Ins and outs of Renting ...

Magic_Dragon

Hi Everyone

We are in the process of selling and relocating because of work. We were all set to sell this one and buy another

However it seems in 2-3 years time we will prob have to move again! Staying put isnt an option

Selling is a right pain and blooming expensive. So, we are thinking of renting for the next 2-3 years instead of buying and having to fork out loads of fees again

I have never rented before so I have no idea of any pitfalls. Looking at the area we are movng too we can get a nice house for a good 3-400 a month less than what a mortgage on a cheaper property would cost (nice cottagey type house with big gardens in a quaint little villages, that we could never afford a mortgage for!)

What other fees are involved? How much are deposits? Do you pay fees in advance? Who pays council tax? What about referances and credit checks (we have excellent credit rating, but who would provide a referance?)

We are both non smokers, a baby boy and no pets

Sorry for so many questions. I did ring up an agency but they were not very helpful as I didnt want to give specifics! There is lots of info on this board but its all scattered around

I hate moving :rolleyes:

merlinthehappypig

Magic_Dragon wrote: »

Hi Everyone

We are in the process of selling and relocating because of work. We were all set to sell this one and buy another

However it seems in 2-3 years time we will prob have to move again! Staying put isnt an option

Selling is a right pain and blooming expensive. So, we are thinking of renting for the next 2-3 years instead of buying and having to fork out loads of fees again

I have never rented before so I have no idea of any pitfalls. Looking at the area we are movng too we can get a nice house for a good 3-400 a month less than what a mortgage on a cheaper property would cost (nice cottagey type house with big gardens in a quaint little villages, that we could never afford a mortgage for!)

What other fees are involved? How much are deposits? Do you pay fees in advance? Who pays council tax? What about referances and credit checks (we have excellent credit rating, but who would provide a referance?)

We are both non smokers, a baby boy and no pets

Sorry for so many questions. I did ring up an agency but they were not very helpful as I didnt want to give specifics! There is lots of info on this board but its all scattered around

I hate moving :rolleyes:

Based on our experience of selling to rent..........

For us it is considerably cheaper to rent than buy. We rent a house with a market value of over £400000 for £900 a month. This would be almost 3 times that to buy on a 100% mortgage. There are no maintenance costs & no buildings insurance to pay.

The interest on our savings pays the rent and more (we have more capital now than when we started renting almost a year back). We paid off all our debts. Bearing in mind the costs of buying, legal costs, mortgage application fees, stamp duty etc, financially it is a total no-brainer, especially with the likelihood of decreasing house prices over the next few years.

Fees associated with renting vary depending on the landlord and letting agency. We paid around £60 for the credit checks, but I suspect that this is low compared to most agencies. We paid 2 months rent up front, but I think that 1 month is more usual. We didn't have to provide a reference.

You will be responsible for all the utility bills and charges as well as council tax.

Upside of renting will be the financial benefits, no question, especially when houses are likely to be cheaper in a few years when you buy again. Also the flexibility - you will be able to move on a month's notice if you change jobs again compared with waiting to sell your house.

Downsides are:

It's not your house so you can't do what you want.

You may have to move again before you want to if the landlord won't or can't renew the contract. You can try to negotiate a longer initial lease. We did that and had a year, followed by an ongoing monthly basis. If you are looking for a long-term let, it might be worth contacting people like the National Trust, the Crown Estate and so on. You will normally be able to stay as long as you wish in these houses and won't get any hassle from landlords either (we've seen no-one in 10 months)

The house won't usually be up to the standard that you might expect from your own home as a rule. Things tend to be done on the cheap.

I love renting for the financial benefits - my wife has had enough and wants to own again!

pinkshoes

Deposits are generally 1.5x monthly rent.

Fees for credit checks can be anything from about £80 each to £150, perhaps more depending on the agent, and are paid upfront.

Council tax is paid by you.

No pets and non smokers is good!

The downside of renting is that a lot of people are selling up at the moment (those jumping on the BTL bandwagon that can no longer afford it!), so try and get them to agree to a longer contract, so you don't risk being handed your notice to move out after 6 months!!

Magic_Dragon

Thanks for the replies guys

Everything is a bit clearer in my head now ......

Similar properties that we were looking to buy (£1200 a month mortgage) rent for about £700-850 (exact area depending)

My main worry about renting is the Land lord selling up and us haing to move again - suppose you cant predict these things though . I guess its worth trying to negotiate the initial lease.

Are rent fees negotiable? And if so by how much. We will be looking to rent at £1000 pcm max (if we find a really nice place!) but more than likely around £800 ish (so we can save)

We put £15,000 deposit down on our current home so hopefully we will get at least that back when we sell (with any luck a fair bit more!) But you never know .......

What sort of fixtures are normally included in the rent price? Alot of the places I am looking at say unfurnished, but there is lots of furniture in the pics

We have all our own furniture apart from kitchen appliances as they are fitted in our current home

Sounds like renting will be the cheaper option for us - its not as if house prices are going to rise enough in the next 2- 3 years to cover the costs of moving again

Thanks again :-)

Redhouse

We are currently in the process of moving to another rented property - as Magic Dragon said we are also nowhere near being in the position of buying a similar property to the one we are moving to...a 2 bedroom 17th Century thatched cottage in a quiet Oxfordshire village for 700 PCM. The way we figure it we will have fun with it for 12-18 months and then re-evaluate again then and buy if we decide to stay in the area (I am in HM Forces).

We are moving from a new build apartment in Swindon and I can honestly say NEVER AGAIN! I've seen better build quality in wet cardboard. So frustrating that not one single wall is 'solid' so too scared to hang anything up! The curtain rails fell out the wall (we didn't fix them up in the first place I hasten to add!), you can hear your neighbours constantly in their flats - no matter WHAT they are up too! (yuk)

One downside is we are moving out on 14th Feb but have been charged a full calendar months rent from our current letting agent, then a full months rent for the new place PLUS a full months deposit. And then 150.00 agents fees for the new agent. Our deposit for the current place is locked in with the DPS and we only get that back about 2-3 weeks after moving out so its been a tight month to say the least!!

Good luck with renting, we personally find it beneficial for us...

merlinthehappypig

Rent can be negotiable, but, from recent stories on the boards, the demand is picking up so it will depend on the house and the area.

As for fixtures and fittings, our house was unfurnished so it included nothing. I'd prefer to use my own furniture & appliances than take the risk with someone else's.