First Time Renter Guide?

southernscouser

Sorry to ask what has probably been asked 1,000 times before but the search faciltity isn't working! :whistle:

Is there a good guide for first time renters? All the sticky's seem to be aimed at buyers. :think:

Things included being like, contracts, deposits, erm I dunno what else! :rotfl:

What else is there?

Claremac

I'd be interested in this too if anyone can help please.

JDMYOFAN

I googled some website which contained this info so I'd start there..

I've only been renting 4 months but there are a number of things to clear up:

Deposit, ask what scheme they use - google for more info

Admin Fee, is it a one off, is it every 6 months, is it every time you renew contract, how much? - Haggle this down

Inventory - check this very very closely and ensure you check the palce first. Photograph any marks which are not in inventory and report back to agency

Who pays the management fee's (if any)

Ask who all the current suppliers are, phone, gas, electric etc...


Finally, don't go with Haart, they are useless, I have spent a lot of money on hold to companies finding out if we have a contract with them (bt, bg, etctec)

SwissLe

What would you like to know? Renting for the first time can seem like a daunting process but it's very straight forward - especially if you are going through an agency or managing agent.

1. Can you afford it? This is the most important question. Being aware of your finances is something that is often overlooked in the excitment of fleeing the nest or spreading your wings - whatever your mother will call it. Use the helpful guides on here to do a SOA listing all your incomings and outgoings. It's always a good idea to verge on the generous side here. We all know how a night on the beer can go way above the £50 estimate you put on entertainment. Once you know how much you spend now, you should be able to work out how much you can afford to pay. A popular question is 'how much of my income can I afford on rent?' there is no firm answer but you shouldn't really consider over 35% for your basic rent excluding bills. It is shocking how all the little extras mount up that come 'included' in your parents house!

2. To share or not to share? The quickest and easiest way to get on the rental ladder is to rent a room in a house. You will normally find they offer a 'all inclusive' rate for the room - they will pay your rent, electricity, water, gas, council tax and shared services like internet in exchange for a lump sum each month. This leaves you to only worry about food, social spending, transport and other personal commitments. You will have to fit in with another person so things like knowing how to share the TV remote etc will come in handy. The upside is that you will have someone to talk to in the house and this can lead to a great social life.

If you can share with a buddy then this will sometimes work out for the better. You should know if they are tidy or hold a passion for doing pottery at 3am on a Sunday morning. In this case you could look for property to rent together and spilt all the costs down the middle. This would give more freedom over location, house style and house policies. It wouldn't offer the security of a simple monthly payment.

3. What will my costs be? This totally depends on you. The first task would be to trawl the interweb looking on sites such as rightmove.co.uk to discover the prices of property. It is also worth looking in local freeads, newspapers and shop displays for property adverts as this will save on the agency fees going direct with the landlord.

Find a location near to where you work and view the prices, then do some comparisons to see if you moved to a different area and travelled every day how much it would save. Do you want to live in a house or a flat. In most cities these days they are throwing up flats left right and even centre, this has led to surplus of flats and a shortage of houses - which in turn has an effect on the rental prices of houses.

A modern flat is normally going to offer cost savings via energy efficiency, it's not ideal to be heating a high ceilinged older flat on your first time rental. Once you have the price of the rent calculated and compared you need to then add on your essential extras. Not all of these will apply but the majority will, for instance a large amount of modern flats do not have gas supplies and rely on electricty for everything - heating water, heating air, cooking etc. As a result your budget for the eletricity will go up but you won't pay any gas. Sounds simple but something to bare in mind when looking around properties.

You will need to budget for:

Council Tax - ask your agency/landlord for the banding, which you can then look on the local councils website for a yearly costing. Don't forget you can apply for discounts too, for example if you live on your own most offer a discount of 25%. When you move in your agency should contact the local council and they will send you forms to apply for your chosen payment method and state your discounted claim. Most people use direct debit to pay monthly. If you don't hear anything within a month of moving in it would be worth contacting the local council to ensure you do not end up with a large bill 6months in.

Gas/Elecricity/Water - Your landlord/agency should contact the supplier and tell them the dates you moved in and the last person moved out. To ensure you don't get caught out it's worth locating the meter and doing a reading on the day you move in and calling the supplier with this. At the same time you can inform them of your chosen payment method. Paying via direct debit is often the easiest and cheapest way. For more information on getting the best deal with suppliers it's worth checking out the dedicated forum here on MSE. There are also many tips and tricks to saving water costs and also getting a water meter installed if you don't have one. Don't forget you need the landlords permission before changing supplier within most tenancy agreements.

