Rental nightmare - Prices are totally out of control

Okydoky25

I do sympathise I have been in that situation but after a good look at my work life balance I made the change and have not looked back. 11 rentals in 7 years but I have moved an hour up the A1 I have bought a home for my family. My kids will have to share for now but I am sure they prefer this than the instability of renting and it's cheaper. No brainer really only wish I had done it sooner!

jjlandlord

Re. sharing bedrooms, from a landlord's perspective one should also remember that there are laws against overcrowding, which create a duty for the landlord not to allow overcrowding and to report it to the council.

There are rules regarding minimum size of rooms in relation to age of occupant.
A good (as in aware of his responsibilities) landlord would check that.

[Deleted User]

Here you go - £2k per month in Radlett for a 4 bed - http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-40743256.html?backListLink=%2Fproperty-to-rent%2Fmap.html%3FlocationIdentifier%3DREGION%255E15889%26sortType%3D1%26minPrice%3D1500%26maxPrice%3D2500%26minBedrooms%3D4%26displayPropertyType%3Dhouses%26oldDisplayPropertyType%3Dhouses%26viewType%3DGRID%26radius%3D3.0%23_includeLetAgreed%3Don%26displayPropertyType%3Dhouses%26houseFlatShare%3Dfalse%26locationIdentifier%3DREGION%255E15889%26maxPrice%3D2500%26minBedrooms%3D4%26minPrice%3D1500%26oldDisplayPropertyType%3Dhouses%26previousSearchLocation%3DLondon%2520Colney%26radius%3D3.0%26searchLocation%3DLondon%2520Colney%26searchType%3DRENT%26sortByNewestListing%3Dfalse%26sortType%3D1%26useLocationIdentifier%3Dfalse%26viewType%3DGRID%26box%3D-0.40864%2C-0.17655%2C51.65298%2C51.77296%26popupPropertyId%3D40743256&fromMap=true

Honestly, are you not using Rightmove properly? There are houses in London Colney, Bricket Wood, Chiswell green, St Albans.. that are all under £2k a month

Okydoky25

Lily-Rose wrote: »

^^^ THIS.

Also, you have moved 14 times in 17 years?! Why? I am no fan of landlords and find some of them moneygrabbers and the agents too. But I wonder if this is more about you than them. Moving that many times in that many years suggests to me that you are the problem.

This I don't agree with. I have also moved ALOT reasons being 3 yes 3 rentals were repossed. 2 the owners wanted to move back in after assurances these were long term. 1 left me without a boiler for nearly a month over Xmas with a new born in the house (could not afford to replace boiler again another that didn't even have consent yo let) and 2 I was hounded out by debt collectors looking for my landlord. I moved twice of my own choosing to relocate.

lloydyd

I hear what you are all saying and yes I dont want things to change. Im just peeved, that i now have to spend the same money on a 3 bed that im currently paying for a 4 bed (actually its a 5 bed but the LL has one room locked out).

Im not suggesting its unfair that im in this postion, its just a frustration that in this day and age, its very very difficult to get on that first rung. I have 3 children so cant go for a small 2 bed flat (well i could but im not going to), I earn plenty and its frustrating having to pay someone elses mortgage when given my years of history in renting and never missing a month that this isnt taken into consideration when applying for a mortgage.

lloydyd

Okydoky25 wrote: »

This I don't agree with. I have also moved ALOT reasons being 3 yes 3 rentals were repossed. 2 the owners wanted to move back in after assurances these were long term. 1 left me without a boiler for nearly a month over Xmas with a new born in the house (could not afford to replace boiler again another that didn't even have consent yo let) and 2 I was hounded out by debt collectors looking for my landlord. I moved twice of my own choosing to relocate.

Thanks for the back up on this one. I am certainly not the problem but when your neighbors kids are calling yours dirty Jews over the fence its time to move or end up in prison for assult!!!

