Where to Start

Last Updated on Tuesday, 19 April 2011 09:05

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If you’re thinking of flatting for the first time, make sure you're prepared.

It's a good idea to check out our budgeting section first, to see if you can afford to move out. Working out what’s left from your income will help you decide what you can spend on rent.

Moving into an existing flat:

If you’re going flatting for the first time your best choice is to move into an existing flat. This means you get to share the experience of people who are already flatting, and it can make it cheaper as everything like couches, a fridge and kitchenware will already be in the flat. Plus, moving into someone else’s flat is an easy way to get to know some interesting new people.

There are still some big costs to start with. You’ll need to have money saved for a bond and rent for the first week or two (depending on whether you pay rent weekly or fortnightly.) Bond can be anything up to four weeks’ rent. So you need to have about six weeks’ rent saved. So, a $120 room will cost up to $720 to move into.

Where do I look?

Flatmate wanted ads are all over the place, on community notice boards, in newspapers and of course on the net. There are some great general websites like:

Trademe: Flatmates
Flatfinder
NZ Flatmates
Student accommodation (Dunedin only)
If you look around, there are some websites and bulletin boards that deal with special interest groups. For example, if you’re Christian and want to live with other Christians you could try http://www.canz.co.nz/.

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