House rental advice

Morning all.

You may remember I was looking at moving to London a few months ago. Good news is that I now have four friends in employment in the capital and all are eager to move, so we're thinking of doing some viewings next week.

We're looking for a five bedroom property in south west or central London as we need to get to Waterloo quite easily. I've found a few places, it's just a matter of organising viewings.

Other than as a student, I have no rental experience, and wondered what advice you'd have. What should I watch out for, what to expect in fees, what's reasonable, what isn't, all that jazz.

Your help would be greatly appreciated.

I know how simple this sounds, but I have been stung by this before:

Read and understand EVERYTHING before you sign anything. Can save a lot of hassle in the long run.

Good luck.

If you are looking in the south you will come across Jacksons and Foxtons, don't use either of these. Jackson's are arrogant scum and Foxton's are "have a drink, you'll pay for it later", hard sale, over priced types.

What areas are you looking in CD?

My current rental (Limehouse so slightly East but within 30mins of Waterloo) was round on Gumtree and we did it completely privately with the house owner and completely avoided all estate agent fees. I'd suggest having a check on there (although alot of estate agents also post adds).

Check out Zoopla as a good property rental tool. I'm biased but I'd go East (no further than zone two though so Isle of Dogs, Bow, those kind of areas). You get alot for your money, good transport links (Jubilee to Waterloo generally very easy).

As for general rental advise:

-When you view a property it will likely have alot of furniture, some of which is the tennant, some of which the home owner. Get a confirmed list of whats included and whats not

-On the flip side of that if you want to bring furniture (bed, couch for example) and the home owner as already provided you can usually push to have it removed

-Check window fittings for gaps/whether it is double glazed. You will get an idea here of how well it will retain temp during the winter/how noisy roads will be

-Check things like lights, ovens, fridges etc that they work - if they don't ensure its written into contract to get replaced

-Check water pressure from showers, if your all blokes it doesn't matter to much but still worth a check

-Check mattress quality, if its poor you can request a new one (potential long shot but worth a try)

-Check your phone signal. Whilst trivial its a ball ache to be in a property where you haven't got phone signal

-Check distance from tube/buss routes. You may think when walking wioth your mates its fine but when your rushing for work and the distance to the tube is 15mins in the pouring rain, then its a different matter

-Enquire if they have a BT line

-Enquire the council tax rate

-Ask current tenants what they spend rough;y on bills

-Check for marks on all surfaces, furniture and make sure this is reflected in the itinery

-Check your notice period, is it 6 months or 1month

-Never accept price offered. If its on for 300/week offer 250. You'll usually end up meeting some where in the middle

My mate lives in feltham. South west London. Just further than Richmond/twickenham

His flat is lovely and not too far from waterloo

My mate lives in feltham. South west London. Just further than Richmond/twickenham

 

His flat is lovely and not too far from waterloo

DO NOT LISTEN TO THIS ADVICE - Sorry TDD.

Feltham is one of the worst places to live in West London, due to it's Young Offenders prison and very cheap housing. It's a horrible place, full of horrible people, has a high crime rate and is pretty rancid, but does have alright train links. Wimbledon/Raynes Park would be my recommendation.

Calling Feltham rancid is being kind to the place.

2 thoughts spring to mind:

- All 5 are in work today, the chances of all 5 staying at work for the duration of the rental agreement is a risk. Arrange a contingency plan and don't max out what you can afford for rent.

- Wimbledon and Raynes Park are good offerings but if you want something a bit cheaper then go a bit further out to Kingston / Surbiton. I think Surbiton could be your best bet, depending on budget.

Don't forget that trains (over or underground) aren't the only form of public transport.

Calling Feltham rancid is being kind to the place.

 

2 thoughts spring to mind:

 

- All 5 are in work today, the chances of all 5 staying at work for the duration of the rental agreement is a risk. Arrange a contingency plan and don't max out what you can afford for rent.

 

- Wimbledon and Raynes Park are good offerings but if you want something a bit cheaper then go a bit further out to Kingston / Surbiton. I think Surbiton could be your best bet, depending on budget.

I would say in all honesty that Surbiton (not Tolworth, Chessington and Berrylands) is more expensive than Raynes Park and Wimbledon. Train is only 20 minutes into Waterloo though which is similar to both Wimdizzle and Raynes Park (what with Surbiton trains not stopping until Waterloo and the other 2 stopping everywhere.

Kingston the trains are again slower, but a good place to live and pretty good value in all honesty (certainly compared to areas like Teddington and the ilk).

Thanks guys, very helpful.

What areas are you looking in CD?

South west in general - Wandsworth, Wimbledon, Southfields, Acton, etc etc.

Don't forget that trains (over or underground) aren't the only form of public transport.

Indeed - at the moment I get into Waterloo, get one bus straight to my office's front door.

I would say in all honesty that Surbiton (not Tolworth, Chessington and Berrylands) is more expensive than Raynes Park and Wimbledon. Train is only 20 minutes into Waterloo though which is similar to both Wimdizzle and Raynes Park (what with Surbiton trains not stopping until Waterloo and the other 2 stopping everywhere.

 

Kingston the trains are again slower, but a good place to live and pretty good value in all honesty (certainly compared to areas like Teddington and the ilk).

I used to live in Motspur Park, so know the area very well. The main consideration is my housemate who will be commuting to Surbiton, the rest of us are all central London.

I'd work out your budget, then work out which areas are all acceptable, and commutable.