Also had similar things with LL wanting to move back in from being abroad, awful neighbors, and awful LL who arent willing to lift a finger to fix things in HIS house. EG, the current LL still hasnt fixed a dangerous fence that is collapsing from the storms back in October. Also the garden gate was blown off which i fixed myself in the end. When the heating breaks, he doesnt fix it for weeks which is fine when its like this outside but not when its -5 and snowing which is what happened last christmas.

Im certainly not to blame for 99% of the times we have been forced to move. Maybe im just very unlucky

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

lloydyd wrote: »

I hear what you are all saying and yes I dont want things to change. Im just peeved, that i now have to spend the same money on a 3 bed that im currently paying for a 4 bed (actually its a 5 bed but the LL has one room locked out).

Im not suggesting its unfair that im in this postion, its just a frustration that in this day and age, its very very difficult to get on that first rung. I have 3 children so cant go for a small 2 bed flat (well i could but im not going to), I earn plenty and its frustrating having to pay someone elses mortgage when given my years of history in renting and never missing a month that this isnt taken into consideration when applying for a mortgage.

I managed to get a mortgage within 4 years of leaving uni. It involved sacrificing nights out, delaying having children, and renting in less desirable parts of town.

I suspect you know full well what you have to do in order to get on the property ladder, you're just not prepared to do it.

[Deleted User]

Found another one - £1900 pm in Bricket wood - http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-44684366.html

You might want to keep an eye out on twitter as a lot of rental property goes on there.

I've only had one anti-semitic incident whilst living here, and I made them feel deeply uncomfortable afterwards (They didn't know I was Jewish..). It's about 15-20 minutes drive to Borehamwood (i'm guessing you're going to the school behind Tescos?). The local primary school is quite good too.

Hatfield is pretty grim - I'd be getting your kids to share for a couple of years whilst you put together a deposit. It must be hard having to jump onto the 'ladder' when you've got a family that won't squeeze into a smaller property.

PasturesNew

One thing to consider is what is a bedroom? Two separate rooms downstairs could mean one's a bedroom.

Taking the lead from ringo's link and viewing others in that area, there's a bungalow that describes itself as: 3 bedrooms/3 receptions/granny annexe potential - and no tenant fees; it's on with two agents, the other describes it as 4 beds/2 receptions.

For many, a 4 bedroom house has 1 reception! Also, the room sizes in that bungalow are HUGE... often houses others might rent would have the smallest bedroom at 7'x8', the smallest room in that bungalow is 12'2 x 12' which is a large double in anybody's books. Thousands of kids in the country are sharing bedrooms of 7'x8'.

Your choice, but I'd find the smallest/best layout I could and cram them in for some years, saving the difference as a deposit for the day when a couple move out and you can downsize and buy.

verulamium

lloydyd wrote: »

Im not suggesting its unfair that im in this postion, its just a frustration that in this day and age, its very very difficult to get on that first rung. I have 3 children so cant go for a small 2 bed flat (well i could but im not going to), I earn plenty and its frustrating having to pay someone elses mortgage when given my years of history in renting and never missing a month that this isnt taken into consideration when applying for a mortgage.

For the first twelve years of my life, I shared a bedroom with my brother. It might not be ideal, but it is do-able.

As for paying someone else's mortgage, you just have to buck up and start saving for a deposit so you can get a mortgage of your own.

It took us years of saving and sacrifice. This meant no sunny holidays abroad for 6-7 years (only cheap camping trips to wet and windy Lake District!), eating out only once or twice a month, declining invitations to parties, ordering tap water instead of wine...

It was worth it in the end, because seven months ago we finally bought our house. We still had to make compromises (South London vs North London where we initially looked), but at least it suits our current and, hopefully, future needs.

We all had to pay more than what we would have just a few years ago. Heck, if we bought our current house just two years ago, we would have saved £100k!

Still, I see plenty of 3-4 bedroom in St Albans for under £2k pcm. Having lived in St Albans, I know where I would rather move to...