For Rent by Owner

I'm looking for a five bedroom, two bath home in SW London (in or near Wimbledon/Merton). Everything I can find searching online is through an agent. I, after reading about estate agents on here, would prefer to deal with an owner and not an agent. Does anyone know of local publications that list rentals by owners and whether I can access those online?

Also, if anyone knows of a suitable property available 1 March. please let me know.

Thanks, all!

correct me if I am wrong... but it is pretty standard to rent through agents here. There are loads of agents renting and selling all over the place.

what is it? have they been difficult or untrustworthy? I met with three completely different agencies here and they were all  good.

I think once you move over and can look at places in person it will all make sense it you. It is really hard to conceptualize what you want from abroad and is rather easy when you get here.

good luck!

Jennifer, I have been communication with agents for several months now ans have gotten a great response from them. But, after reading some of the stuff posted on the forum, I'm not so sure that I want to deal with them. The other thing is: here you just pay a fee to have a credit check run and the lister pays the agent's fees. The ones I've been in contact with are going to charge anywhere from £115-250 + varying fees to check references! That's a considerable amount of money. There also seems to be something about having to tussle with agents to get your deposit refunded after you move out. All of that is making me a little leary. If I can rent directly from an owner, I will, just to avoid any hassles.

Not all estate agents charge fees.  I didn't get charged at all for when I got my flat through an estate agent.  You need to shop around.  Also remember, private owners can also be a hassle to deal with.  There are good and bad on both sides.

Wimbledon is not a cheap area to live.  I'm sure you know that 5 bedroom home will be expensive.

Paula try Loot, there are loads of private listings in there.  I think you have to pay something to look at the most recent ads online.

This is a long shot, but have you tried checking out the local newspapers (online) of the areas you're interested in living in? There may be listings in the classifieds by private owners.

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. I will see what I can come up with through searches. And, Liz, I'll check out Loot, sounds like what I was looking for.

We know that Wimbledon is going to be rather expensive but there will be four of us in the house (OMG! All that estrogen should be interesting!) so it'll be managable. Most of the large homes I've looked at online are in the £1450-1600pcm price range. We're also looking at Morden as that's where the office is. We've been told that most of our clients will be in the Mitcham area so we need to avoid there as working with ChildrenInNeed in your own community is not always the best idea. 

Thanks, all!

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. I will see what I can come up with through searches. And, Liz, I'll check out Loot, sounds like what I was looking for.

We know that Wimbledon is going to be rather expensive but there will be four of us in the house (OMG! All that estrogen should be interesting!) so it'll be managable. Most of the large homes I've looked at online are in the £1450-1600pcm price range. We're also looking at Morden as that's where the office is. We've been told that most of our clients will be in the Mitcham area so we need to avoid there as working with ChildrenInNeed in your own community is not always the best idea. 

Thanks, all!

Oh, ok, I thought you were looking for that big a place all for yourself.     Are you sure that monthly price is for Wimbledon?  I looks fairly low for a 5 bedroom home in most any area of London.

Oh, ok, I thought you were looking for that big a place all for yourself.     Are you sure that monthly price is for Wimbledon?  I looks fairly low for a 5 bedroom home in most any area of London.

Yeah, I was pretty shocked....I expected it to be more, too. But, not only is that the average price I'm looking at, there seems to be quite a few places available that size. We thought we would be limited to one or two but, so far, I've bookmarked almost two dozen places.