Renting a flat

hemophobic

Hello

Me and my girlfriend are hoping to move out of our parents house and move into a flat together hopefully this year. But I have a few questions:

Does £600-700 seem the right amount for a 2 bed flat?

Why are all flats no smoking????

How much do you think we should have saved up before we move out (not including the deposit)?


I have read the topic on first time renting

I think we would be best getting unfurnished since I don't want some old tatty furniture and I don't often see furnished flats, do you agree?



I think I would be better off renting from a private landlord but most places I see are from an agency

LittleMissAspie

hemophobic wrote: »

Does £600-700 seem the right amount for a 2 bed flat?

No, there are no 2-bed flats for that little here. £800-900 is average. And obviously prices are exactly the same all over the UK.

hemophobic wrote: »

Why are all flats no smoking????

Because people don't want their walls and any included furniture to stink, thus putting future tenants off. I wouldn't take a rental that smelt of smoking.

hemophobic wrote: »

How much do you think we should have saved up before we move out (not including the deposit)?

You need deposit, fees and any furniture/household items. How are we supposed to know what you already have and don't have?

hemophobic wrote: »

I think we would be best getting unfurnished since I don't want some old tatty furniture and I don't often see furnished flats, do you agree?

No, I see furnished flats all the time, unfurnished is rarer. We had brand new furniture in our last flat, even the white goods were brand new. The benefit of unfurnished is that you won't have to pay for any damage or stains at the end, but the downside is that it costs a lot to buy everything at once.

GrammarGirl

We rent an unfurnished flat for £550 a month. Unfurnished is more popular, and £600 is the average for this area. Totally, totally depends where you are though.

We spent about £2,000 furnishing our flat.

bitsandpieces

GrammarGirl wrote: »

We rent an unfurnished flat for £550 a month. Unfurnished is more popular, and £600 is the average for this area. Totally, totally depends where you are though.

Ditto - the cost completely depends where you are (and what you want - a riverside penthouse will cost more than other flats, for example). In some places, you could rent a flat for well below your budget, in others, you wouldn't be able to find anywhere.

DawnW

Rents vary according to the area you live in. Look on one of the property sites such as Rightmove to get a feel of what the prices are in the area you are looking at. In my area, 600-700 would be expensive for a flat, unless you were looking at the luxury end of the market.

Remember you will need to save for a deposit as well as any fees etc required by the LA. Many private landlords use a LA initially to get tenant credit checks etc done, even if they intend to manage the let themselves. Ask the LA who will manage the property. Make sure that any deposit you pay goes into one of the approved schemes (ask in advance). This is a legal requirement in England (but not, I think in Scotland, correct me someone if I am wrong), but according to some of the cases you read about on here, some LLs and LAs seem to ignore it.

When you view, don't just assume that any cleaning, repairs etc will be done before you move in, if the place is in a state. I personally would avoid agreeing to rent a flat which is shown to you in a messy state or with broken fixtures etc. If the LL/LA assures you that it will be cleaned, repaired etc, at least get it in writing. However, if people are willing to even let you view a property that is badly presented, what does this tell you about the service that you are likely to receive in the future? There are lots of properties available, so don't be afraid to be fussy!

Good luck!

sneezyboots

me and my other half moved in together (to a really nice 4 year old 2 bed flat) from our parents houses about a year ago and here were our costs to help you:

Letting agency fee- £125
1st month's rent- £525
deposit- £650
fridge- £200
Furniture- £500 (sofas, bed, wardrobes, drawers, dining table, etc)
contents insurance- £100

Thankfully our family really wanted to help so my nan bought all kitchen equipment (except fridge) which actually totalled about £200 and each of our parents bought us a tv totalling about £1200

so on that basis i would say £2000 would seem about right, excluding the tvs!

That is all i can think we paid off the top of my head.

Plus if the phone has been disconnected like ours (simply because when the last guy moved out he phoned the company and told them so they automatically disconnect it and charge a fortune £125 to reconnect it) bear that in mind.

hope it helps

theartfullodger

Does £600-700 seem the right amount for a 2 bed flat?

Depends on area: I rent out a 3-bed house with views of sea & mountains for £475/month:

Why are all flats no smoking????

Smell/Cleaning for next tenants and Landlord. I THINK some Landlord insurance may demand "No Smoking".

Cheers!

Lodger