$1 /week rentals....

[The Fence]

Things are crook in The Mallee......

http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/australian-news/5699720/want-1-rent-move-to-the-mallee/

Love the catch....

The tenant will be required to do basic maintenance and general improvements.

A rental agreement contract worth reading the fineprint....

 

[RumpledElf]

Other towns have done this before. It works to a point. Some people don't like being rural and promptly move back to the city.

You could also buy land for $500 in my old town and several houses have sold for < $20k recently, but the land didn't sell at that price and houses over $20k sit unsold for years.

People want location, not cheap.

 

[The Fence]

Agreed, our little town is the same....many transients get here and realise what they save on rent or house prices they payback for in fuel and food and everything else.....only thing keeps the ones who stay is quieter and safer lifestyle....

 

[marg4000]

Sometimes it is to keep facilities going.

There have been stories on TV of rent free houses being offered to families with a couple of school age children. Not sure about the other states, but in Queensland school staffing depends on the number of students. Sometimes schools lose 1 student and lose a teacher. Not sure of the exact numbers, but it is something like 29 kids = 1 teacher; 30 kids = 2 teachers or thereabouts.

In cases where the enrolment is very close to the cut-off the town bands together to entice a family to move in.
Marg

 

[RumpledElf]

Agreed, our little town is the same....many transients get here and realise what they save on rent or house prices they payback for in fuel and food and everything else.....only thing keeps the ones who stay is quieter and safer lifestyle....

You can muddle away in those small towns if you're not fussy about what you eat (can't get uber gourmet stuff out bush, and there's no fast food joints) and plan your shopping very carefully so you don't run out of food on a weekend.

Impressively, we've had a big influx of new people in the old town - and one family moved in with NO DRIVERS LICENSE Ironically, she's pregnant now. Someone has offered to drive her to all her appointments in the next town.

I know you can order everything you need online or via the general store, but geez ... with no car, too bad if you neeeed something Right Now. We're getting spoilt where we are now with all the shops that count open from 8 til late and everything in walking distance.

 

[topcropper]

Sometimes it is to keep facilities going.

There have been stories on TV of rent free houses being offered to families with a couple of school age children. Not sure about the other states, but in Queensland school staffing depends on the number of students. Sometimes schools lose 1 student and lose a teacher. Not sure of the exact numbers, but it is something like 29 kids = 1 teacher; 30 kids = 2 teachers or thereabouts.

In cases where the enrolment is very close to the cut-off the town bands together to entice a family to move in.
Marg

Very true. Population in my town and local area has been dropping for years until about half a decade ago. When I went to the local school it had 5 teachers and 140 kids. Was down to 40 kids and 2 teachers 5 years ago, but then we started going up again with all the tree changers coming from Sydney and the extra mining activity and we are up to 55 kids and 3 teachers.

As soon as we went over the 50 kids we got the third teacher which was fantastic.

Now with little Gough and the drunken sailors steering the ship, this little school has 700k to spend on a new library, which is not really needed as far as I can see. The money has just been chucked out there with little thought. It would be better spent on more teachers I'd reckon.


See ya's.

 

[RumpledElf]

Damn, when we had 18 students there were 2 teachers, a visiting music teacher, visiting PE teacher, a receptionist, principal, and a teacher's aide. Those are the best student:teacher ratios I have EVER seen or heard of

They only got rid of the aide and the second teacher when the enrolment dropped *this* year, and most of the enrolment drop was caused by parents pulling their students out because the principal of 26 years retired.

ETA: the school she's in now has 300 students and dozens of teachers, from an enormous catchment area including a dozen small towns and dozens more farms. The official town population is only about 1600 (its gone up a lot since the last census) and there's no way there's 300 school aged children *in* the town proper. There's a lineup of half a dozen big yellow school buses going out of the town all directions at the end of every day

 

[handyandy]

The likelihood is that the agreement is contra the tenancy act and as such ones they have moved in they can turn around and demand all repairs under the act.

A PM was caught by this when renting out a dilapidated property that was destined to be demolished. The prospective tenant was made fully aware of the state of repair and intent there was a very low rent to reflect the state of the property and amenties yet as soon as the tenant moved in he started demanding repairs and ended up taking them to the tribunal and won.

Might be a bit more difficult in a small country town stigma and all that but if the prospective tenant was an out of towner and on the dole likely they won't give a toss.

Cheers