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renting without an agent
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In the last 5 years I've rented 2 places I found on gumtree direct with the LL. I've had better experiences doing this than renting through an agency - no fees (IME anyway), it cuts out the middle man when you need things fixed, and the only time I've had to dispute the deposit return was when I rented via an agency.
You should do some due diligence like checking that the person you are planning to rent from actually owns the property (£3 on the land registry website). But apart from that it's just common sense really. There are fake ads on gumtree but IME most of them are pretty obvious as they are offering something ridiculously good for the money.
Based on my experiences I'd recommend it.Let's settle this like gentlemen: armed with heavy sticks
On a rotating plate, with spikes like Flash Gordon
And you're Peter Duncan; I gave you fair warning0 -
Cherry_Gale wrote: ».... If I were to rent again, I'd probably send the prospective landlord a message in advance before meeting them:
"In case we would like to agree the tenancy, I will bring proof of address and picture ID. I would appreciate if you could do the same, and also show me the [STRIKE]gas safety certificate[/STRIKE]Prescribed Information."
It is a legal requirement to provide:
* an EPC
* a Gas Safety Certificate (if the property has gas)
* smoke detectors on each floor, plus a CO alarm if you have solid fuel heating.
* AND government leaflet "how to rent"
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Local papers can be a good place to check. Because they charge a fee for listing, the worst of the profiteering slum landlords don't bother (though you still need to do due diligence, as you would on a free listing site). I've rented directly from a landlord we found in the paper before, and though it wasn't perfect it was £125pm cheaper than it had been when he let through an agency.Mortgage
June 2016: £93,295
September 2021: £66,4900 -
We used Upad as tenants and found a good landlord through there- saved a lot on letting agents fees which was great!0
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like i said in a previous post the only worry i have is my payslips can sometimes be pence out compared to bank statements, but surely this wouldnt be an issue if they can confirm my wage with my employer? apart from that ive never rented before and have never been is arrears for credit cards or anything so im not in debt. could i use a credit card statement instead of bank statement for proof of address?
Simba-ali0 -
It depends on the letting agent and/or landlord. They may ask for certain documents to demonstrate you are who you say you are and that you can afford the rent. You can choose whether or not you provide the documents asked of you or to provide something else. The landlord can then decide whether or not to let the property to you.
In other words nobody here can answer that because we don't know.0
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