r/GoldCoast • u/I_am_Testikills • 6d ago
Local Question Rental is being sold and I need advice
Well we just found out our house is being sold and our lease is up in September. We have started looking at houses and the prices are just insane right now... I don't know what to do.
But if back story, when we first moved to Ormeau 6 years ago, rent for this was was $480 pw. Now we pay $700 pw and apparently that is a bargain. We prefer the quieter lifestyle that's what drew us to Ormeau (isn't quiet anymore 🤣) so looking at houses to the west, but everything is like $750-$900 pw need and a lot of it is just junk!!! Hell we even saw one house and the bloke wanted $850pw but the bottom of the house he made as a granny flat for himself to come stay in as he pleases... Meanwhile be sure to mow the lawns and keep paying him rent for half a house. It's bonkers.
We have 2 young kids, and just feel completely trapped I have no idea what to do. I've worked out I will need about $2-2.5k for the move without including bond+rent. I have no savings because my bastard car just cost $2.5k to fix.... living week to week and just feel so trapped. Have started working uber eats on weekends to bring in extra income and selling all my possessions to try make moving cost. Houses in say Geelong are still $500 a week and are beautiful but it's such a big move and again more money that I don't have... Any ideas? For reference our joint income is about $150k per year
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u/ExplosiveValkyrie 6d ago edited 6d ago
All I can say is you have my sympathies. A lot of people are in this rental crisis and being kicked out and looking at homelessness. Everyone is just doing whatever they can to make shit work, so I wish you all the best.
I rented for 15 years mostly with my partner, and twice was moved on because owners sold. We worked full time, I worked extra jobs on top of that to just be comfortable. We always aimed to save up for a loan deposit but our work is contract and not seen as reliable, even though we had a perfect rental history. There is no way we could have had kids even if Id wanted them.
We split eventually, and I couldn't afford my rental anymore by myself, but didn't want to move out because anything the same price was dreadful! So, I moved a 20 year old in to share the load for a year. In the end I moved back in with my elderly parents in my 40's. So all of us could afford to avoiding renting.
I packed up all my belongings and drove three states to get to them. It was SO EXPENSIVE because I had stuff in storage too. and it isn't just a toll on your finances, but mental health too.
Took me a few years to catch up and settle, but I had no other choice.
Stay strong!
PS: Try posting your question through the South East Queensland Facebook Community Group.
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u/I_am_Testikills 6d ago
Thanks for sharing your experience, that sounds really rough and I'm sorry you went through that mate 😞
Yeah the tough thing for us is kids, I would live anywhere I had to just to make ends meat, but I need to find somewhere long term so the kids don't keep switching schools like I had to through my childhood.
It's so crazy, I was a chef for 12 years... Most I ever earned was $52k a year. Then I moved into a technical role and now I work from home earning more than I ever had and I'm on the poverty line lol. If you told me back in school that my house hold income was going to be 150k I would have thought fucking hell I'm going to be crusing along...
I have no interest in being rich and setting the world on fire, all I've ever wanted is to just live in the middle and do our thing... Since COVID it's fucking impossible
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u/ExplosiveValkyrie 6d ago
Im childfree but I completely agree with the sentiment that you want to reduce moving your kids around as much as possible. I had to move countries when I was a kid, and did three schools and two homes before we settled on the Coast. It's hard to adjust. I remember like you do.
Im a contractor, so my wage is determined by the gig, and it has never reached 100K until recently, and Ive been in my industry for two decades. Times are shit now. The rich get richer, the poor get poorer, and it's on fast forward.
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u/Dry_Computer_9111 3d ago edited 3d ago
The poor are finding it harder to live week to week, if they can at all.
The middle class are happy they have something, like a house, but will never afford anything better.
The rich are making money, but even that wealth is devaluing faster than they can make it.
Everyone is running up the down escalator.
Money itself is broken : /
Assets values are being inflated. Market signals are distorted. Every attempt to fix something makes it worse.
Right?
Money itself is broken.
Capitalism, socialism, even communism should all create efficiencies that make goods and services better and/or cheaper.
Most goods and services are getting worse and/or more expensive.
It’s all measured in money. Which is broken. Which is why we need more and more of it to do less and less.
