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Looking for accommodation in Sydney, Melbourne and the other big cities in Australia can be hard work. With persistance you will definitely find somewhere to live, but you will have to do it properly. Here are a few tips for finding your humble abode:

1. Bring references with you to show estate agents and prospective landlords. Whether they are work related or from previous landlords, they can help you secure a house or flat.

2. If you decide to look for accommodation through an estate agent you will have to view the flat first of all, then submit an application (1 A4 sheet) to the estate agent. When you hand it in, put it in a brown envelope and make sure it is clean and doesn't have some of last night's spaghetti bolognese smudged on the side! Whoever looks at these applications has only this one piece of paper to judge what you are like. Make sure it looks and reads well. Don't have any mistakes or scribbles on it. Best thing to do is photocopy it first and do a test run.

3. Have enough money with you to cover a bond (deposit). This is usually four weeks rent. You will also have to front another two weeks rent on top of that. Sometimes, when landlords have more than one application and doesn't know who to give it to, it will all come down to who can get the money the quickest.

4. Check the estate agents every day. You might be looking in the window of Raine + Horne (one of Australia's premier main real estate agents) every day for a week without any new flats or apartments showing up in the window, but then out of nowhere your dream flat will appear. Be persistent.

5. Check the paper every day. Some days there are more listings than others, but you could be lucky and find your flat on one of the less likely days of the week.

So there you go. If you use some of those hints hopefully looking for accommodation will be a little bit easier. In Sydney the best days to check the newspapers is on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Happy house hunting!