Letting a Flat - What to Know

I am very nervous about looking for a flat in the UK.  I do not know much about lettor's rights and whatnot.  And I don't really know what I need to look for in a "good" flat. 

So can anyone offer advice on letting?  What is useful to know?  What do you wish you knew when you were looking?  Can anybody let me know is rather essential?  Like, do I need a power shower (and what the hell is that and what is the alternative?)?  What type of heating is best? 

Try to avoid Economy 7 heating.  I've personally never had a flat with it, but in every place I've been with Economy 7, it's always freezing.

Don't be nervous. Look for a flat in the kind of area you require. For example, my flat is within easy walking distance of my work, the train station and the bus station. It's a city centre flat with an open floor plan, a spare bedroom and a bathroom with both a tub and stand-up shower stall. The heating is by radiator, the cooker is gas. The windows are double-glazed. We had to buy our own frig and washer. We have a lease that rolls over every two months because we like the freedom of 30 days' notice in the event we get a fabulous job offer elsewhere.

Don't worry, just look carefully at what you need (as opposed to what you merely want) and you'll find a great place!

http://www.direct.gov.uk/Topics/HomeAndCommunity/Householders/RentingAndLetting/RentingAHome/fs/en

Just be aware that generally speaking you get what you pay for - so if the rent is low either it is a horrible place or has no "mod cons" or else a nice place in a bad area. Beware that a few rental places still have coin meters for the gas - best avoided. Also when you make enquires about flats, ask them if the council tax is included in the rent - most times it isn't and you need to factor that into your budget.  A good thing to look out for is a "combi boiler" which means you will have constant hot water, rather than having it on a timer.  I always ask if there is a shower before I go and look at places, unbelievably a lot of places (especially in London) do not have one.

 

Just be aware that generally speaking you get what you pay for

Ok, this is another problem I have.  I have no idea what is reasonable.  I have been watching online ads, but having very little to go on, I can't figure out any general trends in prices.  If it helps, I am looking at the Uxbridge area.  I would like walking distance to the town center, but would consider the surrounding areas that are reachable by bus within about 20 minutes, I would also go along the Picadilly line (but only one zone away).  It is for me and BF, so I would like a 2 bedroom, but think that is not going to happen.  A larger one bedroom would be fine.  I need something as inexpensive as possible.  BF isn't even coming over until January so I just have my (small) salary to pay for everything.  Maybe we can afford more once he gets a job, but I need to be conservative and assume that we will live off my salary for a while.  Ok, sorry for the ramble. 

I am starting to think that MY idea of a good price, really isn't, but I don't want to get taken either.  I would hate to let a flat and find out I should have paid 100GPB less.  And  I have to do this on my own, so I am afraid of getting something bad or being ripped off and feel like I can't do it on my own.  Of course, BF says that he will be fine with whatever, but I don't want findd out later that I was a dolt about the whole process.  Can anyone tell I am a bit insecure about this?   

I don't know that area too well and I don't want to scare you but I would say for most of London around £800 - £1000 a month is normal in a central-ish, decent area, for 1 bedroom. Uxbridge is further out though so you may find prices are cheaper, say £600-£700 a month for a 1 bedroom. Have a look at www.findaproperty.com to get an idea.

I'm in the same boat as you Sara.  I just arrived yesterday, but luckily I have been put up in corporate housing (South Kensington) by my company for 1 month.  I have been looking on the internet and have registered with a few estate agents in the areas I'm interested in.  It is hard to know if a flat is "good" just by looking at the pictures on the internet cause you never know if that is the property that is being advertised.  I plan on walking into some agent's offices tomorrow and just start to enquire about what I am looking for and the price I am willing to pay.

bvamin

There's a lot I wish I'd known to be honest....

First and foremost (and Kristi can attest to this) is to figure out how you're going to pay for the deposit. Without an address you can't get a bank account. So figure out how to get the cash wired from an account in the US in advance. I think you've already got a job, right Sara? Cause otherwise I'd say be sure to have a guarantor available to sign your lease, cause if your name is on the lease but you don't have a job yet, you'll have to have someone guarantee your rent.....

If you can't stand the thought of baths everyday, a shower is key - but not the norm from what I can tell. Most places have hand held showers - but IMHO, that's the same as a bath. LOL. I'm a shower girl, so that was imperative for me. I'm pretty sure a power shower is one that runs on electricity? My df's brother has one and you had to switch on the heater/power unit before you used it. Ours is a handheld shower that mounts on the wall above the bathtub. Not sure what that would be called.

If the flat is on a busy road, double glazed windows are really a must - we live on a very big road and the difference in our front rooms with the windows closed and open is amazing.

