this is stupid,

my flatmate screwed up her exams and now she is charging my room 25 bucks extra per week. if i dont comply she will ask me to move out.

pesonally i think its retarded even to do such a thing, the only problem was that i did not sign a solid contract and things were periodic. damn idiots

if someone has a room offer to boot, in brisbane st lucia i want to hear it. i hate to bring this up to the relevant authorities, i feel she is stupid as she wrote there in black and white that she is forcing me out of the house due to her own imcompetence.

i want to do this diplomatically, id hate to live with someone that is soo stupic

oO...lol
but legally,she got no right to charge extra more or call u to move out..she is the owner of tht flat?

This is the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

It is also your own fault.

As I have said in the past, I am no fan of Chinaman housing. I believe in individual leases in any kind of accommodation, so if anything should go wrong there is some documentation to actually pursue your rights. If your arrangement is just verbal then there is nothing you can do.

Really people, I would gladly go through the "hassle" of having an individual lease rather than answering an Sunnybank ad where nothing is written and the lease is under one name only. Unless the name on the lease is yours, you're screwed.

nope, well i didnt sign a contract. the thing was that they are students, she is like the main tenant so after i moved in they seemed nice people i mean these guys at times offer me free dinners.

and how this


i do understand that i have fault in not signing any contracts, just hta the reasoning she gave me is kinda meh if she told me like hey price of property hiked you haev to pay more id say fair enough. also its not that she told me any earlier or gave me any good warning, i was expecting and they expecting me to stay on. she had like a whole month to look at her results and tell me, but she decided to drop this in between xmas and the new year.

to make matters worse, she immediately increased the price for jan which is only like a week notice. here am i expecting to have a room and suddenly she hikes the price?

the sloppyness in this is off the roof!

ps: indie agreements tend to be expensive, when i came over i was looking at like 170 plus for one.



This post has been edited by +3kk!: Dec 29 2009, 10:11 AM

Which matter of facts, protect yourself next time in black & white. I been that situation before & its shits. Petty issue raised a trouble to others living with them.

Why dont get A house yourself & rent it out later? since you still got chances that empty spaces still available.

maybe u should look for housing advisor for advice..they r helpful for u

I'm currently working in Chatswood, thought of sharing this to you all.

New Year's Eve Fireworks Vantage Points
http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/nye/200...ts/default.aspx

Happy New Year

man this gets even more epic

i tell you this is like a soap opera

ok ok
part 2.

apparently my other flatmates didnt know, and when i told them today because i had a shortage of time they were shocked. what made it worse was that the main tenancy was held by two people, now this gets troublsome, one wants me to stay and is backed by another flatmate anotehr this girl wants to kick me out.

as i tcame out there was a slight misunderstanding due to the language barrier, she wanted to rent BOTH my and her rooms while she sleeps on teh couch. which i mean was WTF!

now i dont know i got a place which tho old and the sort is kinda nice, its independant the owner seems nice and reasonable and so on.

man options

Sad to hear this. Tenancy disputes are really ugly, actually anything that involves money will be. Even though your other housemates are on your side, if it's not too much of a hassle for you it's better to move as (1) you still don't have an actual legal contract so technically you always lose (2) No point living with someone who wants to find trouble with you under the same roof, see face also dulan (3) who knows you might get a better deal elsewhere as there's often quite a lot of contract terminations in January when students graduate/people move on. (4) extra 25 bucks per week = +108/month, and still have to see that trouble maker? Erm no thanks.

I myself am having a headache finding a new place... the nice ones are either too expensive or already leased, the cheap ones are, well, just say that anti-depressants will cost me more than what I save from rent. Plus these 2 weeks have been absolutely slow motion... everybody's on leave for Xmas and new year, not many inspections available too. If I fail to move by early Jan I'll end up driving 50km one way to work every day...

This post has been edited by StarGhazzer: Dec 30 2009, 07:28 PM

if i stay the price will remain teh same, the 175 wont apply

Thought that fella wanted you to pay 25 extra? Oh well... just make sure you get a legal contract this time, or move to somewhere which offers it. Otherwise many problems would surface in the future... Nobody, even the closest of friends, will ever be benevolent when it comes to issues associated with money.

Anyone studying in Adelaide still looking for a room to rent?

