Ready to scream - need a new home

top_drawer_2

I kind of need to find somewhere imminently as I am supposed to move out of this flat on the 14 th .... The letting agent hasn't written to me to say I MUST go onto another 6 mth contract and it isn't mentioned in the 6th mth contract I am just finishing........

Its very expensive to live here even though its very run down, most of the people who live here are on housing benefit and can claim the one bed flat rate but I work and its a huge chunk of my wages a month meaning I cant afford to do anything else.

This girl has invited me to live in the house but Im not so sure now I want to live with her at all. I would be paying around £373 a month (my budget is around £350) so it would be cheaper than where I am now........ but I dont know how easily I can get out of it if she turns out to be a nightmare/I hate it. She doesn't appear to be a nightmare but her unwillingness to consider any property that doesnt meet her requirements + then that she keeps coming back with more reasons that she cant search properly suggests differently (doesn't have internet, cant get to the local library because of work, cant access leftmove on her phone etc) suggests differently although I think they are true. I just dont know. I've taken a few hits recently and am doubting my judgement on anything anymore.

Thanks for all the advice today.
Jenny

picklepick

top_drawer wrote: »

I kind of need to find somewhere imminently as I am supposed to move out of this flat on the 14 th .... The letting agent hasn't written to me to say I MUST go onto another 6 mth contract and it isn't mentioned in the 6th mth contract I am just finishing........

Jenny

Has your landlord/agent given you notice to leave? Your tenancy will automatically become a rolling monthly contract after the initial fixed period if you don't sign a new agreement.

SuzieSue

Have you put an ad on the notice board at work (or the modern eqivalent) or at other large organistions near where you want to live such as hospitals? There are probably people who are struggling with their mortgage and who would welcome a lodger

top_drawer_2

picklepick wrote: »

Has your landlord/agent given you notice to leave? Your tenancy will automatically become a rolling monthly contract after the initial fixed period if you don't sign a new agreement.

No notice to leave has been served. The LA are so incompetent I doubt they have taken any time to familiarise themselves with something so unimportant as housing law.

top_drawer_2

SuzieSue wrote: »

Have you put an ad on the notice board at work (or the modern eqivalent) or at other large organistions near where you want to live such as hospitals? There are probably people who are struggling with their mortgage and who would welcome a lodger

I will have to have a think about where I could place a notice... possibly Morrison's or similar. I have an ad on Gumtree now too - hopefully should get something back quite soon.

fluffpot

I don't do Facebook or Twitter, but defo mention that you are looking if you use these. Also email everyone in your address book as someone may know someone who is looking for a flat share

Mickygg

Maybe I'm being stupid but it says the advertiser has found accommodation......

top_drawer_2

Mickygg wrote: »

Maybe I'm being stupid but it says the advertiser has found accommodation......

I've just checked and I seem to have two ads - i've deleted one and made sure the other is live. Thanks!!

Angie_B

Hi,

Good luck with your search. I rent in London so may be somewhat different to Preston but I wanted to share my Spareroom/Gumtree experiences with you. Hopefully it will be of some help.

Rental demand is so high these days that lots of places get snapped up very quickly and you just have to be patient - the right place will come along. I have been on both sides of the 'looking for a room' and 'have a room to rent' situation and when we were looking for a new housemate, we would put up an advert on both SR and Gumtree and within a day we would have over 100 responses.

It is very difficult to read through these 100+ responses so some people who would probably be a great fit do end up getting rejected for no other reason that you cannot possibly invite 100 people round to the flat for 'interview'. So please do not be disheartened - I am sure it is nothing personal.

One piece of advice I would give you though, is that when we were looking responses to our ad which basically read "I'm interested in your room - please check out my ad" and gave us a link to their own ad (much like your own) did tend to get discounted. It gave us the impression of 'bulk' responses, i.e. you could easily have sent that same response to 50 different adverts. People that got invited over tended to have made a little bit of effort to respond personally, i.e. they would pick a specific line in our advert to show they had actually read it, for example if we said we had a great big kitchen they might respond with "A big kitchen sounds great - I love baking, so there's always chocolate cake to go around!".

I'm not trying to imply bribing potential housemates with cake always works (although it doesn't hurt!) but something a little more personal can go along way to making you stand out and getting you through the door to meet potential housemates.

Sorry for the long post but I hope it helps. Good luck in you search.

top_drawer_2

Thanks Angie thats actually really good advice ...... I did do a bit of mass emailing to the few that I was interested in (as many unsuitable landlords have been doing at me). I struggled with what to say as being too enthusiastic may make me sound desperate (although thats what I am now!) or fake which is something I detest in people - hence I hate friends/housewives of .... katie price etc.

I've been through all the ads which are currently available on all four sites I'm now registered and there is nothing new on any of them - they are all repeats of each other! There is no indication as to what I did to offend all 5 of the people I contacted as places I was definitely interested in - they came back quick enough to say the room had gone when I explained that I was needing an answer though ... and the rooms are still being advertised. Its hard not to take it personally and wonder if one of these people will recognise me in the street and think What a tit she is!

My Mum thinks I should at least consider this girls offer of me moving into the house she already lives in so I have asked for a viewing. I'm worried that maybe she isnt someone I want to live with anymore.