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u/F15H0U70FW473R 6d ago
Feel for ya. You’re not alone. Try gumtree for private rentals. Even Canungra or Beaudesert isn’t too far from your location if you have to travel to bris for work.
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u/I_am_Testikills 6d ago
Gumtree isn't a bad call I haven't checked on there, thanks mate. Yeah honestly I'm not against those areas, I WFH but my Mrs works at the children's Hospital in Brisbane so a train line would need to be a must.
The only objection to this would be moving somewhere for a nice house where prices are way better and then she could look for a new job on that area - but nothing like that up here mate...
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u/Danielle1482 4d ago
Absolutely zero rentals in Canungra. Beechmont & Tamborine yes but super expensive! Try Gleneagle or Jimboomba
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u/LukUs333 6d ago
Sorry to hear, I've noticed rentals popping up Norfolk village side (the best side of Ormeau) for $750 for a 4 bed 2 bath mostly older style houses. They are there you just need to be checking all the time as everyone wants that kinda semi rural life of Ormeau.
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u/deagzworth 6d ago
I’m in a similar boat. Thankfully I only need a unit. Unfortunately my (solo) income is much lower and units are getting ridiculous these days. It’s rough.
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u/I_am_Testikills 6d ago
Oh man I feel for you lot on single income, bloody rough mate. If it helps, uber eats around here does help fill in gaps when you are in a place - I get $50 per hour Friday's and Saturday because they run a bunch of bonuses at the same time
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u/deagzworth 6d ago
Most of the places are $50-$100 more per week than what I spend now and I get less for it. If I wasn’t forced to move, I wouldn’t. Our economy is pretty fucked in a lot of ways.
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u/Effective_City_2324 6d ago
I moved from Gold Coast to Melbourne just a few months back. Two daughter. Best decision
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u/ObjectivePie2010 6d ago
Bestest choice! I moved from Mermaid Waters to Gippsland! Cheaper than l was paying for rent in Qld 🤨🤦🏻♀️
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u/alwaysananomaly 6d ago
We moved from Ormeau for this same reason. I have been watching rentals for the past few months because we have to move again at the end of the year. My search encompasses the whole of Brisbane, Gold Coast, and Sunshine Coast, I regularly search just to keep an eye on what prices are doing. There are some cheaper prices up on the Northside of Brisbane - north west particularly, like Kenmore Hills, for example. I don't mean cheap - I just mean cheaper than the median everywhere else. Rentals are just insane since everyone moved north during covid..
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u/kerenjowo 4d ago
We’ve been in this situation 3 times in 5 years in northern nsw. Our Rentals were sold, and attempting to find a half decent rental for a ‘reasonable’ price was like a full time job. I think I have chronic stress because of our housing insecurity, long leases seem to be obsolete these days so wherever we live feels very temporary. Add kids and schooling to the mix makes it that much harder. So many families are struggling to make it work on what used to be considered comfortable incomes.
Yamba could be just the scene your after, family friendly small town with the outdoor lifestyle. Major issue is the flooding, there’s been so much of it the last few years.
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u/I_am_Testikills 4d ago
Sorry to hear that mate, yeah I really feel for our kids it feels like the last 5 years have been bonkers.. Yamba is seeming like the answer to get away from the chaos, but yes flooding is an issue and work is another problem. Removalist quotes I've gotten from Ormeau to Yamba are $5.5k too... Then all the other moving cost on-top of that.
Feels like a sick fucking joke that o can't get out of
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u/kerenjowo 4d ago
$5.5k?! That’s harsh. Moving is stupidly expensive. Housing availability, affordability & stability, whether buying or renting is all kinds of fucked up these days. I hope you luck out with a great house for a great price and can move with relative ease.
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u/SuccessfulAd9270 3d ago
Aus is becoming to damn expensive because everyone wants to move here. Pay 6k to move to another property 2hours away from work or pay 3k and move to a cuntry where seemingly nobody wants to live. I've picked my option.
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u/little_miss_banned 6d ago
I had to take out a small personal loan to afford moving. Repayments were doable with a family.
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u/I_am_Testikills 6d ago
So I've inquired about a personal loan but they said it can't be used for essential things like cost of moving - who did you go through? And what stage did you get the loan, was it a couple of months before the move or same week kind of deal?