T.V. Licence - This is often overlooked. You will need to contact them and arrange payment. You can either pay it off in one lump sum on a yearly basis or there are other direct debit options. I do believe on the initial monthly direct debit they take a full years payment over the initial six months so that you are always paying six months in advance. There is more information on http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/

TV/Internet/Broadband - If you need any of these services it is worth ensuring that your chosen property has them. Most modern apartments have a communal aerial and quite a few have satellite dishes which will sort your TV out. Occasionally you will also discover that ntl: or Virgin Media did a deal during construction and only cabled services are offered on the property. This will tie you to one company so it's worth investigating before moving in. If you are looking for a phone line then BT will be able to tell you if the line is currently active or has been active in the last few months - if it hasn't then there is a cool £125 connection charge to get a line. You will also need a landline if you require non-cable broadband. Have a look on the MSE utlities board for bundle deals on all three and of course cash-back rewards for signing up. You also need to obtain landlord permission before installing dishes or running cables within the property. Most companies now insist on a 12month contract with services such as these, so make sure you intend to stick around and that you can afford it before taking the plunge. Do you really need Sky TV straight away or could you wait a few months to see how the budget fairs?

Contents Insurance - You are responsible for your contents, so it worth while for you to purchase insurance to protect against theft or damage. A couple of insurers do special 'renting' insurance and you can customise this until your heart is content. Don't overlook it though, there is nothing worse than being a victim of burglary until you realise you have no insurance.

Household Items - This really is the unknown area. There isn't a huge amount of difference in rent between a non-furnished and furnished place. It's worth considering furnished for your first time as it's surprising how much all those little forgotten about items add up to without even considering the price of a sofa and bed. If you must go with unfurnished then shop around for starter packs and visit freecycle to see what you can blag for free. Make a list of what you have in your room and what your family/friends would be willing to help you out with. Be careful with your budget and spend wisely - those wine glasses may be an amazing deal but how often do you drink out of them?

On-going Household Items: Work out a viable meal plan and see how much you will spend on shopping each month. Do a virtual shop online to give you an idea. Then add to your basket an estimated amount of cleaning products you will use - washing powder, fabric softener, bleach and even items you use to clean yourself like shower gel - yes, the shower gel that magically appears in the bathroom when you are at home!

4. I'm budget-savvy & ready, what next? Letting agents will charge you certain costs before you move into a property. These costs include charges for checking your references, preparation of inventory, drawing up tenancy agreements, administration costs, etc. They are normally a percentage of the rent but can amount to £100-£500, depending on the area, agency and property. Be aware that agents should not charge you for looking at properties or holding your details.

It never harms to negotiate with the rent. You never know if your property has been sitting on the rental market for a few months, and your landlord is paying out on his ever increasing buy-to-let mortgage. If the rent is £650, why not ask for £600? Every little may help in the future.

Always go for a second or even third viewing of the property. Search high and low for defects. If possible try all light switches, built in appliances, showers, heaters, windows and anything you can think of that might be faulty. Ensure these are rectified before you sign your agreement. If you are new to the area having a chat with the neighbours can reveal local secrets and even if there are issues with the property. There is also a chance that your neighbour could also be renting from the same landlord/agent.

You will also need to raise enough money for a deposit. This will normally be taken when you agree to let the property. In most cases it is a months rent but there are instances where it can be more - if the property is furnished or the increase can be a result of a large amount of people simply with-holding their last months rent in order to ensure they get their deposit back. The deposit is held throughout the term of the tenancy. If you return the property and any furnishings in the exactly the same condition in which you received it, you should get back the original deposit payment. The deposit will normally be in addition to your first months rent - which is normally payable on your moving in day.

If you are moving into a furnished rental then it is crucial an inventory is performed. If you are renting through an agent this is normally included as part of the administration charge you will pay along with your first months rent. Even if you are moving into an unfurnished property an inventory can also be used to list any built in appliances and a full condition report. This inventory should be signed by yourself and the agent/landlord.

Most agencies now credit check tenants before moving in. You will fill in an application form and they will normally ask for your personal information, employers information, landlord history, character reference and bank account information. Do not panic if this is your first time and you don't have a previous landlord, this normally means they will use your character reference instead. The credit check is normally quite basic and unless you have been signifcantly naughty (CCJs etc) then you should be accepted. After all they have a months rent and a deposit to fall back on if you can't pay. Occasionally you will be asked to provide a written character reference rather than a verbal one, this is simply a letter from your chosen person stating how you like reading books and have never uttered a swear word in your life. It's always worth noting that if you have a checkered credit history and fail the credit checks some agencies will keep your agency fee but refund your deposit. Be clear on this before letting them perform the check.

