1st renter - some advice on how to proceed pretty please!

CSMonkeh

CSMonkeh

CSMonkeh

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Hants/Berks Border
Right really gotta pull my finger out and move out!! Anyway found myself what looks like a decent flat in Newbury (because I work in Newbury).
Obviously next stage is to ring the letting agency and request a viewing but from there on what else do you need to do? :confused:
Any useful information or tips??

Its £625/month and I take home £1300-£1400 a month so SHOULD be ok.
Only thing is its unfurnished but I got like £6k in the account PLUS over-draft

Many thanks :)
 
Most important thing is the checklist. It should document all the problems with the property (from faulty windows to carpet stains) so you don't get blamed for them when you leave. So, make sure you go around the property and record anything not on the list (with pics if you like) and get the landlord to sign-off on the additions. Otherwise, as you've guessed, you'll be blamed for them when you leave and have to pay for them out of the deposit.

Just try and imagine that the landlord will do everything he can to NOT give you that deposit back when you leave. Don't give him the chance.
 
Ask to see the most recent gas certificate check etc so you know you are safe and it will also give you an indication of how likely the boiler is to packup on you etc. When they say unfurnished there is still often washing machines, fridges etc sometimes in the small print it will say these will not be replaced if they break etc.
 
Do you have to move out?

I pay the same on a one bedroom flat and total including gas, water, electric, council tax, food shopping, and TV license does not leave much change from a £1000 each month.

With the above in mind, you will have £3-400 a month disposable income. I don't know how much you pay for rent at home, but I imagine this is a significant drop.

TLDR: stay at home until you really need to move out or find a friend/girl to share with.
 
Take pictures of everything which is in disrepair or needs fixing.

Don't expect your deposit or bond back unless you're very fortunate.

Expect to pay an 'admin fee' because agents are greedy, bloodsucking leeches.

Expect a credit check to be done.
 
625 is a fair bit a month (unless Newbury is especially nice or the place is)

Do you have aspirations of home ownership? 6k is a good start on a deposit and spending it on furniture and not being able to add to it from your rent eating up your salary could have problems :(
 
Mr.Stu said:
Do you have to move out?

I pay the same on a one bedroom flat and total including gas, water, electric, council tax, food shopping, and TV license does not leave much change from a £1000 each month.

With the above in mind, you will have £3-400 a month disposable income. I don't know how much you pay for rent at home, but I imagine this is a significant drop.

TLDR: stay at home until you really need to move out or find a friend/girl to share with.
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Well, yeh tbh! 29 next month and still live with the parents!!
Oddly Newbury is seemingly expensive! Vodafone HQ is about but the town is essentially a cross-roads with the M4 and A34.
 
Triple check bills, that's a fair whack to spend on a wage, it is possible, but doesn't leave much spare cash.
I try and keep it around 1/3rd of take home.
Don't forget cost for vehicle repair, clothes or any other non monthly costs.

Not a huge amount to ask at viewing time. Move in dates, what fees, can you install virgin/sky. Is water fixed or metered. If fix do they know the cost, if not you need to find out, fixed is expensive.
Get address and find out council tax.
See what Internet speed you can get, again just need address generally.
Is there an active phone line, otherwise by might charge you loads.


Most of the important stuff is what to do when you move in, in terms of checklists and stuff.

Don't waste money on furniture. Get it all free from people throwing stuff away and check eBay for stuff that goes to 1min with no bigs on.
You'll find you learn a lot in the first few months of how you like things laid out and buy stuff straight off, your likely not to like it after a month or so. Also if or when you move house, furniture size needs to change. So unless your going to stationery for a while, it's another reason not to spend loads straight away.once you spread the word it's amazing what you can get for free. I've had 7 sofas, a few beds, fridges, freezers, tumble dryer, chairs, TVS, DVD players, law mower etc all for free as people upgrade and just want rid of the stuff and get it for nothing if you pick it up.
 
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Sounds like he's paying the going rate rent wise. Up north you can rent a palace for a few hundred quid a month, sadly it doesn't work that way down south, and the closer you get to London the more stupid it tends to get.

I do £625 on a take home wage of £1300+ p/m, it's perfectly doable, but does require a some discipline at times. It must also be said that without a significant increase in salary you can kiss goodbye to buying a home whilst your single and living in your own place as Rent, council tax, utility bills and all the other stuff will eat your wage packet for breakfast. Do go mental with the likes of Sky/Virgin Media and all those other luxuries either. It all adds up at the end of the month.

Personally, I'd leave it a couple of years and save like a maniac as I'd rather have a bit more than 6K in the bank when starting this adventure. That said, if you do must go and depending on the quality of life you want in your new gaff, starting from scratch ain't cheap! The purchase costs will rack up fast and you're going to want at least a couple of grand in the bank after the inevitable spending spree as a safety net. That way you can sleep at night. :D

Finally moving out is wonderful though and you'll wonder why you didn't do it sooner. Trouble is, it ain't cheap and I really don't think it'll ever get any cheaper.
 
As a general rule of thumb, you don't really want to be spending more than about a third of your take-home pay on rent. With that in mind, £625pcm seems a bit steep. Is there nothing going around the £400 to £500 mark?
 
Slumberbox said:
Considered a house share? 2/3 people around £500 a month inc bills should be the going rate outside London.
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Have tried with friends before at least a couple of times but always fell through
:(

Did have an excel spreadsheet done but seemed to have lost it. IIRC it was doable as i wouldn't use the car much at all since this place is 10mins walk from work (another reason why I wanna move - 30min/13 mile commute when you do 13hr days isn't ideal)
 
Get on SpareRooms and find a flatmate, that's what I did last year. Now living in a pretty nice flat with a guy who I get on really well with... £350 pcm and I have an ensuite :D
 
30mins is that all?? stay where you are, it is not worth getting into the renting game with crap/greedy/intrusive lettings agents and wasting around £800+ a month to save 40mins a day.
 
zipp0r said:
30mins is that all?? stay where you are, it is not worth getting into the renting game with crap/greedy/intrusive lettings agents and wasting around £800+ a month to save 40mins a day.
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That and I actually want to get out of here. 29 and still with the folks.....
 
okay. £625 is expensive for a flat mind. that much could get you a 3-4bed detached house in some areas and 400-500 a 2bed semi.
rightmove.co.uk is pretty good if you dont already use it.
 
zipp0r said:
okay. £625 is expensive for a flat mind. that much could get you a 3-4bed detached house in some areas and 400-500 a 2bed semi.
rightmove.co.uk is pretty good if you dont already use it.
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What a redundant thing to say.

Sure, £625 may be a lot to spend on an average flat in some areas (it is in Glasgow) but in others it would be the bare minimum. Plus, this flat might be awesome and is therefore worth £625. Without knowing the local property market and what the flat is like, you can't possibly say if it is expensive.
However, I'd be cautious at spending more than 1/3rd of your income on rent...
 
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