Just in the city, 3 min walk from Rundle Mall and Uni, $185 a week.

ok ok, this was the problem.

in my flat there are 3 people, A,B.C (cept for me). A and B are the main tenants and friends ( i dont know why she puts up with it) but one day A decides to hike my rent or kick me out of the house without letting anyone know. I went out and did some searching and got a not too bad but old place, i came back and told B and C.

B and C was shocked, they said that A cannot do this and that it violates my rights as a sub tenant. they are against the fact that i have to increase my rent to 175 and wanted it to remain the same at 150 and say that they want me to stay.

now at this point i was like erm yea, ok i got this offer from this new place which wassnt too bad. independant contract, good location and so on, but the land lord was asking for 695 a month i was taken back, why was it that expensive he explained his calculation and it was sound.

i went home and did my own, it turns out i was paying only 135 for my room instead of 150 that i believed. this place was damn cheap

but what takes the cake is the stupidity of the idea, she wants me out - i say hey fair trade. but the thing was she wants it to make a all girls flat so she can stay in the LIVING ROOM! thus generating income of 100 a week for her alone so she can pay the fees.

now since i say hey i might want to stay and remain paying at 150, she now has the retarded idea of renting the LIVING ROOM!

this dear lady is going to live here for another half a year and is causing soo much trouble, everyone doesnt like her cause really if i move out who is going to pay the room at such a depressed season?

owh one thing why i want to move, independant contract and the land lord seems really really nice. soft spoken, drives a beat up car and even offers to move my things. i ask him for extension hold my room for a day or two and he allowed.

man headache

This post has been edited by +3kk!: Dec 31 2009, 12:25 PM

In light of developments in V3.0, I'm adding 2 new sections to the front page of the next version: one for driving licenses and opening a bank account for international banks. As I do not have experience in either of them, I'm using the discussions on the info on this thread; however I would be very much grateful if anyone could correct any mistakes before it becomes live.

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The basics: Money Matters

1. Opening a bank account:
Malaysian banks do not have any branches in Australia. While more international banks like HSBC have bank branches in Australia, generally they are more focused on business banking, not consumer needs.

The best way is to open a Australian bank account. To open a bank account, you need:
• A passport
• ECoE (to prove which university or institution you attend)
• Student card (not really needed)

All banks have fee-free banking for students, so generally account keeping fees and most transaction fees are waived. The student waiver has to be renewed every year, but it as simple as going to any branch and giving your student card along with your account details. The process takes less than 5 minutes.

All banks have associated or 'sub' accounts, which are ONLY electronically accessible, and comes with high interests. Some people keep a minimal amount in the main account, and the bulk of funds in the subaccount. When money is needed, you will need to electronically transfer the money from the sub account to the main account so you can withdraw at the atm. The good news is, most branches will have internet terminals for you to do that.

LYN members are not responsible for giving advice on which financial institution to use. It is up to you and based on your needs. Generally ANZ and Commonwealth bank have the most branches and ATM machines, but Sydney students seem to favor Westpac. Links of major Australian banks provided below for your research.

ANZ: http://www.anz.com/
Commonwealth Bank: http://www.commbank.com.au/
Westpac: http://www.westpac.com.au/
NAB: http://www.nab.com.au/

For Queensland students:
Suncorp: http://www.suncorp.com.au/
Bank of Queensland: http://www.boq.com.au

For Western Australia students:
BankWest: http://www.bankwest.com.au/

1.1 Accounts with international banks

Some forum members who have financial relationships with international banks such as Citibank and HSBC might consider to open a account with these finaicial institution(s) in Australia. However, there are a few caevats: most have minimum opening deposit amounts, and/or require you to have minimum monhly deposits to avoid the monthy account keeping fee. Student fee waivers usually do not apply here.

To transfer money between a (say) Malaysian HSBC to a Australian HSBC account, the Australian HSBC account would need to be linked to the Malaysian HSBC account. Fees for linking and initiating the money transfer may apply, and note that it is not the cheapest or the fastest way of moving money across.

While most international banks have only one branch in the major cities, the good news is any Australia Post office acts as a agent for these international banks, and you can do basic banking tasks such as depositing and withdrawing money. Note that is is not limited to HSBC and Citibank: see here for the list of financial institutions which you can deal with using any Australian post office. See here for most information on Bank@Post: http://www.austpost.com.au/BCP/0,1467,CH20...57EMO19,00.html

For access to your money, HSBC and Citibank customers can generally use Westpac, St.George and BankSA ATM's without any charge. So read the fine print through: not all Westpac-St.Geroge ATM's are fee-free.

