Originally Posted by
Wooly_Cow
With all due respect to benandclare, I think they were very lucky both in terms of finding a place to buy so quickly and having a good exchange rate.
I feel there are just too many serious risks and pitfalls for expat house buyers in New Zealand for the average person to get a good view on inside the first 3 months especially given all the other issues around migration.
Spot on advice. You would be very fortunate to pick up the ideal spot within a few weeks. It is definitely worth assessing areas and particularly houses before jumping in, in particular, how ideal are they are in the winter months!
If you aim for a rental of 6 months, I don't think you would have a problem finding anywhere. Typically you should find most landlords would agree to a 6 month term then reverting to a 'periodic' terms which can be cancelled with 3 weeks notice (or 6 from the landlord). Obviously don't let them know that you're looking straightaway
Also probably not best either to find a rental straight over the internet, defintely worth seeing them first.
Hopefully you don't see this as negative advice, yes you may well have the money, but it's very easy to lose it buying the wrong place, particularly with the NZ standard of housing.