Looking to rent a flat in London - please help and join the hunt if you want :)

czerniacha · 13 July 2011 at 2:37PM

Thanks, you are a lovely lot!

I hope I'll find something nice. I know I'll enjoy it even if it's quite small. I desperately want a place on our own.

I am looking for a job atm, still early days but doesn't look bad... lots of job offers and just have to get through all the stages now... I hope it will look better in 3-4 weeks and I can start flat hunting

devotee · 13 July 2011 at 6:15PM

Let us know how you get on!

czerniacha · 29 July 2011 at 10:58PM

hi everyone, I am just in process of looking at some flats and just today I have found a fantastic offer however I suspect it might be some sort of scam? the flat looks fantastic in the pics, great location and very very cheap... too good to be true, isn't it? I have sent a message to request details and got email back:

Hello
Thanks for your mail. I am a very young comfortable professional,26 who works in a recording company as a studio manager.I would like to rent out a double bedroom Garden Flat with Broad Band Internet to a very easy going person at 700 per month including all bills.available now for you to occupy.not shared apartment..My apartment is very comfortable fully furnished flat of brand duplex flat.Located in quiet residential area {Shepherds Bush Road, Hammersmith, London, W6 7LX}only minutes from central London, with major tourist attractions nearby and There are many London underground (Metro) Stations 5-10 minutes walking time from the flat, they are Hammersmith, Shepherds Bush and Goldhawk Road.The flat is a within a Victorian London Town House along one of London's up and coming areas. It has great Transport links, London Heathrow is only minutes away on the piccadilly line, as well as being minutes from Olympia Grand Hall, London Hyde Park, Kensington High Street,Barons Court, Shepherds Bush and Hammersmith...is fully furnished with digital home cinema, hi-fi system, VCR, DVD player, phone, fax, computer, cable/satellite, internet access, wardrobe, cupboard, Hanging wardrobe, safe deposit box, radio alarm clock, hair dryer, fully air-conditioned, central heating, intruder alarm, fire alarm and more. Large fully equipped kitchen, 2 toilets and unlimited wireless internet.
I dont want any problem for myself.., i need to know the person that will occupy my apartment that is, the person that willl take care of my apartment like theirs because am letting the flat out because am presently in manchester working. It is not compulsory that i rent out the flat but if i can get a reliable and tidy person that will take care of my flat for me i can let it out.so i need to know them better i.e what you and your partner do for a living.
Rent Includes

Electricity
Gas
Water Charge
Council Tax
Lease
internet

Waiting to read from you.

So I wrote back:

Dear ***,

thank you for taking time to reply(especially with over 400 views of your ad today! )

In terms of something about us: we come from *** but are here for over 5 years, I am 25 and professional ***, my boyfriend is 30 and works as ***. So far we used to live in house shares but want to live on our own now(we need more space and prefer to keep our things clean and tidy which is impossible whem sharing with lots of people as not everyone is likeminded). We are more then happy to come and talk to you and have a look at your flat(it seems lovely from the pics!).

How long are you going to rent the flat out for? And from when?

I hope to hear back from you again.

Regards

Then I got another one back:

Thanks for the reply.I would love to meet you, get to know you and show you round the flat so that you can see what you are renting but I have been having problems with time wasters who could not keep to there end of deal.Its really time wasting because i am a very busy person and do not really have much time to waste. To me, every seconds count.because i am presently in the studio doing some live recording and icant make or recieve calls due to the nature of my job,but have my Laptop here to reply to emails.viewing will not be a problem, Anytime during the week in the evening would be a good date for our meeting.
The rent is still very Low considering the current economic climate in London..

Can you please answer the following questions?
-Are you really serious about the renting the flat?
How many are you to occupy the Flat?.
-If you love the flat when you see it, will you make the payment to hold it against your move in?

why I am asking these questions is basically because of my experience with my last tenant. Morgan moved into my flat in JUNE:2008,on commencing the tenancy, he paid a total sum of £537.50 in rent hoping that he would pay up the balance unknowingly he provided a fraudulent employers reference to convince me of having a stable job!
Although i served him with Section 8 and Section 21 Notices and obtained a Court Order for possession of the property, he was reluctant to move out or pay any of the rent arrears.County Court bailiffs got him evicted and his total debt to date is £1,263. (Quite much).
I will prepare all the necessary documentations i:e Contract Form:which we will both sign after being satisfied with the flat.
Payment will be made after signing the contracts and keys will be handed over to you once contract is made.
Please,understand that i am NOT asking you to pay me BEFORE you view the flat.The neighborhood is safe and i guess you have heard much about this area?it is a safe, clean area.

-Your rent begins on your move in date..
-Viewing is never a problem.
-Proof of ownership and Documentation will be shown upon viewings.
-There is no minimum or maximum stay.
- Rent include Council Tax,electricity,gas,internet, e.t.c
-Its 700pcm and 700 refundable deposit.

Kindly get back to me about an idea on what we can do so that we can arrange a meeting for viewing.

Thanks while hoping to read from you.
Regards,

I have replied with some more questions etc. but I just had to ask for your advice as I don't know what to do next? Will be very very gratefull for any help! I heard stories of people trying to rent flats that don't belong to them or one flat to lots of people and take money from all of them... Am I just being paranoid?

devotee · 30 July 2011 at 1:12AM

I don't know what to say! I know where that is, Brook Green, good location. Where was the ad placed? Could be true? You are taking your bf to the viewing?

neverdespairgirl · 30 July 2011 at 1:14AM

Sounds SCAM to me. Expect an email asking for a deposit in Western Union to prove you can afford it.

BitterAndTwisted · 30 July 2011 at 1:18AM

It's a con. I'd lay money on it

devotee · 30 July 2011 at 1:20AM

Yeah probably, bad grammar and spelling.

freeoffers · 30 July 2011 at 3:44AM

Looks like stock emails sent to interested parties. Had a mate who tried gumtree for flatshares and most were scams, I mean the ones that were priced fairly low were scams. sad, but true.