1.2 Opening a Australian bank account in Malaysia

It has come to my attention that OCBC customers can open a ANZ account in Malaysia before arriving in Australia. However, the minimum opening balance seems to be AUD2k. Please contact OCBC for details. Note that under the Banking And Financial Institutions Act 1989, Lowyat.net members cannot legally give financial advice.


Driving in Australia

Driving rules in Australia vary from state to state, so it has hard to give any actual advice. The best way will be to go to your institution's International student services for accurate information.

If you want to drive, keep in mind that having a car is not to be taken lightly in Australia. While cars are cheap compared to "AP-land" Malaysia, petrol is not, and neither is parking in the CBD areas. Parking in your institution may also not be easy/avaliable, and certainly not free (unless you're in a regional campus)!

Generally, if you hold a valid full (ie no "P" licenses) Malaysian driving license, you are allowed to drive in Australia. You must have your license and your passport with you at all times when you drive.

Obtaining Official Translation
Malaysians driving in Australia need to get their driving license translated. The best way of obtaining a offical translation is through National Accreditation Authority of Translators & Intrepreters (NAATI). It is a private organisation that regulates translator services in Australia, and thus they do not deal with translations per se. You deal with the Translator directly. (From $25) www.naati.com.au then click on “Find a Translator or Interpreter ".

Alternatively, the Malaysian High Commission in Canberra can also do the translation of your driving license. See here: http://www.malaysia.org.au/serv5.html#translate. Note that it also says "No charges for student. Kindly include a certified copy of your student ID", and you can do so through the post.

Note that your authority to drive in Australia on your Malaysian driving licence will be withdrawn 3 months after you become an Australian citizen or 3 months after you get a visa that allows you to stay in Australia indefinitely (read: Australian PR). You will need to get a driver licence for your state to continue driving. There are severe penalties for driving while unlicensed (1 year imprisonment and/or a fine of A$4000 for those in Queensland).

Good stuff, but just to clarify one thing:

In Victoria, once you get your PR you can still use your Malaysian license for up to 6 months instead of 3. The validity of an overseas license may vary state to state hence it would be advisable to check each state's regulations.

http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/Home/Licens...ersLicences.htm

As for driving with an overseas license, I'm not sure whether you need to carry your passport or not. I've only carried my Malaysian license with an official translation, and the only time an officer asked to see it he never requested for any passport.

If i'm not mistaken local engineering degree from msian IPTA/IPTS is not recognised by Engineers Australia.

Will it be a problem for a person with msian degree (with 2 years work experience) pursuing Masters in Australia to get a job upon graduation?

Anyone in the same situation can advice?

thanks

I bought SIA ticket at RM2158, will be getting the 40kg allowance once I get my visa approved.

Hehe, when are you going there?

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Added on January 1, 2010, 11:40 pmAnymore going to QUT on feb? Gotta gather all of you guys. hehe...

This post has been edited by DaViDcHiN: Jan 1 2010, 11:40 PM

is anyone going to UNSW this coming february? any ideas or suggestions regarding housing and accomodation? I have applied to the college apartments but chances seem pretty slim.. have gone through the thread and noted that u can apply for temporary accomodation from the university and then look for my own place but i'm afraid it might be a bit late as all the good places wouldve been taken up..is anyone staying at unsw village?would be grateful for any advise u guys cld provide

Are you referring to the self-catered Barkers Apartment or the various fully-catered university colleges (New College, Goldstein etc)? If it is the former, I reckon your chances of securing one is very slim as that's offered on a first-come-first-serve basis. However, if it is the latter, I'm not too sure about that as I have never stayed in one previously.

How much is your budget for weekly rent and is it a must for you to stay in or near uni? If you don't mind private accommodations, there are many apartments/houses in Kingsford/Randwick/Kensington area, these are the areas surrounding uni. Obviously if you are only going over around late Feb and start looking for a place, it would most likely be too late. Your best option would be to either go earlier and stand a better chance in getting a good place or get someone there (relatives or friends) to look for a place. However, please take note that this only applies for private accommodation, uni accommodation it is best for you to direct all queries to the uni housing office.