Renting - how and what do we do!

[Suzie and Faith]

I probably sound naive but as I still live at home i know nothing about renting a house and none of my family live in rented accomodation either so i've no one to ask!

Every week our local paper prints bits in the housing section under different agents saying what they've got to let... but how do I actually go about seeing one of these places.

Do i go see one letting agent? Do i just call the people the house is being rented with?

I know places charge arrangement fees and such, is it safer to go through a letting agent?

I really have no idea what i'm on about!!

Any help would be much appreciated!

 

[Krystal]

If you see a property you like then you contact the letting agent to arrange a viewing. Most will charge you an arrangement fee if you decide to go ahead and that is for admin and a credit search I believe.

 

[sarafet]

hi suzie!!

we've been renting for the past year and half now.

basically if you see a flat/house you like, call the agent/landlord and arrange a viewing. if you want it, you will probably need to put down a deposit, (usually a months rent.) if it's a letting agency, they may charge an administration fee, (to process paperwork/contracts/credit searches,) that's usually between £50/100 depending on agency. then when you move in you will need to pay the first months rent upfront too.

if you can find a private landlord it will probably be cheaper, as they probably won't ask for an administration fee and it would be a bit more casual. the last flat we rented was a private landlord and she was really nice you find that letting agencies can be a bit funny at times, giving deposits back etc.

keep us updated on your search and i hope that helps

 

[Suzie and Faith]

Thanks for the info girlies! There are quite a few nice ones round my way at the moment. Some 2 some 3 beds all around our price range! It's quite exciting!!!

My OH just sold his car so that's given us just enough for a deposit and the one months rent in advance - which is handy!

Now all we need is to sort our tax credits out and we might, might! be out of my mums!! WOOOOOO

 

[elaine22]

You may need to name a guarantor as well, I know we had to, although perhaps it's dependent on your salary?

 

[Suzie and Faith]

You may need to name a guarantor as well, I know we had to, although perhaps it's dependent on your salary?

Yeh we thought we might - especially as we are young and not earning a huge amount! OH's mum has said she will be a guarantor for us so hopefully that'll be ok.

Do you think most places will accept us? I'm on maternity leave and OH is working about 30-37 hours a week (not earning a huge amount).

Money-wise we can afford it because we'll also be getting tax credits and stuff

 

[sarafet]

Do you think most places will accept us? I'm on maternity leave and OH is working about 30-37 hours a week (not earning a huge amount).

Money-wise we can afford it because we'll also be getting tax credits and stuff

i would think so, i'm not working just now either, so we put oh down as main applicant - he works same hours as your oh. we've never needed a guarantor either.. i'm 20 and he's 24, i think it's because oh has a full time job though

 

[elaine22]

It will depend on the landlord. I know we had trouble getting one flat because OH was on £16000 and I was on maternity leave and we didn't list a guarantor so they thought we might struggle to pay the rent. However, we got a more expensive flat with a guarantor no problems so it just depends.

Quite a few places we saw advertised said 'no children' and the guy we rented our current place from spent a couple of weeks umming and aahing about letting us move in in case we refused to pay the rent, in which case the police would be unwilling to evict us with a baby on the scene. However, I'm guessing this just resulted from a bad experience of his rather than being something that every landlord is majorly concerned with.

 

[HappyAlice]

can I just add, Rightmove is a great website as you can put in your postcode and minimum/maximum rent and all the options in your area will come up, and if you see one you like you can send a message and the agency will call you back

 

[Suzie and Faith]

can I just add, Rightmove is a great website as you can put in your postcode and minimum/maximum rent and all the options in your area will come up, and if you see one you like you can send a message and the agency will call you back

I've used the site to look at places before but didn't realise you could contact the agents through them! Thanks for that! xx

 

[Noor~ul~Usman]

Yea it all goes off ability to pay not only the rent but what they perceive your monthly outgoings to be based on average persons utility usage and food consumption If you have a low in come then a lot of land lords will require a guaruntor -who must be earning enough to proove that they can cover their own expenses and also your rent should you not be able to pay one month.
They don't actually sit you down with your bills but have a 'average' figure in mind

Landlords still have control over what 'type' of people can have their property. Some are sticklers for 'business people'...some don't mind anyone with a decent income....some exclude children and pets (definately ask about this!!!) and some don't mind those on benifits as long as they can prove they are receiving them (and often have the rent and council tax set up to come directly out of your benifits so they know they'll get their money) 8)

A good guide is the posher the house and the newer the decore...the more fussy the landlord is likely to be

I've been renting for the last 4years. We've actually out an application in yesterday for a new house

I'd definately advise going through an agent. The last 3 years we've had private landlords and they're such a nightmare we keep moving to try and find someone better...and now eventually we've decided to go back to letting agents.
Our current house is nice and big but badly maintained and the landlord randomly turns up to collect rent and lets the council tax pile up. We had balifs around this week!!!!
We're just sick of it and don't want to raise a child in this enviroment so we're taking somewhere a bit smaller but better condition for the same rent

 

[Suzie and Faith]

Thanks for the info! My OH's mum will definitely be a good guarantor so we're lucky there!
It bugs me how people want 'professional applicants' lol - but there are some which don't seem to want them! Most say no pets but that's ok as we don't have any. I'd really like a kitten but i'll go without for a few years!

And the no children thing too is really annoying! Lol. I'm sure if i were a landlord i'd be fussy too though.

I think we will go through an agent to make it more official and to get it sorted properly.

 

[nickilubs]

You probs need a deposit and a months rent in advance and then the referencing fee (ours was £150 for the both of us but some places charge a fortune). And then a Guarantor. Its good that you have that all covered. I tend to like privet landlords because they are a bit more relaxed on what you can do to a place in the way of decorating and stuff, but you have to like the person or they can be a pain.
Letting agency's are okay read through the contract well and take in what type of tenancy also ask if your landlord will accept housing benefit see if you can talk to him personally and say all he has to do is sign a form to say he accepts it and the money goes to your account then you pay him as normal so he shouldn't have any problems. Soon as you move in get down to the council office and claim council tax benefit because it will save you a hell of alot and get things like a monthly payment water bill book and a electric card if you pay bills quarterly so you can keep ontop of everything. It all helps to be organized once the first 6months are over you can look through whats what and know what to do for the future. Hope you find somewhere soon xx

 

[BeckyJ]

good luck with the house hunting suzi xx

 

[aramintalovegrove]

Good luck with house hunting! Make sure you familiarise (sp?) yourself with the new laws on tenancy deposit schemes if you pay your landlord a deposit