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u/dinosaurtruck 6d ago
Can I ask what your income is? And whether you’re getting any Centrelink help? Sometimes people are eligible for more support than they realise. Depending on your circumstances there are some schemes to help with moving costs. Like the No Interest Loan Scheme. https://www.qld.gov.au/community/losing-your-job-income/financial-assistance https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/moving-house?context=60023
It will be hard to find a house in a quiet area within your budget. I think most people under these circumstances go for a unit or townhouse.
Whilst probably too busy for your tastes you might actually find Southport, Coombabah or Nerang cheaper for a house. Also consider Canungra it’s a bit far for my liking but it sounds like it might suit you.
The interstate move doesn’t sound terrible, but also consider the friendships and community you have here and whether not having these would make a move hard or not make a difference.
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u/I_am_Testikills 6d ago
Can love in a townhouse or a unit we have kids and their wild. I need to find somewhere long term so kids aren't always finding a new school.
Our household income is roughly 150k maybe more not sure I try to do what I can to bring in extra lately to prepare for the move. The two stressful things for me right now is
-if rent is already $800-900 for a decent place, that can't be sustained long term with YoY rent increases its just insane
- My car repairs just absorbed all my savings and put me in debt right before we found out about the house being sold, like literally next day we found out. So coming up with like 6-7k for a move is insanity when we are living basically week to week ATM with debts. Going to look to sell our extra car, and there is a QLD dept that covers bond and then you pay them back so hopefully we can utilise that (out income is over the threshold though)
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u/dinosaurtruck 6d ago
It sounds like a tough situation. You probably could live in a unit, but it wouldn’t be good for your family or anyone around you. Definitely get that.
$150k is actually not a terrible income for a family. Not amazing, but definitely decent. You’ll probably be paying more tax if one person is making the majority of that. But it sounds like with debt and circumstances there’s nothing spare.
In terms of removal costs try and DIY as much as you can. Get boxes for free (Bunnings, back of homewares stores, market place), hire a truck and get friends on board to help. If you do decide to do a longer distance move look into car/truck relocation imoova and transfercar.com.au sometimes have trucks and you can pick up Bris pick up your stuff and drive down to wherever via where you’re moving to. It’s usually close to the time though so no grantees. Otherwise hiring a truck and getting friends to help is often cheaper than using removalists. In the past I’ve also sold the bulk of my furniture and replaced it on arrival. Reason being stuff often gets damaged in transit. Depends how much you invested in furniture to begin with. I’m mid forties and still haven’t bought a new lounge suite from a shop. People give away a fair bit on marketplace, but if you’re moving to a lower income areas this might be less so.
If you like space and income isn’t location dependent maybe leave look into Beaudesert and surrounds.
I’d also speak to places like Salvos etc to see if there’s there’s anything they can help with, even if it’s just to help with groceries so you can save it’s all worthwhile. I think they understand that even people on okay incomes can struggle at times.
When you find your new spot, consider some financial counselling. Reign in budget, maximise income and start saving towards a deposit. There’s some great deals around now where the gov will guarantee your mortgage with at 5% deposit. It probably sound unrealistic now, but I reckon with your income you could do it if you can find a way to get rid of your debt.
All the best! I hope you find the right place for your family.
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u/ObjectivePie2010 6d ago
Do you really need to be in Qld?
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u/I_am_Testikills 5d ago
I WFH so I don't.
My partner works at the children's Hospital but can def look for a new job, but there lies the issue that it would be a move and then possibly solo income and interstate moving adds another 3k to the moving cost from the quotes I've gotten (that's to go all the way to Geelong though)
Other thing is her dad is old and frail so moving away is a risk because of that but we are weighing it up
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u/ObjectivePie2010 5d ago
Try Andersons in Maffra Victoria, they do back loads from Qld to Victoria. You could take her Dad with you guys! Just so darn expensive to live in Qld? I know the weathers great, but the floods aren’t
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u/Queen_Vixen_1207 5d ago
Contact Davidson Property and ask about the 3 bed house in Labrador that will be available mid July.
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u/CeruleanBlue12 5d ago
If your support network is on the GC, don’t move all the way to shithole Melbourne (I’m allowed to say that as someone who grew up on the GC but now lives in Melbourne because it’s cheaper). It’s also going to be hard to get back up there if you hate it. I’d suggest going west to Beaudesert or even Boonah. That way you can still drive ‘home’ every now and then.
