A different kind of renting dilemma

always_so_tired

clutton wrote: »

why does he think he is a great landlord ? rushing into a new tenancy - mmmm ?? has he given you a copy of the tenancy agreement to read ahead of time ? is the LL going to take up references ? credit checks ? which deposit scheme is he using ?

by the sounds of things the new LL isn't trying to rush into a new tenancy-

pipo wrote:

Well, it’s the fact that the landlord wants us to move in almost immediately after all the refurb has been done (no later than 10 May),

sounds like he's wanting new tenants in after he's done a refurb. presumably he's doing the refurb after the end of the previous tenancy, to me it makes sense that he doesnt want the place empty for longer than is neccessary as he is already having a rent void during the refurb.

JimmyTheWig

How much would agency fees cost you?
How much would it cost (petrol, etc) to look round other places until you found one you liked?
How much extra would you be paying in an equivalent property in rent and council tax over, say, a year?

Add up these costs. Do they come to more than the £810 you will have to fork out for starting the agreement early?
If so, then this place is a winner.
If not, what else can you use to justify this place?

How about you factor in the hassle of finding somewhere else - how much is that worth to you?
What about removals? If you have the two places for a month then you can move your stuff gradually. Would that mean you could do it yourself rather than get proffessionals in? Or would it mean you can do it with your own car rather than hiring a van?

If you still can't reach the £810 figure, then how long do you plan on living there? I've said to count the cost of extra rent elnsewhere over a year - what if you count that over, say, three years if you think you will be there that long?

And if you _still_ can't get to £810, then I think it's time to call it a day and if the landlord won't budge then find somewhere else.


P.S. All of the above assumes that you can afford the £810 that it will cost you. If you have to borrow it then you will need to factor in interest, knee-caps, etc.

RMP_2

LL will perform credit checks and collect references as normal. They have a sort-of property empire in Bristol so whilst i don't know what deposit scheme they use the fact that they have a great deal of experience fills me with enough confidence.

Nicholas Van Hoogstraten had a lot of experience !!! :eek:

pipo

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

How much would agency fees cost you? Generally at least 20% of rent so in this case £150 for a £750 pcm property
How much would it cost (petrol, etc) to look round other places until you found one you liked? Probably will come to about £70-£80 when all said and done
How much extra would you be paying in an equivalent property in rent and council tax over, say, a year? £630 assuming that something equivalent is @ £750, which is probably an underestimate considering the relative square footage.

Add up these costs. Do they come to more than the £810 you will have to fork out for starting the agreement early?
If so, then this place is a winner.
If not, what else can you use to justify this place?

How about you factor in the hassle of finding somewhere else - how much is that worth to you?
What about removals? If you have the two places for a month then you can move your stuff gradually. Would that mean you could do it yourself rather than get proffessionals in? Or would it mean you can do it with your own car rather than hiring a van?

If you still can't reach the £810 figure, then how long do you plan on living there? I've said to count the cost of extra rent elnsewhere over a year - what if you count that over, say, three years if you think you will be there that long?

And if you _still_ can't get to £810, then I think it's time to call it a day and if the landlord won't budge then find somewhere else.


P.S. All of the above assumes that you can afford the £810 that it will cost you. If you have to borrow it then you will need to factor in interest, knee-caps, etc.

Actually with the C Tax exemption in mind it's now only at £695 that we need to justify. I also didn't factor in the fact that if it was done through letting agents they would have wanted 6 weeks' worth of deposit, which at £750 means that i would have had to pay at least £1000 (compared to just £695).

Anyways, I have just called the landlady and told them we're having it! Thanks to everyone for all your input!

:T

pipo

Well, well, well, wonders never cease! After speaking to the landlord she said that she is now using a letting agent to carry out all the admin work, which means we will have to fork out the standard letting agents’ fees (35% of rent) on top of the first month’s rent and a deposit equivalent to one month and one week. A grand total of £1836!

Have spoken to the letting agents as well, who said that they could easily advertise the property for at least £750 (maybe more), and it be snapped up with the tenancy to start on 10 May, such is the quality of the place. Now, they’ve got no reason to boast about that because they (and the landlord) will essentially be losing money by having us as their tenants.

The OH and I are still very keen on this property (because having had another look at the current market there is nothing even close) but we would need to fork out £250 each extra to be able to rent it in the time that the landlord wants us to. Every other box is ticked but basically the problem now is whether it still makes financial sense, considering I will have to pay rent for 2 properties for one month.

Arrghh! Help.

JimmyTheWig

From your previous post, your big saving was in how cheap this property is, not the fact that there was no agent involved.
I know it sounds like a lot of money, but I'm not convinced any of that is any more than if you got a different property.

So it still makes sense. Not quite as much sense as before, but it does make sense.

That doesn't mean that there is no room for haggling. Can you get the 35% down a bit? You mentioned 20% in an earlier post - could you get them closer to this figure?
And what about haggling on the start date? Even by putting it back a week you'd save money.

pipo

The initial outlay is, in fact, actually less than what we've been quoted for other properties, which were in the region of £2000.

35% is non-negotiable, as it's the standard fee that they use for all the properties they manage. Neither is the start date, and believe me, we've tried from every conceivable angle, which is understandable as you wouldn't want to miss out on a month's rent as a landlord - i certainly wouldn't.

mlz1413

By overlapping the properties you have the chance to get your old place cleaned to the point that you will get your full deposit back (although check with your current LL what they expect some want curtains washed and carpets cleaned, if so do it so you have receipts)

A month is a long overlap but if you have already taken 4-6 weeks to not find a property as good as this and if you plan to be there long term it sounds like bite the bullet and justify the costs as getting the place you want.

If your worried you have to justify the costs then maybe you should look at the bigger picture and put things in place: from what you say from June you are not travelling to your place of work so you could stay were you are and your GF stay at home until you find a different place be it in June/ July/ Aug.

Or could you stay at you GF's? or rent a room (cheaper and less tied than a tenancy) near to her so that you can look for properties together from the same base point?

If Bristol has properties snapped up the moment they go on the market then you really have to take into account what are you going to do in June (if you have already given notice).

Good Luck!