advice please for first time renters

jennilb

Hi

I would add to this is that you should ask for a copy of the CP12 (gas safety certificate) if the property has gas. Check when it was done - if it was done before the last tenant moved out you should ask if they will re-do it for you, in case something nasty happened in the move.

Oh and buy smoke and carbon monoxide detectors (if not fitted) or test the ones in place (if they are). Better safe than crispy!

thanks
Jenni

Ebany

For Cambridge (there seems to be a lot of people moving here lately, must be cause its such a lovely place to live!) check out:

http://www.cambridgepropertydatabase.co.uk/property_for_rent/
which seems to pick up more than rightmove, and has a few privately let places, and

http://www.brettward.co.uk/canb/
which is mostly private lets, and you can put up an ad saying what you want as well so people might contact you if they have the right thing.

Those are the two main ones I used when looking here (and I spent about 6 months looking for my current flat - I'm picky)

If you also just do a google search for cambridge letting agents then it can bring up a few others who don't have the sense to list in the main directories.

I can personally reccommend both Tucker Gardner and Redmayne Arnold and Harris as being good (when we moved out of the flat managed by Tucker Gardner the agenct called me to let me know of the problems she had seen, let me have the keys back and go in to fix them!). St Andrews Bureau weren't actively bad, but I wouldn't call them good either. Redmayne Arnold and Harris have a cheaper deposit system than most (one months rent +£200, rather than 6 weeks, which, when rents are generally £700+ is a bargain). It really depends on which agent has the house you like though.

If you want any specific info on locations feel free to PM me, though I only know Cambridge city itself as I don't drive so I don't see much of the villages.

Nenen

Thanks once again to Ebany :A and to Franklee :A for such detailed and helpful posts... I'm beginning to feel more optimistic about renting now! :beer:

I've just posted a 'wanted' add on the brettward site you mentioned too... so fingers crossed!

One more question... I know we shouldn't sign any rental agreements until after we have exchanged contracts on our house but any ideas what sort of time scale should we be looking at? For example, once we know the date we are due to exchange (hopefuly in about 4-6 weeks time) do we start looking straight away or would that be daft because we aren't in a position to sign a tenancy agreement for another month or so? Our buyers are being quite flexible about completion date at the moment... we are hoping to complete the end of March, so will definitley need somewhere to live then... assuming nothing goes wrong with our sale! It's the dove tailing of everything together that I'm finding hard to get my head round.

clutton_2

There are many many many excellent landlords/ladies - but as posted earlier, tenants rarely sing their praises. As an excellent landlady my advice would be

If you reply to a local newspaper ad, and it is a private landlord/lady - ask how many houses they have; how long have they been doing it; are they a member of a professional Landlords body such as National Landlords Association ; are they willing to let you talk to any of their other tenants as a reference; ask if their lender has given them permission to let ..... a good landlord/lady will not object to any of these questions. You might also ask them which of the 2 new compulsory Tenancy Deposit Schemes they plan to join - (due to be in place by April) - if they dont know what you are talking about, they are amateurs and you might want to draw your own conclusion

Renting is not scary ........

franklee

I would start viewings about six weeks before you want the tenancy to start. I started the tenancy 1 week before completion to give me time to do any cleaning, inventory check, report any urgent repairs and make the move a bit easier.

I agree do not sign up before you have exchanged. I used an agent that allowed me to put down a refundable holding deposit to hold the property for a couple of weeks while I exchanged. Then after exchange I went in and paid the admin fee and the actual deposit which was one months rent. Each agent will handle this in their own way but they are used to allowing for you to exchange contracts on your sale.

The thing to do now is find the agents, monitor the market, read the local papers etc. to get an idea of the market. If you are not local you can subscribe to the local paper and get it posted to you for something like a pound an issue. Ask them what day property is in the paper, typically every Thursday, and you can subscribe for just that say for the next few weeks.

Nenen

clutton wrote:

There are many many many excellent landlords/ladies - but as posted earlier, tenants rarely sing their praises. As an excellent landlady my advice would be

If you reply to a local newspaper ad, and it is a private landlord/lady - ask how many houses they have; how long have they been doing it; are they a member of a professional Landlords body such as National Landlords Association ; are they willing to let you talk to any of their other tenants as a reference; ask if their lender has given them permission to let ..... a good landlord/lady will not object to any of these questions. You might also ask them which of the 2 new compulsory Tenancy Deposit Schemes they plan to join - (due to be in place by April) - if they dont know what you are talking about, they are amateurs and you might want to draw your own conclusion

Renting is not scary ........

Oh Clutton you sound a great landlady! You don't have any properties in the Cambridge area do you?:D

clutton_2

if i had, you could have one !!!





after i'd done a credit check of course !

Nenen

clutton wrote:

You might also ask them which of the 2 new compulsory Tenancy Deposit Schemes they plan to join - (due to be in place by April) - if they dont know what you are talking about, they are amateurs and you might want to draw your own conclusionQUOTE]

Oh flip... we were hoping to take up a tenancy around middle to end of March but after your informative post I just looked at the 'Tenancy Deposit Scheme' to find it doesn't come into force until 6th April 2007 and that any tenancies entered into before that date will not be protected under the scheme! :eek: How important do you think it is to wait until the scheme starts?

Nenen

We are hoping to move into a rented house at the end of March. However the new Tenancy Deposit Scheme does not come into force until 6th April. Is it worth trying to hang on until then (we are selling our house and buyers are hoping to complete in March)?

real1314

despite the scare stories, deposits can easily be regained through the threat of court action.

The onus is on the landlord to show that any amount withheld is:

1. for a valid reason and
2. A reasonable amount.

some landlords try it on with deposits, but then again some tenants treats rental properties like a rubbish dump.

a mate of mine recovered his deposit (£420) plus another £800 in penalties for damage to his property due to the landlord's failure to maintain the property he was in.

he had to go to court, but landlords can't afford to get ccj's against them.

The new scheme may well delay everything for everyone more than the existing situation.

and my main advice is, make sure you'll be happy dealing with your landlord/agent. If you can get on with each other you'll find things a lot less stressful.