New To Renting

Funkygibbon

I have a few questions about renting that I don't really know about.
Sorry if these are easy questions to you all!!

What do they actually mean by furnished or unfurnished?

Are you able to haggle on the rent per month?

What is the normal deposit that you have to pay?

Can you rent if you've got defaults against you?

Thanks in advance!

Sammy85_2

Funkygibbon wrote: »

I have a few questions about renting that I don't really know about.
Sorry if these are easy questions to you all!!

What do they actually mean by furnished or unfurnished?

Are you able to haggle on the rent per month?

What is the normal deposit that you have to pay?

Can you rent if you've got defaults against you?

Thanks in advance!

Furnished - generally the house has everything in it. Sofas, Table/Chairs, pots, pans.... all that stuff. You should get an inventory of everything that will be included.

Unfurnished - Usually nothing in it except the stuff that bolted down, but sometimes kitchen appliances are left in.

Haggling on rent - no harm in trying.

Normal deposits seems to be the equivalent of between 1 and 2 months rent. The agents around here usually ask for a deposit equal to 1 months rent + £100.

You may be able to rent if you have defaults, but a LA/LL may require additional security, such as an increased deposit, a larger period of rent paid upfront or a guarantor. Most LL's will check your credit files during the application process so best to be upfront about these things.

GillsMan7

As a LL I consider a few things with regards to tenant's credit history. If I had a prospective tenant who'd had details I would pay extra attention to whether:

- there was a good amount of surplus between the income each month and the likely outgoings, and
- there was a history of debt problems.

If there wasn't a great deal of surplus I wouldn't let to the tenant. If there was a history of problems, I'd steer well clear. But if the default was a one-off, I'd be happy to consider.

Funkygibbon

Thanks for the updates!
Also to do you agree a length of time at the beginning of renting?
For example, say I want an initial 6 month renting period, but may want to extend it to 2 years depending on circumstances.
Am I able to negotiate this with the landlord/agency?

GillsMan7

Funkygibbon wrote: »

Thanks for the updates!
Also to do you agree a length of time at the beginning of renting?
For example, say I want an initial 6 month renting period, but may want to extend it to 2 years depending on circumstances.
Am I able to negotiate this with the landlord/agency?

You could negotiate it with the LL or LA, but if you're credit history is a bit dodgy they'll either reject it or put in enough break clauses to render the whole thing pointless.

If I was to have a T in your situation and you fulfilled the criteria outlined in my first post, I'd agree to let the property, but it would be for the minimum 6 months, and I doubt I could be persuaded to grant a longer tenancy than that tbh. But all LLs are different.

BitterAndTwisted

Most sensible landlords would only wish to offer a six-month tenancy agreement in the first instance. Then, once you have proven yourself to be an amenable and reliable tenant they may agree to extend the tenancy. Don't forget that negotiating a 12 or even a 24 month tenancy binds you as much as it binds the landlord. Your circumstances may change and being signed up to an extended agreement with no break-clause may not be what you want at some point in the future, especially should you need to move for work reasons, for instance. Negotiating an early release cannot be guaranteed and can also be rather costly.

wessexw

Furnished can mean many different things, it can mean that absolutely everything you need is there or it can mean that all the basics such as a bed, sofa etc are there but you need to supply all pot and pans etc. You need to ask exactly what will be provided with the place.

When you say haggle on the rent per month do you mean to haggle up front on the rate which you'll agree for the duration of the contract then yes you can try - I've successfully done this. If by the 'per month' bit you mean each month you want to haggle to pay something different than last month then no you can't, you'll be signing a contract up front before you move in which will specify exactly what you'll be paying each month - probably for 12 months

G_M

Funkygibbon wrote: »

I have a few questions about renting that I don't really know about.
Sorry if these are easy questions to you all!!

What do they actually mean by furnished or unfurnished? There is no fixed definition. You have to look at the inventory which lists everything that is included in the property. Unfurnished can mean nothing there, but many 'unfurnished' properties have white goods: fridge, freezer, cooker, washing machine.

Are you able to haggle on the rent per month? Yes, especially if there are lots of empty rental properties in the area. But less if you have poor credit rating!

What is the normal deposit that you have to pay? 2 months rent is normal. Sometimes less, occasionally a bit more.

Can you rent if you've got defaults against you? Yes. Depends on the landlord. But it becomes difficult. Most landlords/agents do credit checks and prefer 'clean' tenants.

Thanks in advance!

Most initial contracts are either 6 or 12 months. Both landlord and tenant are then committed to this time. Some landlords will just tell you what period they offer, some will discuss. You can agree any period (eg 8 months) but for legal and financial reasons few landlords will agree to less than 6 months.

At the end of the initial period, you can stay on a month by month basis till either you or the landlord decide to end the agreement.

Funkygibbon

Thanks everyone for your comments.
That has been every helpful.

Funkygibbon

How do you find private landlords? Or do they also advertise on rightmove?

tbs624

GM wrote:

What is the normal deposit that you have to pay? 2 months rent is normal. Sometimes less, occasionally a bit more.

A deposit of more than 2 months' rent equivalent is likely to be viewed as a Premium and may allow the T the right to assign.