To me it sounds like you need to be on the Woking > Waterloo line - but any station on that line will be more expensive to live around. You might find some of the lines that meet at Clapham more affordable. I had the same issue a few years back and settled on Streatham Hill (I think people are put off by the 'Streatham' bit, and the proximity to Brixton, but honestly it's not all that bad, and really quite sensibly priced compared to say Balham and Wandsworth. We got an 8 bed house there for £2,400 a month - which 6 of us shared, leaving plenty of spare space for parties and guests). If you want some thing a bit nicer, look further out - possibly Worcester Park, or even as far out as Epsom.

Like others have said - I wouldn't touch a Foxtons house ever - not if it were the best option going. Foxtons will screw you over if they can. I've found Winkworths to be excellent in the past - they once returned 100% deposits to all tenants except for one tenant who had been causing problems (refusing to pay!) - most agents would have taken the deposits from all the tenants.

Don't forget jackson's

Sounds like Clapham Junction/Wandsworth common may be best for you. Plenty of big houses round there and low council tax.

As you know, I live in Motspur Park/New Malden area, i'd recommend either here or Raynes Park if you are a bit older (in your 30s) or closer to Clapham Junction if you are in your 20s and still want to go to clubs etc.

Raynes Park

Further to ozzmeister's general good advice, a few other things:

- Check what admin fees are for either renewal of a lease, or even termination... some agents have check out fees!

- Check whether it is fully managed, part managed or tenant find only... i.e. if (when) you have problems, who do you contact, what hours are they available, what response times do they have etc. A good friend of mine was left without any heating or hot water from Dec 23 to Dec 27 2011 because the agent was useless and the landlord worse. Ideally, speak to current tenants of a property if they are there when you view.

- Even if it is managed by the agent, ask for the landlord's contact details just in case the agent is crap and doesn't pass messages on or liaise promptly. Any decent landlord should be happy for you to have some contact details, if not a mobile, some means of getting in touch.

- Re: the BT line, they may have one, but check it is still connected and hasn't been terminated when previous tenants leave... a new line can cost £50+ depending on who you go with.

- Council tax bands can be checked using the VOA website for the tax band (http://www.voa.gov.uk/) and the local authority website (for what their charges are per band)

I'd work out your budget, then work out which areas are all acceptable, and commutable.

 

To me it sounds like you need to be on the Woking > Waterloo line - but any station on that line will be more expensive to live around. You might find some of the lines that meet at Clapham more affordable. I had the same issue a few years back and settled on Streatham Hill (I think people are put off by the 'Streatham' bit, and the proximity to Brixton, but honestly it's not all that bad, and really quite sensibly priced compared to say Balham and Wandsworth. We got an 8 bed house there for £2,400 a month - which 6 of us shared, leaving plenty of spare space for parties and guests). If you want some thing a bit nicer, look further out - possibly Worcester Park, or even as far out as Epsom.

 

Like others have said - I wouldn't touch a Foxtons house ever - not if it were the best option going. Foxtons will screw you over if they can. I've found Winkworths to be excellent in the past - they once returned 100% deposits to all tenants except for one tenant who had been causing problems (refusing to pay!) - most agents would have taken the deposits from all the tenants.

Yeah close to the south west mainline is a priority, definitely.

Budget I would imagine is £125 per week per person, so £625 a week all in.

Again, I know Balham and Streatham a bit, I worked in Crystal Palace for four months last year. Not so keen on that area, I'd prefer a bit further west. Closer to London the better, not really looking at anything further out than say Wimbledon.

I'm very wary about going through agents, I'm looking mainly at ads on Gumtree etc, so if anyone can recommend places to look at, please do share.

Don't forget jackson's

 

Sounds like Clapham Junction/Wandsworth common may be best for you. Plenty of big houses round there and low council tax.

 

As you know, I live in Motspur Park/New Malden area, i'd recommend either here or Raynes Park if you are a bit older (in your 30s) or closer to Clapham Junction if you are in your 20s and still want to go to clubs etc.

Clapham is definitely an area to consider. Full of Australians, I'm surrounded by them at work too...

Further to ozzmeister's general good advice, a few other things:

 

- Check what admin fees are for either renewal of a lease, or even termination... some agents have check out fees!

- Check whether it is fully managed, part managed or tenant find only... i.e. if (when) you have problems, who do you contact, what hours are they available, what response times do they have etc. A good friend of mine was left without any heating or hot water from Dec 23 to Dec 27 2011 because the agent was useless and the landlord worse. Ideally, speak to current tenants of a property if they are there when you view.

- Even if it is managed by the agent, ask for the landlord's contact details just in case the agent is crap and doesn't pass messages on or liaise promptly. Any decent landlord should be happy for you to have some contact details, if not a mobile, some means of getting in touch.

- Re: the BT line, they may have one, but check it is still connected and hasn't been terminated when previous tenants leave... a new line can cost £50+ depending on who you go with.

- Council tax bands can be checked using the VOA website for the tax band (http://www.voa.gov.uk/) and the local authority website (for what their charges are per band)

That's great, cheers Minty. We're often forgetting about bills including council tax.

My mate lives in feltham. South west London. Just further than Richmond/twickenham

 

His flat is lovely and not too far from waterloo

Feltham though is a dive. There are many nicer places than Feltham. To that end also avoid Hounslow like the plague. I love Putney, a great area and on the Waterloo train line, but if you're looking further afield even Staines-upon-Thames is a decent place to live - it's improved a lot in the last few years and has good transport links too.

I rent directly from my landlord, and not only does it work well for us because he likes us and we like him and his missus, it saves on the administration costs with regards to signing new contracts etc etc. He's a good handyman too, so anything that needs doing, he does it. Now he's moved to Oz, but we haven't had anything go wrong...yet. Still he charges us about £200 a month less than the property is worth, so we're happy.