Renting a house for the first time

will369

Hi guys

Me & 2 friends want to rent a house together.

We all live in Exeter and thats where we are looking to rent a house.

Basically, what are the best websites to use to search for houses?

Do you recon £350 per month each will be enough for rent + bills?

Any help really would be appreciated

Thanks

Hump

You've done a budget? simple 2 columns - column 1 expenses (rent, council tax, water, gas, electricity, contents insurance, travel costs, food costs, phone/ broadband, entertainment etc) - column 2 income.

Ask someone who already rents or owns their own home i.e. parents for an estimate of the bills.

This should give you your maximum budget for rent or suggest whether you can afford the rent.

PupPup

Sites like find a property, zoopla, and rightmove usually give an average price guide for your local area. Your best bet is to work out the exact budget you all have [as mentioned above] (and individually, in case someone decides to leave at some point) and use that as a guide to find a suitable home.

Remember that contents insurance can be more difficult to get for 2 or more people if they are not related or a couple (apart from in dedicated HMO like student lets).

Ask agents for the council tax band of properties that you like the look of and use your local government website to find out the price for that band.

Also, check the tenancy to ensure that if one of you leaves suddenly (it happens!) you know exactly who will be responsible for covering their share of the rent.

Make sure you've saved enough to cover the referencing/admin fees as well as the deposit (admin fees are non-returnable, deposit is usually 1 or 2 months' rent). Also, make sure your deposit is kept in one of the recommended schemes and ensure you get paperwork to show this - if 3 of you are renting, you should (in theory) each get a separate letter about your amount of the deposit. The agency (or landlord) should be able to tell you about the fees and deposit amount when you go for a viewing, if it's not stated in the advert.

When viewing, try and take along someone who won't be living there so as to make sure you don't all get carried away with the excitement of moving into your first home. They can give practical advice (esp if a parent or someone already renting so they know what to look for) and help keep you grounded.

I could give loads more ideas, but this is quite long enough for you to be going on with! Sorry if it's a bit rambling!

PupPup

dimbo61

Check the local papers and gumtree for adverts for 3 bedroom flats or houses.
Consider not just the rent but also the council tax ( if working) gas/electric/water/broadband+ home phone/ Contents insurance and TV licence.
When you view the property have a check list of things to check and ASK
Has it got enough wall sockets in each bedroom ( 3 doubles )
Double glazed, gas combi boiler, good state of repair , how is the Landlord or Letting agent.
Good insulation and solid UPVC front door with 5 level locks ( insurance!!)
Location for getting to work, transport links ETC