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Things to think about when renting a place....
BillieTheBot
Posts: 8,721 Bot
Ok, in June I'm moving to Manchester. My last exam is in May and my accomodation contract for my place at Uni ends at the end of June.
Thing is, I don't know if I'm going to be able to get a job that quickly (before the end of June). I was planning on going on holiday but tbh, I think that might be put on hold because of sorting all this out anyways.
Thing is, will I be able to get a place to rent if I don't have a job? I mean, of course, I'll be looking for a job and I'll be wanting one ASAP but it could take me a few weeks to find one. I suppose my best bet will be to go to employment agencies in Manchester at the end of May and hope they'll sort me out with a job pretty quickly. I could always commute for a short while.
I have saved up a few grand through working stupid hours in the Summer and this is what I saved it up for - for providing me a few months rent if I needed it.
From all of the renting agencies I've looked at online, they all seem to want a employers reference with your current salary on them. Thing is, I'm going to need a place to live in Manchester before I get a job there although as I've previously mentioned, I could commute for a short while but this would be a pain. I have savings to live off until I sort myself out. Will agencies be understanding of this or will they still require a reference?
Also, I'm sharing a flat with my friend and we are going to split the costs of a flat between us. Will it be possible to have a separate contract each? I mean, what if for example, my flat mate can't pay the rent, will I be responsible for paying it? Although I trust her, this could easily happen and it does worry me slightly.
What things do I need to think about when renting out a place to live? This is all sorta new to me. I mean, I've been renting out accomodation all throughout Uni and have been paying for it all by myself but its been pretty easy to sort out as everything is included in the rent. I know you need to think about extra costs such as TV licence, council tax, water rates, electricity, telephone/internet line, gas, etc. How much extra on average would this add per month? Is there anything else I've missed?
Also, if I was to go to an agency, eg. Reeds Rains, how much would they charge to help us find a place?
Sorry for all of the questions. I know its only February but I kinda wanna know what I'm sorta doing come May!
Thing is, I don't know if I'm going to be able to get a job that quickly (before the end of June). I was planning on going on holiday but tbh, I think that might be put on hold because of sorting all this out anyways.
Thing is, will I be able to get a place to rent if I don't have a job? I mean, of course, I'll be looking for a job and I'll be wanting one ASAP but it could take me a few weeks to find one. I suppose my best bet will be to go to employment agencies in Manchester at the end of May and hope they'll sort me out with a job pretty quickly. I could always commute for a short while.
I have saved up a few grand through working stupid hours in the Summer and this is what I saved it up for - for providing me a few months rent if I needed it.
From all of the renting agencies I've looked at online, they all seem to want a employers reference with your current salary on them. Thing is, I'm going to need a place to live in Manchester before I get a job there although as I've previously mentioned, I could commute for a short while but this would be a pain. I have savings to live off until I sort myself out. Will agencies be understanding of this or will they still require a reference?
Also, I'm sharing a flat with my friend and we are going to split the costs of a flat between us. Will it be possible to have a separate contract each? I mean, what if for example, my flat mate can't pay the rent, will I be responsible for paying it? Although I trust her, this could easily happen and it does worry me slightly.
What things do I need to think about when renting out a place to live? This is all sorta new to me. I mean, I've been renting out accomodation all throughout Uni and have been paying for it all by myself but its been pretty easy to sort out as everything is included in the rent. I know you need to think about extra costs such as TV licence, council tax, water rates, electricity, telephone/internet line, gas, etc. How much extra on average would this add per month? Is there anything else I've missed?
Also, if I was to go to an agency, eg. Reeds Rains, how much would they charge to help us find a place?
Sorry for all of the questions. I know its only February but I kinda wanna know what I'm sorta doing come May!
Beep boop. I'm a bot.
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Also, about the bank account thing, won't it have to come out of one of our accounts anyways? Would we not be able to get a account between us both or do you need to be married for that sorta thing?
I did it the other way around, I got a job first then got a flat sorted. Think I got the job in December time, and a flat in the first week of February. I communted on a five hour round trip every day, bit of a pain but I got there in the end.
Have you thought about flat sharing for a bit? I know it's strangers and everything, but it's a hell of a lot cheaper and a hell of a lot less hassle trying to get one sorted out. More often than not it's done through private landlords looking for someone to take a room, so you probably won't need to prove you've got a job. The deposit for renting a flat can be a pain to get together, but for a flatshare it's usually less because you're paying a lot less rent, so if the deposit is a months rent then it's usually less. Also they tend to be a lot more flexible with contract length, and six months is a good time to look for a proper flat.
