To make way for our new build we needed to vacate and demolish our house. This meant moving into a rental property for the duration of the build. Neither of us had rented before and we were concerned our lack of rental history would present some challenges.
Another challenge was establishing the our rental duration. This was due to balancing the following:
- Could not establish a build start date due to lengthy and unknown contract process
- Could not proceed with contract stages until we had a vacant block and cleared land
- Unknown length of time to secure a rental property
- Organising abandonment of utilities
- Locking in a date with demolition contractor
- Timing for finance application
- Technical difficulties with knocking down party wall and organising rectification works
Because of all the unknowns we began our search for a rental property immediately. We didn’t want our uncertain rental prospects to be a factor which pushed out the project.
We set ourselves some parameters for our ideal rental property:
- Close to the build so we could keep track and organise on site meetings before and after work more readily
- Enclosed garage space to store our belongings
- Minimal cost
- Some flexibility in the contract length
Within the first week of searching we found a few properties which met our requirements. We applied quickly, however our applications for these properties were unsuccessful. Our growing concern and impatience meant we threw ourselves into the endeavour more seriously. We found a small 2 storey town house about 5 minutes down the road. We were lucky to find owners who were happy with a 9-12 month lease with a flexible end date. They were able to accommodate us as they had plans to renovate the property in the short term. The place was a bit more expensive than we wanted but the flexibility worked in our favour. We applied immediately and were soon accepted.
To give us the best shot at getting the rental property we did the following:
- Presentable and well spoken during the inspection
- Expressed interest immediately at inspection and followed up with professional prompt, clear and direct communication with property manager
- Our “DINK” (Double Income No Kids) status along with lack of pets helped make the process a lot quicker.
Now that we had secured a rental property we could now lock in dates with our utilities and the demolition contractor. Living in a small place, we had a relatively good storage system involving heavy duty shelving and plastic tubs. This meant most of our belongings were already packed and easily transferable. Unfortunately things like kitchenware, linen, bedding and clothes we were less organised.
Neither of us had moved house before. In hindsight we could have been more selective with which items to keep. This would have prevented us from double handling in the future. If only we had discovered the Marie Kondo method earlier!
We organised a small truck from Cut Price Rentals. This was really handy as it enabled us to move a large amount of gear in less loads. The truck had a hydraulic lift at the back making lifting heavy things on to the truck a lot easier. I’m not a hoarder, but I definitely don’t like throwing away things to landfill.
In parallel to renting and moving we had engaged a mortgage broker – Matt from Centrone Finance. I actually dealt with Matt years ago when I first purchased my house and his knowledge and clear explanations really stuck with me. It was about this time that the findings from the banking royal commission had been released, and the banking and lending sector was under scrutiny. Matt was really open about the process and his remuneration and helped to address the current situation quite openly. He helped break down our financial situation in relation to the mortgage and clarify some misconceptions we had. He helped to identify a number of competitive construction loan products which worked for us.
Not everyone will find it necessary to engage a mortgage broker. Matt and his team navigated the loan application, processed progress payments on our behalf and provided contacts for a conveyancer. We found it handy to have someone to assist us with these aspects during the build.
Getting our finance pre-approved and locking in demolition dates meant we could sign off the preliminary estimate check-list. This meant we could begin the selections process.