We have radiators for heat and I don't know about anything else, really, so can't help you there....

Otherwise I can't think of anything that wasn't a matter of taste, like I really have a phobic hatred of carpeting in bathrooms. And since our house is relatively small, an outdoor space was important on our list.  And proximity to the train station was a biggie for us as well since we only have one car.... If I could change anything about our present house (besides the attrocious upstairs colour scheme) it would be the kitchen appliances as our dishwasher is crummy and cheap and I would much prefer a gas hob.

Oh, and be sure to find out what if any utilities are included in the rent - some landlords apparently pay council tax which is amazing! Also, we live in an area that hasn't gotten metered water yet, so that was a big bonus (though we just paid our bi-yearly water bill, and it's hard to imagine it being much higher!!!)

Oh, and I know we've talked about areas before, but I guarantee you that Uxbridge is less than a lot of the rest of London, and the farther out you get, the less it will be. For a small two bedroom with a garden we pay about the same as you probably would for a one bedroom without a garden further in. And though the train isn't cheap, we're only 35 mins out of Marylebone....

Amen to the deposit thing!  UGH!!!  I had to have my mom wire money via Western Union because my US credit union would not do an international wire transfer.  Make sure you have a guarantor, even if you are employed and have money.  My dad had to sign off on my lease, even though I had money to pay for an entire year of rent.  It took about 2 weeks to get it all sorted from the time I found my flat to being able to get my keys and sign the lease.  I made more anxious phone calls home about money than I thought I would.  In fact, I wouldn't have thought of even using Western Union if Frank hadn't suggested it.  Either have a lot of dosh on hand or a way to get it fast, especially if you find a place you want ASAP.

I'm exempt from council tax so I can't help with that really, just make sure you know what band the flat is in so you know what to expect to pay each month.  If you want a flat that's inclusive of tax or utilities, make sure you tell your letting agent so you aren't wasting his or your time looking at places you can't afford. 

Don't be afraid to negotiate on rent, especially if it's been on the market a while.  I didn't do any dealing with my flat because I was only the second person to see it.  I didn't think I would do well to offer less or I'd lose out on a place I wanted.

I'm not in the greatest area but my flat is nice and I'm close to transport which is important.  Don't rent any place you haven't set foot in first (a no brainer but you'd be surprised what people do in desperation). 

Good luck..  you'll find something.  I only spent one day looking and found something right away.  I got lucky because I was willing to look wherever, as long as it was safe and quiet at night.   

Don't be afraid to negotiate on rent, especially if it's been on the market a while.  I didn't do any dealing with my flat because I was only the second person to see it.  I didn't think I would do well to offer less or I'd lose out on a place I wanted.

Oh, that's a great one that I forgot. I was amazed that you can do that here - in fact I think it's more common than not! We offered £100 less a month (it was WAY over priced) and they countered with £50 less and we took it. In fact when we were toying with moving I was automatically assuming that the published price was a bit higher than what we'd end up paying if we took it....

One more thing too.. I didn't have a bank acct here until today and you shouldn't need one to get a flat as long as you have cash in hand to put down for a holding deposit.  You can't get a bank acct without proof of residency but if you explain your situation to a letting agent, you shouldn't have any problem getting a flat without a bank acct.  They know it's a catch 22, at least mine did.  He didn't care because I was able to give him 200 quid as a holding deposit before I paid the rest of my move-in costs. 

Does anyone know where I can find a sample letter for a landlord letter of reference?

Does anyone know where I can find a sample letter for a landlord letter of reference?

Sorry, no.  I didn't need one though.   

Does anyone know where I can find a sample letter for a landlord letter of reference?

It depends what kind of letter they want - some will want a letter from a previous landlord, or they might be happy with a letter from your employer or your bank - just something to show you can afford the rent and are reliable. In the past I have got a letter from my employer stating my position, length of employment and my salary and that's usually been enough.

Okay,  I just have a question about heating (thus far).

I found a really nice, albeit studio, flat...

nice area, quiet street, good size room (AMAZING!), high ceilings (another BIG plus, 'specially for me!), good size kitchen, power shower, bathtub... all seems good... water inclusive, boiler - yes, so I will have hot water all the time.
Privately owned, so NO agents (which I have found in my past few days of experience VERY GOOD)

So. Electric heating...?  It's the only 'drawback,' which may not even be a drawback; considering it's one room... double glazed, carpeted.  He did not use the phrase Economy 7, which friends of mine have told me to avoid totally.   It looked like a heater I'd just have to plug in.  He assured me that he's never had any problems with previous tenants being cold.

Thoughts please gang?