Rental prices

donfanatico

HI all,

I am just seeking some advice.

We are in a position where we have to move out of our rental 2 bed room house , latest around mid summer (August - tail end probably) but our agreement with the LL is fairly flexible so we can move before if we find something that will suit or a bit later as they are wiling to be flexible.

We are a couple with a small baby (4months atm) and live in South West London, zone 3 where we want to stay.

MY question is, as money is quite tight and any difference in cost WILL make a big difference to our lives, is there a good time to move , i.e. do rental prices go up and down throughout the year or is it always UP UP?

Would we be better off moving now in May/June the latest or wait till August then look?

EAs we spoke to said July is a good time as there are a many more properties on the market but then there is also a lot of competition? Not sure if I can believe that or not.

Any advice is appreciated.

MAny thanks

BitterAndTwisted

As far as I know there's little seasonal difference as to price or availability in Greater London unless you're a student.

In your position I'd be looking now.

donfanatico

Thanks Bitter and Twisted. I will wait for some more feedback although I am taking yours into consideration.

[Deleted User]

The prices may vary year to year but month to month it's very unlikely for prices to be noticeably different, if they do vary it will only be a few pounds either way, which is the sort of amount you could negotiate down on a let just by asking.

If money is an issue you should focus on finding a place as soon as possible, the more time you have the more choice you have, if you have one week left to find a place you're going to have to take the first place you can find which isn't a good thing to have to do.

You should focus on finding a place that meets your needs as soon as possible and not on finding a good deal because you're not in a position to bargain.

donfanatico

citricsquid wrote: »

The prices may vary year to year but month to month it's very unlikely for prices to be noticeably different, if they do vary it will only be a few pounds either way, which is the sort of amount you could negotiate down on a let just by asking.

If money is an issue you should focus on finding a place as soon as possible, the more time you have the more choice you have, if you have one week left to find a place you're going to have to take the first place you can find which isn't a good thing to have to do.

You should focus on finding a place that meets your needs as soon as possible and not on finding a good deal because you're not in a position to bargain.

THanks, good reply, it has got me thinking.

For us even if it is 50£ a month difference it will make an impact as things are tight with exact amount of outgoings per month.

I didn't think you could negotiate on rental prices, as I said even 10£ a week less would be 50£ per month of which means something to us.

What is realistically the amount you can negotiate on for renting? IN percentage terms? 5%?

As you know there are a lot of properties in London on the market but also there is a lot of demand for property so I am thinking how willing is the EA to reduce.

Also , we have been told by EA that if we want to move in August there is no chance someone would let it to us now even if we like the place and put down a holding deposit. This is our dillema, where we live now we have a really good deal and the cost is very low compared to current market prices. We are looking at at least 300£ more PCM for comparable properties. This is why we want to leave it as late as possible.

Catch 22

[Deleted User]

Depends on a lot, if it's an area with high demand and properties are being snapped up within a few days then you're not going to be able to negotiate however if a property has been available for a few weeks or a month+ then you could be in luck.

The way that I would do it is find a property you like that has been available for a while, arrange for a viewing and then if the property is fine in person offer to commence the credit and reference check right away if they can accept the list price less £50. Most agents are working on commission, if they take 10% of the monthly rent then a £50 reduction is not going to be a big amount to them, with the property taking a while to shift they should be in onboard with a reduction... in theory.

Although it will also depend on the amount of rent you're looking to pay, £50 per month off a £1000 per month rental is going to be easier for someone to agree to than £50 per month off on a £400 rental.

donfanatico wrote: »

Also , we have been told by EA that if we want to move in August there is no chance someone would let it to us now even if we like the place and put down a holding deposit.

Not sure what you mean by this, can you clarify?

donfanatico

citricsquid wrote: »

Depends on a lot, if it's an area with high demand and properties are being snapped up within a few days then you're not going to be able to negotiate however if a property has been available for a few weeks or a month+ then you could be in luck.