Sorry if that sounded like a party political broadcast on behalf of the Flatshare Party, but it's really good if you're moving somewhere new and need to get something sorted.
I meant if the rent is coming out of her account they might not bother you about a job because the money is coming out of her account and she's agreed to pay it all. Obviously you give her your half though! She would need to trust you though, and a lot of letting agencies still might not accept this. Maybe you could get a joint account haha I dont know! Pretend you're lesboxes or something
I will have to talk to her about taking it out of her account. Its quite alot to ask of her though. Then again, its going to have to come out one of our accounts unless the landlord can be paid in cash.
The agencies around here tend to charge half of one month's rent + VAT as an admin charge, which is fucking disgusting and they should have their hands chopped off, common thieves that they are.
:crazyeyes Really? Thats how much they charge?
Ewww. I think I shall look for something myself then! What a rip off.
When I shared a house the landlord set up a direct debit with us from each of our bank accounts, which was nice and simple. A group of my friends had a landlord who wanted just one direct debit, so one of them set up a bank account and everyone paid their part of the rent into it each month. If one of them didn't pay and the bank charged a fee (as they usually do if you try to withdraw money that isn't there), the person who hadn't paid was liable for the fee. If you're friends I'm sure you can sort something out along those lines.
I noticed no-one's answered this yet, and I can't be much help because one of my housemates had all the extra bills in his name and just asked me for a cheque every so often. It's good if you can get a property with water rates included, usually they are nowadays but some places still have water meters, and that can get really expensive. As for gas and electricity, it depends on the size of the house, how toasty you like it to be, how many computers and other electrical stuff you're running, etc etc. As a rough estimate, my friends say maybe £50-100 a month. TV licence is £131.50 for a year. Telephone/internet depends on the provider, but it shouldn't be more than £25 a month (not including calls).
The agency I'm renting through in Manchester charged us a £100 + VAT admin charge and took the 1st and last months rent off us up front, but we haven't paid a deposit otherwise. We've got a joint tenancy but have a clause that says what proportion of the rent we each pay and that amount comes out of each of our bank accounts. Which means that if he doesn't pay his rent I'm not responsible for it and vice versa. As for reference checks, because the agency deal with a lot of students they weren't particularly fussy. they wanted a reference from a previous landlord and then just some proof of earnings or a guarantor.
My last letting we set up a joint account between the 2 of us, which we each paid a certain amount in each month and that went for paying all the bills and the rent as well.
I think the best thing to do is to get a job beforehand. Its going to be really hard though to get a job before sorting out a flat. I have to do it all in the space of a month. Do you have to be working for a certain length of time before you can get a reference off them?
I think you have to be able to proove what your yearly income is or something like that, then they know that you've got enough coming in each month to pay your rent. Although I'm sure if you speak to the letting agency they'll come to some arrangement with you. They want to let the properties as much as you want to live in them, so usually they'll try and be as flexible as possible. I would try to look at some of the more student friendly agencies though because they'll let to professionals but are more lenient.
I think you fill out a form at the letting agents, who send it to a reference agency like Home Let, then they fax a copy to your employer who fill out the details they need and fax it back.
That's how it happened with me anyway, so long as you're on the payroll then it should be fine
I think your best bet would probably be to go with a private landlord than an agency - they do tend to be more understanding about situations and it'll be cheaper. Try looking in a local freeads paper, exchange and mart or gumtree.com.
:yes:
I found my flat through gumtree. No agency fees or credit checks. I was supposed to show them a copy of my work contract but I never did in the end.
I'd just say, there's no rush. I didn't move into my flat until the end of September after graduating and used the summer to find my feet and sort myself out a bit.
There isn't a rush as such but I really really don't want to go home. I'm such a independent person and I'd really hate the commuting from home. It would be about 3 hours travelling a day from back home.
I'd just rather sort it out when I graduate. I've got the money to do it so like, yanno. I was supposed to be going on holiday with a friend though. I suppose that can be put on hold though :chin: Part of me wants to chill out for about a month (whilst waiting for results, taking a quick holiday) but then another part of me just wants to get the stress of getting a job and a flat out of the way. Its stressing me out even thinking about it all
yes they do, and they will want references for the guarantor in the same way that theyll want references for the tenents.
My mum is my guarantor.