Rental market madness

Telecaster said:

Is it just my area or is it like this everywhere?

I'm looking for somewhere to rent ATM, each time I've found something suitable it's gone before I've managed to contact the letting agency about it...

I thought it was all doom and gloom, zero hours contracts, no wage rises for 5+ years and everyone at the food bank? Yet rentals are barely advertised 24 hours before being snapped up

And we aren't talking housing benefit style flats above kebab shops here, I'm talking decent rents on decent places.

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It's an open secret that most people aren't on the breadline and want somewhere nice to live.

In Cambridge, the situation you describe happens with buys and rentals.

Telecaster said:

And we aren't talking housing benefit style flats above kebab shops here, I'm talking decent rents on decent places.

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Even these in my area turn their nose up at housing benefit or require a guarantor. And my area is cheap cheap with high unemployment.

danielanthony said:

Problem is, most landlords are highly leveraged and the amount of mortgage interest they pay is offset against their tax liability. This gives them an unfair advantage in the residential property sector as private individuals looking to buy a HOME cannot offset their mortgage interest payments against their personal tax liability. Additionally, landlords can claim refurbishment and maintenance costs as business expenses, again reducing the tax they have to pay - something homeowners cannot.

These tax changes make the playing field level for landlords and people looking to buy or owning their own home.

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Owner occupants don't pay tax on imputed rent either.

Dis86 said:

Sadly not. Every landlord I know has already got their accountants working out ways around it. Most of them already claim to have found some.

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How about:-

If you have a limited company with funds available the company could buy the residential property. You can still have a residential mortgage.

The rental income is paid to the limited company. You have more control over how you receive the income.

Granted there is the introduction of dividend tax but if you don't need the money, you could make pension contributions equal to the rental income.

Your limited company would then receive corporation tax relief. Although the company would have to pay gains on eventual sale.

We've just been greeted with an ~8% rent increase in two months time, after a ~13% rise in 2012 from our initial renting price in 2006 i.e. ~19.6% increase over the ~10-year period.

I dread to think how much we've paid in rent here over the last ~10 years, something like £70k!

After the last increase, the landlord needlessly "upgraded" the kitchen units and white goods, albeit the fridge and oven work worse than the ones they replaced, plus there was a promise of finally getting a shower installed. Well the shower has been in place for over two years but is still not functional.

With the fairly new "help to buy" ISA accounts, especially the Halifax one, I think it is time to jump ship from here and finally get on the housing ladder with a part rent/ part buy scheme. Not a chance of the current property being worth over £600pcm with no shower and archaic wiring.

This was posted at a decent time, currently renting myself and I'm thinking of just buying a house outright in Ireland at the moment. I have the funds to do so, just don't want to find myself too isolated, I can get something for £70-90K that would cost me £250K in the UK.

Found something nice last night, phoned up the agent this morning for a viewing and he wanted me to come at 4pm, wasn't going to be home from work until 7:30pm so I asked about Saturday and he said he'll get back to me, haven't heard anything...

As for desirable areas, I wish I was in the position to choose where I want to live, it's a case of just searching within a distance of where I live now and hoping something crops up within budget, if I decided to limit myself to a specific area I'd never find anywhere.

Telecaster said:

Found something nice last night, phoned up the agent this morning for a viewing and he wanted me to come at 4pm, wasn't going to be home from work until 7:30pm so I asked about Saturday and he said he'll get back to me, haven't heard anything....

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That is because all letting agents are time wasting scum. They never return calls, emails, get back to you, etc.

Letting agents: My son was charge £72 just to apply for a rental. Then he got turned down. Nice little earner for the Agent. 100 people applying@ £72 each. Just to be told no

Ace Modder said:

Really? The house was purchased by the landlord in March 2014 for £163k, say a mortgage for £140,000 means the landlord would be paying around £650 per month. How would £1400 rental justify that?

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-pr...ml?prop=41639761&sale=1017358&country=england

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Because it would cost £350,000+ to buy in Brighton.

3 Bed Terrace, £1500: http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-57692774.html

3 Bed semi detached a couple miles outside of town, £1500: http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-52888120.html

mattyg said:

Letting agents: My son was charge £72 just to apply for a rental. Then he got turned down. Nice little earner for the Agent. 100 people applying@ £72 each. Just to be told no

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£72 is quite cheap, they all want £150+ around here.

If you ask them straight up whether you'd be accepted or not they skirt round the question until you've handed over the fee.

I'm amazed that is legal to be honest, government should ban it.

Jokester said:

I'm amazed that is legal to be honest, government should ban it.

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I don't think we are hearing the whole story.

£72 just sounds like the inflated costs of credit and reference checking which the person failed.

Most places I thought return the entire holding deposit, but this place sounds like they pass on the costs of checks. They also shouldn't really be taking multiple holding deposits unless they are willing to return all of it.

Admin fees from letting agents are getting out of hand, saw a place advertised the other day where it was ~£250 fee for the first potential tenant and then ~£180 for each subsequent potential tenant in the group!

Looks like admin fees is the new "money for old rope" scam, now that the Tenancy Deposit Scheme is giving tenants much fairer returns when tenants leave a property.

We are paying almost £600 in fees only and about £2500 altogether for deposit, fees and first rent. But the other option is not move at all as all properties are pretty much through letting agencies. Its crazy what they can charge and tbh they dont really do much work for the money.

We got lucky with the place we found. We were the first to call and get a viewing, the other couple that was going to view the same day cancelled so no one else managed to get it. It would have been gone if we hadnt got the viewing for the first available time.

Openrent or Upad, No fees

muon said:

I don't think we are hearing the whole story.

£72 just sounds like the inflated costs of credit and reference checking which the person failed.

Most places I thought return the entire holding deposit, but this place sounds like they pass on the costs of checks. They also shouldn't really be taking multiple holding deposits unless they are willing to return all of it.

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Every agency I've dealt with has passed on the "cost" of checks (in quotes because it's usually inflated by about 500%).

The problem is, you can fail the checks for any arbitrary reason the agency/landlord decide...

Haggisman said:

Every agency I've dealt with has passed on the "cost" of checks (in quotes because it's usually inflated by about 500%).

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I was always under the impression I would get the entire holding deposit (usually in the hundreds) back if the landlord decided not to take me. But maybe you are right as my sample size is quite low.

The problem is, you can fail the checks for any arbitrary reason the agency/landlord decide...

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Whilst true, it isn't really in the landlord's interest to decline for no good reason (in their mind at least). After all they are looking for a tenant and the letting agent stands to gain way more than the £72 they get for performing the basic checks. The letting agent has to waste time contacting another potential tenant and take them through the process again.

I'm looking at renting a new place in Solihull... About 7 to 800 a month for a nice 2 bed flat, and around 3 to 400 in agents fees.... :X

Yes I've seen some silly agent fees from some of the bigger firms, like £300 for the initial application, another £125 for guarantor checks, handover fees etc etc...

Complete scam if you ask me, a bit like insurance.