The way that I would do it is find a property you like that has been available for a while, arrange for a viewing and then if the property is fine in person offer to commence the credit and reference check right away if they can accept the list price less £50. Most agents are working on commission, if they take 10% of the monthly rent then a £50 reduction is not going to be a big amount to them, with the property taking a while to shift they should be in onboard with a reduction... in theory.

Although it will also depend on the amount of rent you're looking to pay, £50 per month off a £1000 per month rental is going to be easier for someone to agree to than £50 per month off on a £400 rental.



Not sure what you mean by this, can you clarify?

Yes, the EAs said that if we need to move say 1st of August we should not be looking now that no landlord would wait for that long to have the property occupied but sometime end of June beginning of JUly?

isisini

I moved around a lot when I was renting in London (Six flats in six years) and these were my learnings:

- You absolutely can negotiate, at the right moment. A landlord doesn't want a flat sitting empty and good tenants who can move in at the right time are not as easy to find as you'd think. Also, rents are so sky high at the moment that my old landlord really struggled to find someone willing to pay the extortionate amount he was planning to charge.. and ended up taking an offer.

- Definitely don't leave it until the last minute. It's true you might not be a be able to find somewhere until you're within a month of leaving but you can do your research now (into areas, market rents) and you might in the process find someone who is advertising early.

- Private landlords will often offer a better deal and might well be looking to fill a flat early, as they're less likely to be professionals who know how long they need between tenants. Look on gumtree/loot/facebook for these.

- Ask around your friends/colleagues/relatives. Knowing someone who knows someone who is planning to move out of their house soon is a great way to grab a bargain.

LondonDreamer

donfanatico wrote: »

Yes, the EAs said that if we need to move say 1st of August we should not be looking now that no landlord would wait for that long to have the property occupied but sometime end of June beginning of JUly?

Most rental properties don't come up very far in advance of their available date. The ones I've viewed were mostly immediately available, two months was the longest waiting period I saw. If you aren't prepared to move before August, I would agree with your EA to hold off viewing until at least June as you're probably wasting your time before then. But I also agree with the previous poster that it won't hurt to start looking around now, unless you are already set on a very specific area so don't need to research it.

As for price, there's not much seasonal fluctuation in London. Although the market may move quicker in summer if you are close to universities as students prepare to move in, particularly at the lower end of the price range. But generally it's more dependent on how desperate the landlord is to have the property occupied, and how inflated their asking price is.

I've rented two properties in London over the past few years. One would not negotiate on price at all, as it had only just come on the market. The other took our offer which was about 10% below the asking as the property had been on for a few months. I figure it never hurts to ask.

donfanatico

Thanks all, I now have enough to go on, especially on the negotiation bit as I wasn't sure whether it was appropriate to negotiate or not.

The only hesitation I have is that 'good' properties will be snatched up quickly as we found that we went to see a couple we liked and by the time we discussed it in the family someone else had put a holding deposit on them and they were taken off the market.

After all, we don't want to live a sh*thole but in a nice family friendly home and the area where we are has a lot of families and well off professionals who can afford any rent easily.

Fire_Fox

donfanatico wrote: »

We are in a position where we have to move out of our rental 2 bed room house , latest around mid summer (August - tail end probably) but our agreement with the LL is fairly flexible so we can move before if we find something that will suit or a bit later as they are wiling to be flexible.

We are a couple with a small baby (4months atm) and live in South West London, zone 3 where we want to stay.

MY question is, as money is quite tight and any difference in cost WILL make a big difference to our lives, is there a good time to move , i.e. do rental prices go up and down throughout the year or is it always UP UP?

Would we be better off moving now in May/June the latest or wait till August then look?

EAs we spoke to said July is a good time as there are a many more properties on the market but then there is also a lot of competition? Not sure if I can believe that or not.

Any advice is appreciated.

MAny thanks

donfanatico wrote: »

After all, we don't want to live a sh*thole but in a nice family friendly home and the area where we are has a lot of families and well off professionals who can afford any rent easily.

IMO you might want to sit down and order your priorities, perhaps even be more flexible, given it's London and you will be moving with a young baby which is not fun. I just think you could end up stressing finding the right house in the right location with the right neighbours for the right price at the right time.