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Thread: Housing on arrival and school zones – did you Air Bnb, secure rental from offshore, make an advance trip to NZ?

  1. #1
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    Default Housing on arrival and school zones – did you Air Bnb, secure rental from offshore, make an advance trip to NZ?

    Hi everyone. I’m interested to hear how others have managed finding suitable accommodation on arrival into NZ. We’re a family with 4 young children and two cats and will be arriving into Auckland. It sounds like many people will book themselves a hotel or Air Bnb for those first few weeks while they try and secure a house to rent and then cross their fingers and hope they’ll quickly find something they like and within approx. budget (and which will accept their pets/young children).

    My worry is that we’re pretty clear on which school zone we want to be in (Mt Eden Normal) and given the market size there’s probably only a handful of houses on the rental market at any one time. It’s quite plausible that we’ll arrive and there will be nothing/very little or even that the market is quite competitive and as a family with cats and young kids, we won’t be at the top of the list in terms of appeal to prospective landlords. As we’re looking at public schools we want to start the kids out where we’d like them to continue, without the need to change schools on them after 2 or 3 months if we aren’t able to find a longer term rental in the zone we are in when we first arrive.

    Any tips from others in the same boat? Did you rent something temporary through Air Bnb for 2, 3, or 4 weeks to give yourself time? Were you able to get something in advance by working with a rental agent from offshore? Offer to pay 6 months upfront?

    Any tips or advice would be much appreciated!

    Vanessa

  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by VAndrews View Post
    My worry is that we’re pretty clear on which school zone we want to be in (Mt Eden Normal) and given the market size there’s probably only a handful of houses on the rental market at any one time.
    Yes, I think that's a valid concern. What are your reasons for absolutely needing to be in that zone? If you were more flexible about schools, you'd have a lot more choice of accommodation.

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Oregonkiwi View Post
    Yes, I think that's a valid concern. What are your reasons for absolutely needing to be in that zone? If you were more flexible about schools, you'd have a lot more choice of accommodation.
    We have family that we want to be close to but we are also quite familiar with the school and the area and its really just our first choice.

    Regardless of that specific area I'm figuring others must have been in the same position of not wanting to move school zones between temporary accommodation on arrival and then securing their longer term accommodation. Avoiding moving schools three months after already moving country is out main goal so it would just be interesting to hear how others navigated the same thing. Thanks!

  4. #4
    Join Date
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    There's probably no secret here - I'm crossing my fingers for you! I've found that my kids are more adaptable to changing schools than I expected. You might have to start somewhere that is less than ideal, all the while keeping your eyes peeled for another opportunity.

    You can start a TradeMe account before arriving onshore if you email their support, so it doesn't hurt to contact landlords ahead of time...be ready with glowing referrals from previous landlords about your cats and what great tenants you are. If the area is that desirable though, you may have to rely on luck after you arrive. We had trouble securing accommodation while in Auckland, looking at far-flung areas like Nelson and New Plymouth. Most people expect you to be able to come to walkthrough appointments.

    We had good luck with long-term holiday home rental off-season, and some great timing with a family that was going on a 3-month vacation and needed someone short-term. These were certainly cheaper than AirBnb or hotels. You might also look into pet sitting for a few weeks, at least while your cats are still in quarantine.
    Last edited by Juniper; 8th August 2018 at 03:17 PM.

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