Your No.1 renting Tip

BornAtTheRightTime

Great advice above.
My tip is to make sure anything and everything the agent tells you about the property is in writing. Eg: allocated parking? House to be cleaned before you move in? Use of garage? New bed/white goods/curtains etc? Get it written down.
Every time I have rented I have been promised stuff by the estate agent that failed to materialise because the owner knew nothing about it. Whether the agent promises you a new shower curtain or the moon on a stick (!) get it in writing from them and before signing the contract get a second viewing to ensure these things have been done.

Good luck!

ETA: not trying to bump my Thanked score, but interested to know how often this happens - if you've been given empty promises by an agent please click the Thanks button.

downshifter

sorry, but just had to say thanks for the moon on a stick giggle!

My vote would go to the recommendation that you need to vet the landlord. Think of a few questions (lots on here!) as well as a few others that could show how friendly you are while you are gauging what sort of person they are. For example if they have a mate who sees to the electrics, or they believe in informal arrangements rather than formalising things, or they don't have a bank account (had all of those) then I would be cautious. I had a sticky start with my current landlord, mostly based on the fact that they had a tenant from hell before me, but now, because we've got to know each other as people, things are smoothed out much more easily now with lots of give and take over the house.

Good luck, it's fun and some things will probably go wrong, you can't plan for every eventuality, but you can always learn. (And at least get the legal stuff right)

DS

Emmylou_2

Some things to do on viewing (if you like the place!):

Check there's enough electrical sockets, especially in the kitchen and bedrooms. One house we rented only had a single socket in each room - cue us having to buy stupid amounts of extender leads and then worrying about overloading the power.

Check the hot and cold water pressure from all taps, making sure the hot gets hot and the cold stays cold and it runs quick enough to fill a bath (same house!)

If you have time, knock on the doors either side and ask the neighbours about the area etc.

If it's unfurnished and you already own furniture - measure the doors to see if your suite/bed/wardrobe will get through. Also take into account any turns in the stairs that you may have to navigate.

If it's furnished - ask how old the mattress is and how long the Landlord expects it to last.

If it's in an area where there's no analogue signal OR satellite tv is important to you, ask the Landlord if they would be OK with you getting Sky/Virgin/whatever installed.