(I am assuming this is a sincere question - we've been spammed by some dodgy website that has revived a bunch of old accounts to ask questions and then someone comes around with a glowing testimonial about this site. F'ing pricks..)
Yes, there is bait and switch from both landlords and estate agents (and there are tons of dodgy tenants out there too... so lets just say, verify, verify and verify before you trust).
Question - What price range are you looking at and what agencies and locations have you been to?
Websites / Facebook - Far too easy for dodgy agents to bait and switch. Once locations and budgets have been sorted out, I'd personally look at sites like Centadata and see what the transaction range has been.
In my experience there are plenty of good estate agents out there, you just have to do a little bit of legwork.
Random Example below:
Click on the "Rent" and Select 90 days and check out what has been rented out in South Horizons in the last 90 days and at what price. This data is far more accurate and is publicly available for you to verify before you make an offer.
From the below search the first result (click on details) shows:
Rm A Middle Floor Berkeley Court (block 33) Phase 4 The Oasis South Horizons
521 s.f. ($34/s.f.) garea 666 s.f. ($26/s.f.)
Lease $17.5K
From Centaline, transacted on 15/01/2017
Unit Usage: Private Residential, Building Age: 22 year(s)
Unless you're dealing with a dodgy landlord AND a dodgy estate agent or an exceptionally decorated property / spectacular views - you'll be able to close on a lease similar to that in the 17-18K range for that sized apartment in that estate.
中原地圖 www.CentaMap.com