Renting out my apartment

JUST TO MAKE THIS CLEAR: THIS IS NOT A COLLABORATION.

Before leaving Sweden for Australia I needed to rent out my apartment – I'm leasing an apartment and I wanted to rent it out as "second hand". Why? Well, I don't want to loose the apartment and also, I want some security after my one year in Australia.

Step 1:
I started with a post on Facebook and I had some acquaintances who seemed interested but then backed out. After a few recommendations from friends I decided to use a site called Samtrygg. I just put up an ad on their site and then opened my calendar for viewings of the apartment. This was a bit scary for me and I really had to go outside my comfort zone. I didn't expect that so many people would be interested in my apartment considering my rent is not so low. But, to my surprise, I did meet some cool people that could be potential tenants.

Step 2:
After the first viewings I got a call from Samtrygg. We talked about the potential tenants and what I thought about them. In my case, I liked two out of five the most (two didn't even show up) – and at this point I still had three or four booked viewings on other dates. I wanted to have all of this done as soon as possible but in the end, I still decided on having three more viewings. BUT. One of the potential tenants were very interested in the apartment and could not wait. I decided that a quick deal might be a good idea. So I told Samtrygg that I was happy to go with this tenant. Samtrygg quickly took down my ad on their website, cancelled the viewings I had left and started the process.

Well, the potential tenant did not have all the papers ready and therefore asked if I could maybe wait a bit. This was a warning flag for me and I just told Samtrygg to put my ad back up. I had no time to wait for a "maybe". So this sucked a bit. I had a few more viewings and met a lovely young couple that seem to fit perfect. Again, I started the process via Samtrygg. This time it went better!

Step 3: 
When I had decided who was going to be my tenant, we wrote a contract via Samtrygg. After this, I needed an approval from my landlord as well. More papers to fill in and send away – if my landlord, for some reason, would say "no" then the contract with the tenant would not be valid anymore. BUT, the landlord approved. Woop woop!

Did all go well?
Everything went very smoothly. Before leaving the apartment for the new tenant I had to clean out all the clutter and dust, pack my things, write an inventory list, write an/fill in a inspection list with the new tenant and have all the keys ready. It was hard work but I was truly happy in the end.

Finishing words: 
All in all, the whole process with Samtrygg went fast. Because I might not be available during all hours of the day from Australia, my mom will (very kindly) be my contact person in this case. I think it's important to have someone who can represent you when you can't. 

THIS was SO awesome to check off as "Done" on my to do-list. 

Swedish apartment – living room 

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Swedish summary: 

Innan jag drog till Australien ville jag hyra ut min lägenhet i andrahand då det kändes som en viktig trygghet. Det är som sagt inte lätt att få lägenhet i Stockholm, iallafall var det inte lätt för mig. Jag provade först intresset på Facebook men det var något svalt, därför gick jag på vänners rekommendationer – Samtrygg. 

Samtrygg är ett företag som hjälper till med allt möjligt när det kommer till att exempelvis hyra ut sin lägenhet. Dessutom har de ett trygghetspaket som gör att alla parter känner sig något säkrade i denna deal. Trots att det var krokigt och jag hade något bråttom då jag hade en hel del andra saker att göra innan min Australien-resa gick allt smidigt. So far so good!

Before going to Australia: Packing a life

Around 09.00 am tomorrow is when my flight to Australia departs. All on my 'to do'-list is now done and I don't think I can prepare myself anymore. Well ... 

Okay, we have one more thing to do ... squeeze in my life in to (very few) bags. The bags I can check in were maximum two and their weight together can be 30 kg. Hand-baggage can weigh about 7 kg. Well, I think I will have luggage that will weigh about 40-41 kg in total – so 3-4 kg overweight. Depending on how strict they are with the bags that I will check in (1-2 kg too much) ... I think I might be okay. 

