Help with renting?

kristymarie87

I just moved in with my mum after me and my boyfriend left his rented flat. Now we are looking to rent together. The problem is he paid all of the fees etc and cant remember how the process works, his flatmate did it all for him.

So i have a few questions i hope you will help me with (i dont have time to go allll through the stickys)

Im looking to rent at around £650, £675 per month.

How does a deposit work? Is it 2 months rent or not?

What are all the other fees (we are using a letting agency)?

How much do people think we should save before we will have enough to get a place comfortably and not worry about the first months bills etc?

We have a few months but the sooner we get out the better! I have a decent income so shouldnt be too much of a problem. I've saved £300 and next payday i'll have saved £1000 without my partners contributions.

Just any help would be useful!

Thanks all!

Jowo_2

A deposit is typically between a month (the most common size of deposit) and 6 weeks rent. As the first months rent and deposit is payable in advance, you do need to budget for at least 2 months to cover these. Few charge 2 months deposit (think there is some legal reason which makes it a poor practice for landlords to do this).

Do factor in the cost of bills to your budget, even though your first months bills are paid in arrears, it can still be a hefty sum that hits you early on in the tenancy. There's a budget planner spreadsheet in the Free tools section to the right of this page.

Letting agents fees vary but can reach a couple of hundred pounds a person depending on area, covering the tenancy agreement, admin fees, credit check.

Apart from that, you should consider removal costs and any extra household items you may need to buy, depending on what you already have and what the property offers.

G_M

See replies below.

kristymarie87 wrote: »

I just moved in with my mum after me and my boyfriend left his rented flat. Now we are looking to rent together. The problem is he paid all of the fees etc and cant remember how the process works, his flatmate did it all for him.

So i have a few questions i hope you will help me with (i dont have time to go allll through the stickys)

Im looking to rent at around £650, £675 per month.

How does a deposit work? Is it 2 months rent or not? It varies.

What are all the other fees (we are using a letting agency)? They vary. The agent will tell you.

How much do people think we should save before we will have enough to get a place comfortably and not worry about the first months bills etc? Add up what all the bils will come to and ensure you have enough to cover a month.

We have a few months but the sooner we get out the better! I have a decent income so shouldnt be too much of a problem. I've saved £300 and next payday i'll have saved £1000 without my partners contributions. Well done!

Just any help would be useful!

Thanks all!

BitterAndTwisted

kristymarie87 wrote: »

I'm looking to rent at around £650, £675 per month.

How does a deposit work? Is it 2 months rent or not? This is entirely dependent on the landlord and is often subject to you both having decent credit-histories and references therefore some landlords might expect to see three months rent in advance and a deposit equal to three months rent IF your credit is rubbish. Or they could turn you down altogether

What are all the other fees (we are using a letting agency)? Most letting-agents will charge you for checking your credit-histories and taking up references. They often appear to make the amount of these fees up as they go along, so get along to some agencies and have them to quote you what their charges will be before you view anything

How much do people think we should save before we will have enough to get a place comfortably and not worry about the first months bills etc? In my opinion it would be wise to have the equivalent of three months rent, Council Tax and utility bills in savings the day you move in. Bad and unexpected things can happen to anyone and you wouldn't want to ruin your relationship with your landlord right at the start of your tenancy.

Do your sums and make sure you can both afford to rent and pay your bills before you jump in and take up a rental agreement. Please ensure you both understand that should one of you lose your income the landlord will expect and have it written into your rental agreement that the other partner then is liable for the whole of the rent. This is also true if one of you moves out if the relationship breaks down: the landlord can hold the remaining partner to be liable for the whole of the rent until the agreement expires. This is why a 6-month agreement might be more attractive to you than a 12-month one if your relationship is quite a new and untested one.