem for us).
In our case, besides the usual identity docs, we had to show:
- evidence of ability to pay the rental (bank statement - we had to make a trip to the bank to obtain a printout, local payslip - obviously we couldn't produce this, so we offered our Sg tenancy agreement in lieu, and it was accepted)
- work/business references (again tricky for new migrants, but we managed to get by with a letter from Cheng Ann's former employer confirming his last held position in the co)
In fact, we were rather surprised that the LL didn't object to our having a dog, considering the place is brand-new, carpeted and doesn't have a generous yard for Scottie to romp in unlike some older (and cheaper) properties.
What we learnt thru this exercise is that at some point, you have to make your choice and live with the consequences, and stop thinking "what if" and dreaming about all the endless possibilities still out there. Saying yes to Pitanga Gardens meant saying no to possibly better options out there. The urgent need to find housing, arrange for our effects to be shipped from Sg (2 weeks to arrive), unpack our 68 boxes and whip the house into some sort of liveable order before the bb arrives...these are all considerations that required us to make up our minds rather quickly.
So - we're glad we've found a place to settle in for the next 12 mths, and it's not a bad place too. It's in a new estate near the W train station and town centre, there's the W river nearby, and best of all, it's spanking new. We're collecting the keys next Wed and will move in next Fri when the bare essentials are delivered: the bed, the dining set, and the sofa that's convertible into a sofa bed - perfect for guests.
Cheers!
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