First Time Renting Questions

mrspoons

We are having to move into a rented house soon (if we can find one) and I've got a few questions that I can't seem to find the answer to.

If we agree to rent say at the end of April but then find a house to buy in the meantime can we cancel and only lose the deposit or will we have to stump up the whole 6 months of rent? If we do are there any ways out of it?

Apart from rightmove, findaproperty and home.co.uk is there anywhere else I can look for rented houses that are approved in some way?

Cheers

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mrspoons wrote: »

If we agree to rent say at the end of April but then find a house to buy in the meantime can we cancel and only lose the deposit or will we have to stump up the whole 6 months of rent? If we do are there any ways out of it?

That really depends on the contract that you sign. Some will have 6 months some might be 12 months. There might be a break clause, there might not. If your contract if for 12 months, and there is no provision for a break clause, then unless your landlord agrees then you will have to pay the rent for 12 months.

Some landlords will let you out of the contract early if they can relet it before for end of the contract, but you might have to pay the costs of advertising and agency fees for them.

So really there is no definitive answer and you should read your contract very very carefully before taking up a new rental place.

Gorgeous_George

You would normally be expected to pay the 6 months. A landlord incurs costs and tenancies of less than 6 months would be a sure-fire loss maker.

If you expect to buy within a few months, have you considered a hotel or B&B? Maybe even a caravan, motorhome or holiday let.

The landlord in me would like you to discuss your options with your landlord but I fear you might scare him/her off.

GG

hugheskevi

If we agree to rent say at the end of April but then find a house to buy in the meantime can we cancel and only lose the deposit or will we have to stump up the whole 6 months of rent? If we do are there any ways out of it?

There might be two relevant issues here - a holding deposit and the deposit paid when you take out the tenancy.

At any point up to actually signing the contract you could back out and only lose any holding deposit paid. As soon as you have signed the contract you are liable to pay rent for the full agreed period.

You will be in an ideal position to buy if you rent somewhere on a 12 month contract with a 6 month break clause. This should allow you to give one month's notice anytime after 5 months (but read terms carefully, and if there is any ambiguity about when notice can be served, notice period, etc, get it clarified in writing).

After about 4 months, start looking for somewhere to buy, and then you have a lot of flexibility with the move-in date as and when you find somewhere you like. It will make the buying process a lot less stressful.

mrspoons

Cheers for the advice - looks like I'll have to read the small print carefully or it could turn out to be expensive.

Renting is the only option at the moment, can't really go down the B+B route with a wife, dog and house full of stuff. It would cost too much to store, pay kennel fees etc. The area we are looking in is fairly small as well so its not like there are loads of properties to pick from

Gingernutmeg

mrspoons wrote: »

Cheers for the advice - looks like I'll have to read the small print carefully or it could turn out to be expensive.

Renting is the only option at the moment, can't really go down the B+B route with a wife, dog and house full of stuff. It would cost too much to store, pay kennel fees etc. The area we are looking in is fairly small as well so its not like there are loads of properties to pick from

A friend of mine recently sold her house, and needed a stop gap for a couple of months until the new property was ready. As she has dogs and didn't want a six month rental, they looked around, put most of their stuff in storage and got a really good deal on a holiday cottage. It might be trickier now as you're getting into the holiday season, but it might be worth looking for something like that. It's dearer than a standard rental but cheaper than having to pay for six months you don't want.