How to Move to New Zealand in 31 Easy Steps by Sara Dawn Johnson

Author:Sara Dawn Johnson [Johnson, Sara Dawn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Force Four Publications

Finding a home

Just like buying a car or finding a job, Trade Me is the place to begin your search for a home. You can narrow your search by region, district, and suburb; number of bedrooms and bathrooms; price and type (apartment, house, etc.). If you didn’t haul your whole family with you to New Zealand and simply need a room to call your own, check out Trade Me’s flatmate listings of people seeking to share their houses or flats.

A typical rental listing will state when the property is available to move in, the preferred number of tenants, what’s included in terms of furnishings and whiteware (appliances such as fridge and washing machine), parking availability, and whether pets are allowed. Rents in New Zealand are listed on a per week basis; we pay our rent fortnightly—two weeks’ worth at a time (not monthly, as in the United States). Also, unlike the United States and Europe, there are few corporate-owned rentals available. Most rentals, even flats in the city, are owned by private individuals who contract with a property manager to handle the lease, maintenance, and all other tenancy details. There are some owners who choose to manage their rental properties themselves.

Your first contact will likely be with such a property manager. There are excellent property management companies (that are attentive to the needs of both property owners and tenants) and there are terrible ones. The Trade Me listing for an available rental will show who the property management company is and I recommend you check out their Google reviews. There are certainly a few that you’ll want to avoid entirely. Obviously, take reviews with a grain of salt; it’s common knowledge that people who are disgruntled with a company tend to let everyone know and satisfaction doesn’t usually give people cause to share their experience. But you can discern important information from the types of complaints (unresponsiveness to maintenance issues and incorrectly lodging and refunding bonds would be red flags).

If proximity to a good school is a housing consideration, you’ll want to research the schools in the area you’re planning to live. Most schools have enrolment zones, meaning a student can only attend if they live on one of the streets identified in a school’s zone. You can search for schools and their enrolment zones (if applicable) at this website: nzschools.tki.org.nz. This one is a good place to research schools in general: educationcounts.govt.nz/find-school. (For more information on schools, skip ahead to Step 21.)

Once you find a home you’re interested in, the property manager or owner will either give you a private showing or invite you to an open showing on the weekend. Once you decide on a home you want to rent, you’ll fill out a rental application. Employment details, rental history, financial status, and references may be required. The management company may also run a credit check (this will be limited to credit extended and debts owed in New Zealand). There is usually no application fee. Most properties receive

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