Finding a flat to rent with Sydney Estate Agents 
We, like many ex-pats moving to Sydney without the support of an employer’s relocation package, presumed that a couple of weeks would suffice to find the area we wanted to live, and find a flat which ticked most of the boxes.
What we found was not the dog-eat-dog competitive housing market we expected (at least not at the prices we were prepared to pay) but instead a bewilderingly inefficient and downright unprofessional industry. There were a few good eggs out there, but some really rotten ones too, and I run through the headlines in this article.
To understand why all these reviews revolve around viewings rather than consultations (as would be the norm in, say, the UK) you have to understand a bit about the Sydney rental process. Essentially, properties are advertised, and as soon as anyone shows some interest, a viewing is booked, and that too is advertised. Other interested parties sign up for the same date and time, and they’re all shown around together. Depending on the level of interest, in some cases viewers are required to submit tenancy application forms and bids at the end of the viewing, and the landlord selects the one he or she likes the best. So, the first difference versus the UK is that agents do NOT chase you with potential properties. You often get a blank stare if at the end of the viewing you ask if they have any other similar properties. To be honest, despite spending their days doing viewings, the agents also give you blank stares when you ask things like, “does it include a fridge,” and, “what kind of air conditioning is it,” all of which are perfectly valid and predicable questions.
So, the agents.
Jurgen from Ramsay Real Estate Rating:
While Jurgen was only the first agent we spoke to, he actually set us off on the right foot with thoughtful, surprisingly unbiased advice, and a realistic assessment of the right asking price for the property we viewed with him. Just a shame we didn’t want it! I’d have given him more points, but in the end we only saw one property with him and didn’t require follow up.
Natalie from Ray White Rating:
Our dealings with Natalie set the tone for the rest of our flat-hunting. She was late for both viewings we did with her. As soon as she realised that we were a few weeks away from moving in she stopped returning my calls and emails… but when we called again a few weeks later, she was responsive again. We really wanted to live in one of the buildings in which she had several properties, but we were definitely put off by her attitude.
Shane from Angus Levitt Rating:
Strictly I should give Shane a point as he was on time for our viewing, and managed to let us into the property. However, he completely let himself (and his company) down by, after we’d expressed major interest in the flat, printed and filled in the 6 pages of application form, obtained the 3 forms of ID required, scanned and send them all to him with a firm offer and a cover letter (none of which is straightforward to do when you’re living in a hostel!) he went silent. Totally. Calls went unanswered. Emails. Calls to his office on the phone and in person revealed that his colleagues were equally clueless. We still don’t know what the landlord thought of our offer as we never heard from him again. What a complete cretin.
Daniel from Belle Property Rating:
In the end, we’re renting a property from Daniel, and that’s as much to do with Daniel as it is to do with the property. While he wasn’t always prompt in his responses, he was polite, considerate, reliable and intelligent, and importantly seemed able to remember our names and the last conversation we’d had with him. While the move in itself was a bit hairy (literally, as the flat hadn’t been hoovered or steam cleaned as promised by the previous tenant) despite being on a tight schedule that day Daniel managed to arrange steam cleaners to arrive within a few hours of us getting the keys, which really made a big difference.
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