Renting a house for the first time - advice??

BlueNose1984

In the New Year, me and my boyfriend are going to look for a medium sized say 2 bedroom house to rent in Coventry.

This is the first time for both of us renting, and I want to know is where I can find somewhere affordable and in a respectable area? Will we need references despite both living with parents and in my case alone in my Dad's house?

What can we expect from landlords?

Doozergirl

Do you have to live in Coventry? It's generally yuck.

You only find somewhere affordable in a respectable area by registering with all the agents, looking at the local paper and picking the best of a bad bunch. Most of the stuff I viewed, if I had ever seen an internal shot, I would never have wasted the petrol.

Can't tell you what to expect from a landlord. They're all different.

My only advice would be
a)to look for a newish build which hopefully equals less maintenance.
b) never to rent a house from anyone that has previously lived there.

A_Nice_Englishman

Doozergirl wrote: »

...
My only advice would be
....
b) never to rent a house from anyone that has previously lived there.

Why not?

I'm interested because I used to rent out a house I had lived in and I like to think I was a good landlord - getting repairs done promptly, never calling round unannounced etc etc

Notlob

Doozergirl wrote: »

b) never to rent a house from anyone that has previously lived there.

Wouldn't it be better to just say "only let BTL Properties"! It is a shorter sentence and is just as meaningless.

Doozergirl

It's only from my own personal experience of people being far too precious about their old homes.

I simply wouldn't risk it.

moneysavinmonkey

I know exactly what DoozerGirl means and I would agree wholeheartedly!

One ex-landlord of this type told me that I was living in HER home.
She seemed to think she was doing me a favour letting me livethere with no heating and her constant intrusions!

Lavendyr

It can also be a positive thing though as they may care more about keeping the home in good order. My OH and I have rented two houses now where the landlord used to live there and both have been absolutely no problem at all in that regard.

To the OP, I posted some renting advice on another thread so I will copy it here for you and hope it is useful

When viewing, check:
- Lights, cupboards, shower/bath works etc
- What type of heating
- What phone connections are in (BT/NTL/whatever)
- Is there a water meter
- What are the landlord's plans - long/short term let
- What is included with the property (e.g. white goods, wardrobes, any other furnishings like curtains)
- Condition of the garden and how/whetheryou are expected to maintain it
- See if there is any leeway on rent - especially if a property has been on for a while, they might be prepared to negotiate the rental price down a bit
- If there is a garage, check if it is definitely included in the rental as sometimes may not be

When considering to take the rental on:
- Is there a letting agency?
- If so, how much do they want for credit checks?
- What type of contract will you be on?
- How much deposit do they want?
- Which scheme will your deposit be protected in?
- How do the letting agency deal with you in general - are they quick to help or reluctant?
- Is an inventory taken at check-in and check-out? If so is it by an independent company or by the letting agency? (Independent is better)
- Check they do all legally required gas and electricity/wiring safety checks
- Is the landlord/letting agency in the practice of serving a Section 21 (notice to quit) notice early in the tenancy? If so avoid, avoid, avoid.
- Make sure you have contact details and can reach people in more than one way (ie phone, email and postal address) if you need to.

When moving in:
- Take meter readings (though inventory clerk should do it for you as well)
- Check you have all keys
- Take photos of everything you can and make sure you have a record of the date photos were taken (e.g the day's newspaper in the picture)
- Report anything that is broken/not working to the agency/landlord as soon as possible

Have a read of the Shelter website (http://england.shelter.org.uk/home/index.cfm) for more information, it is absolutely invaluable.

A_Nice_Englishman

Going back to renting property that the landlord used to live in himself, make sure he has permission to let from his mortgage lender. If not, and he defaults on the mortgage, you may find yourself evicted with no comeback.

See this thread
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=589041