5. OK! Where is that pen? You will normally be asked to sign three copies of the tenancy agreement before you move into your property. One for you, one for the landlord and one for the letting agent. This will be a document stating the length of rental term - normally 6 or 12months - the landlords name and information. Attached will be a long contract stating the deposit amount, rent amount and some general information about how you should conduct yourself when renting the property. There will be regulations on noise and what changes you can make to the property. Take a read of this to ensure there is nothing unacceptable slipped in and don't be afraid to take it away to let someone else take a browse for you. Once you have signed on the line you should be able to grab a set of keys and try to resist having the house warming party - you want your deposit back!

I have tried to cover the basics that I encountered when renting for the first time. If you have any questions I will try my best to answer them

Claremac

Wow SwissLe thanks for all that! I'm not a typical first-time renter as we are selling our house and going in to rented as we can't find anywhere suitable to buy. So the first 3 points you make weren't applicable to me (although they brought back memories!!!) but there is some very useful info in the other 2 points. My main worry is that I have to have exchanged contracts BEFORE I sign up to a rental agreement which feels a bit like stepping off a cliff with no safety net especially as we have 2 kids! Thanks again for your help.

sarah_elton

SwissLe wrote: »

Gas/Elecricity/Water - Your landlord/agency should contact the supplier and tell them the dates you moved in and the last person moved out. To ensure you don't get caught out it's worth locating the meter and doing a reading on the day you move in and calling the supplier with this. At the same time you can inform them of your chosen payment method. Paying via direct debit is often the easiest and cheapest way. For more information on getting the best deal with suppliers it's worth checking out the dedicated forum here on MSE. There are also many tips and tricks to saving water costs and also getting a water meter installed if you don't have one. Don't forget you need the landlords permission before changing supplier within most tenancy agreements.

Wonderful guide SwissLe!

A point to note that I learnt - if the property has a card/key meter when you get it, you can change it to a normal meter with the landlord's permission. My electricity company did this free of charge. It was only a card one due to a previous owner having credit problems, and I didn't want the hassle of going to the shop to buy electricity.

sarah_elton

Another tip from me - when I viewed I went round with my mum, mentioned things like having a decent job, made myself look like a quiet, clean-and-tidy-obsessed angel. Landlord offered to take a month's deposit instead of their usual 1.5 month's, and took my offer of lower rent.

Sounds obvious but make sure you come across like a dream tenant and you're in a better bargaining position.

sarah_elton

Claremac wrote: »

Wow SwissLe thanks for all that! I'm not a typical first-time renter as we are selling our house and going in to rented as we can't find anywhere suitable to buy. So the first 3 points you make weren't applicable to me (although they brought back memories!!!) but there is some very useful info in the other 2 points. My main worry is that I have to have exchanged contracts BEFORE I sign up to a rental agreement which feels a bit like stepping off a cliff with no safety net especially as we have 2 kids! Thanks again for your help.

It's no problem at all re exchanging contracts first. Only view rental places that are vacant or very near to tenant leaving date. Rental moves soooo much quicker than buying. If somewhere's vacant, you can view it and be in within a week if you really want to.

devils_spawn

Do not pay your deposit by cash - if you can, ask to pay the deposit by credit card.

That's what I done and the bank sided with me when the landlord wouldn't refund my deposit - so they done a chargeback.

southernscouser

Thanks SwissLe, thats great stuff! :beer:

So do people recommend say a years lease over 6 months if you get all the utilities and stuff transferred into your name? I assume they come with 12 month contracts? :undecided

I think I also read about something where your deposit is 'guaranteed' if they are a member of something or other if they do a runner? :undecided

SwissLe

The basics (gas, electricity, water) don't tend to have fixed contracts of 12months. It tends to be those extras that you need such as telephone, broadband and sky that come with the tie in periods. I would say go for a 6month agreement if you can, then if you get into hot water or decide you want to move then you would only have to uphold your contract for small amounts of money (£11 for phone, £16 for sky, £10 for broadband for instance) than have to continue to pay your rent.

From 6 April 2007, all deposits taken by landlords for what is called Assured Shorthold Tenancies – the vast majority of tenancies – in England and Wales must be protected by a tenancy deposit protection scheme. To avoid disputes going to court, each scheme will be supported by an alternative dispute resolution service (ADR), whose aim is to make disputes faster and cheaper to resolve.