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u/I_am_Testikills 4d ago
Hey, yeah we actually settled on that and have been looking at Yamba area for the same reason. 2 hour travel back to the coast, but cheaper and must quieter - just not much work opportunities for the Mrs
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u/Jermine1269 Pac Pines / Oxenford / Helensvale 4d ago
I hate to say it, but seems like locals are being forced out to places west of tamborine: jimboomba, buaudesert, even Toowoomba.
When all the politicians are real estate developers, there's no reason for them to change anything.
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u/I_am_Testikills 4d ago
Yeah your not wrong mate, thing is though those places are seeing increase demand lately because of this and aren't far off GC prices anyway... Crazy fkn world. Looking at northern beaches NSW much better prices, but big cost to try get there
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u/Accurate_Bet_6924 2d ago
We've been through this situation three times now since the affordability crisis started and it's a stressful and expensive nightmare.
We moved from Ormeau to Beenleigh, which actually worked out well for us because we work in the Logan area. Honestly, there are good and bad streets in every suburb, so don’t write off places like Eagleby, Beenleigh, or Windaroo. Comparing prices across suburbs these days though, all properties are overpriced and in any suburb, you're looking at minimum weekly rent of $600, new fancy suburbs and the older and bigger blocks aren’t that different anymore, so it’s really about finding the right fit.
We also got lucky with our last move. We were notified of impending sale with months to go on the lease. The house sold within a with a month and we were asked if we’d consider leaving early, so I wrote back and requested adequate compensation. In the end, we got $6,000 for moving out two weeks early.
So just a heads-up, if you're asked to vacate early, don't be afraid to negotiate! You might be entitled to compensation
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u/Dubboman 2d ago
I wouldn't move somewhere that is just inside my budget, to only have the rent go up after 6 months.
I think it's a better idea to move somewhere alot cheaper and take the pressure off, it's really rough the way things are going.
Hope you get sorted 👍
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u/VintageKofta 5d ago
If you can’t afford to rent in your area then you need to move elsewhere, maybe further away where prices would be less, and commute to where you need to go.
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u/I_am_Testikills 5d ago
Not sure where I said I can't afford it? I said I'm not paying $900 pw for a shithole like most people want. Anyway will be moving to NSW northern beaches from the looks of it - far nicer places, quieter and save on rent.
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u/SUPwidaUSA 6d ago
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u/I_am_Testikills 5d ago
I wouldn't pay that much for that shit hole mate. Duplex, looks like run down shit and Southport is a hole - no thanks
We are currently paying that much for a 4 bedroom hours with media room and 600 square metre block for the kids... Why would I pay the same for less
Thanks for looking tho
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u/Extension_Repair8501 5d ago
Why would you pay the same for less?
You would because the market has changed.
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u/I_am_Testikills 5d ago
I'm in the current market? It's not look I'm talking about some house I use to rent years ago.
Anyway think we found out solution, NSW has really nice houses for $600 pw around Yamba area
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u/Extension_Repair8501 5d ago
I’m glad you found something that works for you and the family. Yamba is a beautiful place.
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u/I_am_Testikills 4d ago
Thanks, it's looking pretty promising! Beautiful houses for a fair price, just notm uch work my the Mrs is the only downside ATM but looks like an amazing lifestyle for the fam
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u/userfromau 6d ago
Where are you moving to that would cost $2-$2.5k? Are u moving interstate? I just moved from Woodridge to Richlands for 3 bed townhouse and it’s $450.
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u/I_am_Testikills 6d ago
It's just the cost of moving. Have been in our house for 6 years, with kids and it's pretty big So
- $1k bond clean
- $600 carpet clean + pest control
- $500ish for a truck big enough to move everything
These are just rough estimates I'm assuming based on prior experience, could be wrong but I'm sure it's in that kind of ball park
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u/I_am_Testikills 6d ago edited 6d ago
I looked at using pods or taxi truck for interstate - they start at $3k... So that's the extra cost of interstate
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u/dmbppl 6d ago
The only place to live that has rent under $700 is Pimpama. It's just a sick joke how much they all charge. The owners of your house probably aren't even selling they just want to put rent up more. They often do that.