Moving out of home is exciting but leaving your family and living somewhere new can be overwhelming too. Whether you’re planning to flatshare with friends or rent a place on your own, being prepared can make your big move less stressful.
Save up before you move
Paying the bond, then covering the ongoing rent and bills, can really stretch your finances. Saving up in advance can make things easier. Set a realistic target that you can comfortably stick to. Divide your income into money for food, rent, uni expenses, transport and entertainment, then see how much you’ve got left. If there’s not much left, see where you can cut back.
Pick the right time to move
If you’re looking for shared accommodation, there are certain times of year when it is almost impossible to find a room. Just before the start of a new university semester is always bad because most students want accommodation before they begin. And late January through to February is one of the worst times to house hunt.
Conversely, the end of university semesters can be one of the better times to search – there are normally plenty of rooms available in November and late June to early July.
Finding the right place
Once you’ve decided when you’re going to move, the next-most nerve-racking part is finding a place, and luckily there are a bunch of online tools you can use to make it easier.
There are Facebook groups for finding roommates, and Gumtree also advertises house shares. Several other commercial websites exist for this very purpose like flatmatefinders.com.au and flatmates.com.au.
Never agree to take a room without seeing it first, and if you have a strange gut feeling about the place when you inspect it, keep looking. Your gut instinct is almost always right when it comes to share houses.
Schedule the movers
Unless you have very little to move, we recommend enlisting either friends or professionals to assist with the move. If enlisting friends for a DIY move, consider renting a moving truck from a reputable company.
If you’re hoping to hire professionals to help with part of the move, consider enlisting labor-only movers to assist with loading and unloading the rental truck as this will most certainly be less expensive than full-service removalists.
Don’t forget your utilities
News flash: if you’ve been living with your parents, you’ve been using their utilities. Unless you want to walk into a dark home with no electricity, you’ll need to set up utilities and internet in your new place as soon as possible.
We recommend calling the specific companies early on to let them know when you’ll be moving in.
Splitting the bills in a share house
Sorting out how rent and bills will be split with your housemates early on will make life a lot easier. Being out of pocket while you’re waiting to be paid for a flatmate’s share of the rent, bills and weekly groceries can be frustrating, and expensive. If a bill is in your name and you don’t pay on time, it’s likely you’ll be charged a late payment fee.
To help you to pay bills on time we recommend using a PayID to make instant payments to someone regardless of who they bank with and set up recurring, instant transfers to make payments automatically without needing to remember.