I have cleared SO much (my sister and mother are happy about that, they got it all). I hope I don't need to leave anything else. My mum and sis will take me to the airport so they will be able to take whatever I might have to "toss out". ❣

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Swedish summary: 

Imorgon, omkring 09.00, går flyget mot Australien. Nästan allt på min att-göra-lista är klart förutom den där biten med att packa ner mitt liv i väskor – och inte så många väskor bör tilläggas. Jag tror att min övervikt ligger på 3-4 kg totalt, och om de inte är alltför strikta med väskorna jag checkar in så bör det vara okej. Ifall jag nu inte skulle ha turen med mig så kommer både min syster och mamma vara på plats för att ta med sig hem det jag måste plocka ut. Håller tummarna att det blir som jag önskar!

Before going to Australia: To do list (Update)

It has almost been a month since the last time a made a post here and the answer for it is simple: I'm preparing as much as possible for my trip/move to Australia. Remember the to do list I made? Well, I can check off a few more things now:

Visa (a Work Holiday Visa so I can experience AU)	Done
Valid passport	Done
Rent out apartment (As a "second lease" so I can have it back after AU if needed)	Done
Travel insurance (In case of anything happening)	Done
Write proxy (So my mum can make decisions for me in Sweden when I can't)	Done
Clean out the apartment (Leave only the things the new tenant might need)	Done
Buy ticket to AU	Done
End subscriptions (Like Netflix, HBO, etc)	-
Write out copies (Of my passport, ticket, visa, etc)	Done
Pack travel bag (Will do this closer to my departure)	-
Plan with work (So I can keep my job the first 6 months by working abroad)	Done
Change address for postbox (So my mail won't bother the new tenant)	Done
Finish the course I'm taking (Health influencer)	(Ongoing)

So right now I'm living at my mum's house/apartment. It is crowded with my sister and her boyfriend there as well... and let us not forget ALL my stuff. But it is also very cosy, I have to say. Most of my boxes will eventually be stored in my mum's basement – lucky me! 

I can still not understand that I'm soon leaving Sweden (for a longer period of time) in just 2 weeks. I miss Sam so much so I can't wait. I think that it will feel like I'm going on a vacation at first ... maybe after 3 weeks or so it will hit me that I'm suppose to live in Australia for a while. Crazy! 

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Swedish summary: 

Tiden flyger iväg och jag har inte bloggat på ett tag. Det finns en väldigt enkel förklaring, allt mitt fokus har lagts ner på att försöka förbereda inför min resa/flytt till Australien. Tack vare detta kan jag nu bocka av fler punkter på min "att göra"-lista. 

Just nu bor jag hos min mamma tillsammans med min syster och hennes kille. Det är lite trångt men mysigt. Jag har tur som har min familj som alltid ställer upp. Jag har inte riktigt fattat att jag ska åka till Australien och bo där under en längre period. Galen känsla. Men jag saknar Sam så otroligt mycket nu så tiden får gärna rulla iväg lite till så att vi snart får vara hos varandra igen. 

What visa to choose?

This can be difficult to figure out and it's easy to make it more complicated than it is. I have always been thinking about moving to another country and see how it feels to be away from Sweden for a longer period. The reason why the choice landed on Australia is because my boyfriend is born and raised there. But my main reasons are to experience another country, to travel and to try a life away from Sweden. I don't know what the future holds for me so therefore I want to stay at the company I'm working for, here in Sweden – work digitally/online while abroad. The problem is that this company is not established in Australia so I have to follow the Australian law. I am allowed to work for this Swedish company for 6 months with the Work Holiday Visa 417, then I need to change employer. We'll see if I need to work after 6 months or if I have saved up enough money to maybe travel. Like I wrote earlier, I'm not planning for the whole year, just for the first 6 months. 

At first I didn't know which visa would suit my situation the best. I called the Home Affairs in Australia and I also emailed around, trying to understand where to pay taxes if I want to stick with my Swedish company and so on. Because my boyfriend is Australian, you could ask why we are not trying for a partner visa straight away. Well, for me it's simple. I want to see how it is to live in Australia first. I have never stayed in another country for more than 4 weeks and I have never worked in another country. Maybe I'll hate being away from Sweden. I don't know. That's why it's important for me to start slow, to try it out first. I want to do everything according to the law (both in Australia and in Sweden) but also do it in a way that feels right for myself.

