Private renting question, advice needed

jaylee3

Glad you decided to see sense OP DEFINITELY wait for an exchange, and avoid Blackpool. Many 1000s of people have moved there, because they thought it would 'cool' living by the sea, and that it would be a much better life for the kids, and that a seaside town would offer lots of new opportunities and a better life, and they have been VERY disappointed. Blackpool and Rhyl have one of the highest figures of unemployed people in the country. And living there is completely different to going on holiday there. Same with any seaside town, or ANY holiday destination.

I have lost count of the amount of people I know (or know of,) who have gone on a holiday to somewhere in Europe and several who have gone to Australia, and America, and they decided, based on ONE holiday there, (occasionally 2,) that they wanted to move their whole life away to this holiday destination, expecting everything to be the same as it was when they were on holiday.

When you're on holiday you have (usually) surplus money, no worries, lots of free time, no work, and people are friendly and courteous to you. (Because you are a tourist - ie; their bread and butter.) If you live there, and are a working citizen, and no longer a holidaymaker, people won't treat you the same, and life will not be what you expect. I have known many, many people who have been sorely and bitterly disappointed with their 'new' life, and actually quite surprised that life is not like it was when they were on holiday. Many have since returned to the UK.

I do wonder something though. All the people on here who are in and out of one private let after another - year in, year out - even some who have been private renting for several decades; I just wonder why they never go on the social housing list? Especially the ones who seem unhappy with the insecurity of private let.

BitterAndTwisted

It used to be quite easy to get on the list and spend a little while waiting to be offered a property. These days, in most areas people on the waiting list can still be there 20 years later if their needs don't change. Housing, if there is any available, is offered to those most in need and that means those actually homeless or in imminent danger of it leapfrogging over those in adequate housing, even if they're over-crowded.

DomRavioli

Have you tried Homeswapper OP? Its for social housing tenants, and how I moved.

I'd also stay as far away from Blackpool as possible - it is an awful place; just stay away from it!

Lily-Rose_3

DomRavioli wrote: »

Have you tried Homeswapper OP? Its for social housing tenants, and how I moved.

I'd also stay as far away from Blackpool as possible - it is an awful place; just stay away from it!

Afraid I have to agree. It's a shame because Blackpool used to be quite nice. I used to live there. I moved in the mid 90s, and was sad to leave, but my DH's job took us East ... And where we were moving to was quite rural, and I didn't want to leave as I liked the big town life.

However, I love it here now, and wouldn't live in Blackpool now if you paid me. It used to be a lovely, prosperous place with lots of great people, but now many of the original people have left, and many people are on the dole there, it's full of hen nights and stag nights, with gangs of 15-20 women (and men) at a time, roaming the streets, getting drunk, throwing up on the street and wrecking everything in sight.

I definitely would not advise moving there: especially with children. It's not a very nice place at all, and there is NO prospects for anything, unless you want a 10 week job on a do-nut stand.

Stay where you are OP. Or if that isn't possible, then wait for a homeswap. What about a nicer seaside town? Most are nice than Blackpool LOL. However, do NOT give up your social housing.

madison-nyc

Errata wrote: »

The quick answer is no you don't and additionally you would have to live 24/7 with the possibiity of eviction at any moment.

What a pessimistic view of private renting?! And 'eviction at any moment' would consist of a statutory notice period of two months, which is plenty of time to find somewhere else.


As for renewing every 6 or 12 months, with my agent it costs £25 for a new tenancy, so hardly breaking the bank.


Although I do agree with always having a sum of money to cover you in the situation where it may happen, I always have an account with £1500 in which would be enough for a deposit and month down in a new house whilst waiting to get my deposit back.


If you do your research, go with a reputable agent, if the property is managed by the agent then you have them to organise repairs etc.


Obviously you would need to be sure it's worth the move before leaving your social housing as, yes, you would be giving up a lot of the security that you have but only you know if it is worth it for you and your family.

paulineb_2

I think anyone in social housing would be wise to think very carefully about giving that security up and moving to private renting. At the moment I have a home for life, I would never give that up to move into a private rented flat.

Tygermoth

madison-nyc - wow you must be super organised and a landlords dream as i was given notice to quit as the LL was selling and finding somewhere was not easy at all! never mind packing up, arranging all the changes. working out logistics. doing it in two months has stressed me out. the cost has been staggering!

Ok, i do have pets. But my neighbour with kids has not found anywhere yet as no one wants children. The neighbour by her who is elderly and on benefits is also still looking.

Though i don't worry 24/7 even with the best agent its the landlord that calls the shots and in most cases you don't meet them until after you have moved in.

Yorkie1

madison-nyc wrote: »

As for renewing every 6 or 12 months, with my agent it costs £25 for a new tenancy, so hardly breaking the bank.

You are very lucky. See some of the posts on here where people are being charged a 3-figure sum every 6 months.

If you do your research, go with a reputable agent, if the property is managed by the agent then you have them to organise repairs etc.

Only if the LL has given them a budget to work within. Many LLs insist on pre-authorising any work, so you are dependent entirely on the LL's desire to deal with any requested work - which can cause delay in getting it done, if at all.

madison-nyc

Only if the LL has given them a budget to work within. Many LLs insist on pre-authorising any work, so you are dependent entirely on the LL's desire to deal with any requested work - which can cause delay in getting it done, if at all.[/QUOTE]


Landlords are required to maintain the property to a certain standard as set out in the tenancy agreement. yes, there is sometimes a bit of a delay between getting quotes and work authorised but I've never had a problem or had to wait for any emergency work etc.


Maybe it's down to research but I really have never had half of the problems I'm reading on here.

Yorkie1

The House buying renting forum is littered with threads from tenants who are reporting that they have done their utmost to get the LL to do what seem to be significant / important repairs, and failed.

Yes, it may (who knows?) be a minority of LLs. But it's frequently impossible to tell whether your LL is going to be any good in advance. Just because you've had no such difficulties doesn't mean that another person won't.

And, if you do end up in a property with significant issues which have been covered up in order to get the property let, an unscrupulous LL will serve you a s.21 notice sooner than deal with extra expense and hassle - particularly if you threaten to get Env Health involved as is your right.

And if you're reliant on benefits, or don't have lots of cash around to pay a deposit on a new place before fighting for the return of your original deposit for weeks, that makes life tough.