When it comes to taxes, after reading about it from Australia's point of view and Sweden's point of view, I have understood that during the first 6 months I'll pay taxes in Sweden. After 6 months I have to pay taxes in Australia.

Photo by Ashim D’Silva on Unsplash

Steps on how to find your visa: 

1. Ask yourself why you want to travel to Australia
2. Go to https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/trav/visa-1 and read about the different options
3. Apply for the one best suited for you, pay and wait

It went pretty quick for me to get my visa granted. I did all of this myself without any help from an agency. My visa cost me about 3000kr so I didn't feel like adding anymore costs on my visa than needed.

Be honest to yourself and when answering the questions on your application, then I'm sure you'll get the visa best suited for your purpose.

Good luck!

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Swedish summary: 
Att hitta rätt visum kan vara svårt och många gånger krånglar man nog till det mer än det behövs. Mina huvudsyften när jag ansökte om mitt visum var att uppleva Australien, att resa runt om det går samt att testa på ett liv på en plats som inte är Sverige. Eftersom att jag inte vet vad framtiden har att erbjuda mig har jag valt att arbeta kvar på mitt nuvarande arbete så länge jag kan. Enligt australiensisk lag är jag däremot endast tillåten att arbeta för en arbetsgivare i 6 månader, sedan måste jag byta arbete – detta oavsett om företaget är australiensiskt eller inte. Så det är planen. Jag har valt visumet som heter "Work Holiday Visa" som låter mig både arbeta och resa i (och utanför) Australien i 12 månader.

Nästa fråga blev "vart ska jag skatta?". Det jag har kommit fram till efter en hel del mejlande och sökande på nätet är att det första 6 månaderna ska jag skatta i Sverige, sedan måste jag skatta i Australien.

Before going to Australia: To do list

I'm still having two weeks left of my vacation before I need to get back to work but that doesn't mean that I'm free from other responsibilities. It's a few things that I need to prepare before I leave Sweden for one year in Australia.

What?	Status?
Visa (a Work Holiday Visa so I can experience AU)	Done
Valid passport	Done
Rent out apartment (As a "second lease" so I can have it back after AU if needed)	-
Travel insurance (In case of anything happening)	-
Write proxy (So my mum can make decisions for me in Sweden when I can't)	-
Clean out the apartment (Leave only the things the new tenant might need)	-
Buy ticket to AU	Done
End subscriptions (Like Netflix, HBO, etc)	-
Write out copies (Of my passport, ticket, visa, etc)	Done
Pack travel bag (Will do this closer to my departure)	-
Plan with work (So I can keep my job the first 6 months by working abroad)	(Ongoing)
Change address for postbox (So my mail won't bother the new tenant)	-
Finish the course I'm taking (Health influencer)	(Ongoing)

Starting on Tuesday, I will have viewings on my apartment by potential tenants. This makes me both nervous and excited. I just want this to be done so I don't have to worry about the apartment anymore. I hope that I'll meet one or two that I really feel comfortable with as tenants.



Melbourne (Australia) 2018
There will be things I need to do once I get to Australia as well.
I have tried to write them down as well.

What?	Status
Apply for a TFN (Tax number, so I can pay taxes in AU when working for an AU company	-
Apply for an AU bank account (So I don't use my Swedish cards with high fees / Got tip on applying 1-2 months ahead here)	-
Make a ID card (One that works smoothly in AU)	-
Get a Medicare card (In case I get sick)	-
Mobile and phone number? (Not sure yet)	-

I might have missed something, but hopefully the most important stuffs are on this list.
Wish me luck!

Swedish summary:
Det är en hel del att göra innan det är dags för mig att ta väskan till Australien. Mycket är väldigt tråkigt och kostar pengar. Ovanför kan ni se en lista på engelska med saker som måste ordnas – några saker har jag redan bockat av. Det är läskigt, spännande och nervöst på samma gång. Jag vill bara få dessa bitar överstökade. Kan ha missat något på listan men tror detta är det viktigaste för nu.