Renting a house - any advice or tips (or horror stories)?

[Cobra]

Hi,

I'll be looking for a house for five or six other people shortly, and being students it'll be rented. Does anyone have any advice or experiences that you'd be willing to pass on to me? I don't fancy getting flawed accommodation for a year or more because I didn't spot something I should have!

Any advice greatly appreciated, as always!

CobraDMX

[pacmania_2001]

Read the contract carefully before signing.

Make sure that the people you are moving in with have at least a reasonable respect for the house so that you don't get thrown out and lose your bond.

Go with the owner through the house before moving in and agree on the problems that are pre-existing so when it does come time to move out you can't be stuck with these problems.

[shoozleboy]

Do what Pacmania says.... and use a camera to document the flaws and conditions of the house BEFORE you sign and AFTER you leave there. Pictures speak a THOUSAND words when it comes to fighting a hearing on who did what amd how much your landlord may come after you for when you leave.

I'm speaking from experience on this one. I'm in the US and there are laws in each state that govern what the tennant and landlord can and can not do. Here they were called Parson's Laws or something like that.

To make a long story short - Luckily I had pictures of the residence, receipts for "normal wear and tear" repairs THAT I PAID FOR, and a local law library that had a wealth of information on the subject.... saved me several thousand dollars that the slumlord was trying to steal from me when I moved out. (I still smile when I think of the look on his face when the district justice told him "no")

Oh, and make sure your roomies pay their fair share WHEN IT'S DUE. The old 'i'll get it next month if you can spot me this month" story never works out that way.... Be forward on that from the beginning, EVERYONE has to be responsible for their fair share, if they are adult enough to rent a place, then they are adult enough to be responsible enough to pay their bills ON TIME.

Other than that, PARTY ON!!

[snafu099]

I am a landlord but have rented also.
I think most landlords are honest, but from your viewpoint, not necessarily fair, I want things in MY favor, after all I have alot more invested.

month to month vs lease -- know the differance and make your choise.
Beware of language such as: month to month for period of (?) yr. payable at $??/month. DON'T

Most knowleable landlords will use language to make each tenant liabile for actions of all - be careful with your roomies !!!

Absolutely do a through move-in inspection documenting ALL possible issures in writing signed by landlord backed up with photo's (dig camers are easy & cheap)

Any issues that do come up during tenancy, document in writing with copy. This can be critical if litigation is ever needed.

As a construction worker I use a day minder (spiral bound) to log my work and any issures that come up. This has been/and generally is, accepted as evidence indisputes and also with IRS; where the other party did NOT have any log or documantation, I won

Lastly, be honest and forthright with your landlord at all times and you may be supprised how understanding he/she may be if you run into hard times. Some of us do remember where we came from.

[housepig]

from experience on both sides (as tenant and landlord) :

if you're going to throw a big party:

- let your neighbors know in advance, including an estimate of when it will end, or die down enough that they won't hear it.

- have a resident of the house easily accessible (and passably sober) near the door at all times (work in shifts). if and when the cops show up, having someone say "yes, officer, I live here" rather than "uhhhh.. I think it's that guy over there, past the bong" is a Good Thing.

- if you say that the band is going to stop at 12:00, stop them at 12:00.

- go out first thing the morning after and pick up all crap your partygoers may have left scattered about.

as a tenant, we threw about 30 parties, with large amounts of loud music, public sex, illicit intoxication and pyromania, and we had the police show up maybe 3 times... and at no time did they ever get past the smiling, agreeable and seemingly-sober resident posted on door duty.

as a landlord, I have not renewed leases, evicted and caused to be evicted people who didn't adhere to these simple little ideas. I've also let others get away with quite a bit when they did.

oh, and if you're falling-down drunk and having target practice with empty Sapporo cans, the house should be behind you, not behind the cans.

hope this helps.

[Cobra]

Housepig,

It sounds like you know how to have a hell of a time!

Thanks for all your replies and advice - it's genuinely useful. If anyone else has more to add, go for it!

CobraDMX

(Edited once due to mistake)

[freak_in_cage_10k]

im a student too m8, basicaaly try to get this:

a landlord who lives locally- that way u can pester him easily if something goes wrong in the house + if u loose your keys he will have a spare one

make sure you know how long your tennancy is for, most lanrlords require 12 or 11 month contracts, so u will be paying over the summer, if you find somewhere which doesn;t make u pay over summer, take it!

check to see how whether gas, electric & water are included! try to get electric included, that way you can leave your pc on all day and have the heating on all day during the winter!

a house of 4 had a gas bill (total) of £60 for a term, electric was about £30 i think, water is about £90 a year

check the area out late at night to make sure its not fulla druggies, also, the number of decent cars in the area are a good sign of how quiet the place is! if its fulla knackered things it could be a bad sign of vandalism etc

ensure your deposit is fully refundable

oh, taking pics with a digi cam of any holes etc is also a good idea!

[bugster]

If you are a UK student and looking to rent a house with several others, the best advice I can give is, if it is possible, use the University's or Student Unions housing services to find the property and arrange the lease. The agreements used with this kind of service are usually much more sympathetic to the Student lifestyle than thos you get through private agancies or direct with private LandLords.

In fact, if the Uni can't help, I would still prefer to rent through an agency (preferable a major high street name) than direct with a private landlord. They offer a layer of protection when things go wrong and should help to ensure repairs and necessary maintenace is carried out quickly and at your convenience.

[Cobra]

Well, just rented a house for next year. It was terrible timing on the university's part - we have just had exams and it's now half-term, and they released the lists when everyone had gone home.....

We found one house, and the landlord kept us on and on for days until we had the deposit money right there on his table. It was then he told us: you have to guarantee two years. We are placement students! We don't live here for the third year! Grrrrrrr!

Off we went again, looking for a house but all the good ones had gone. Eventually I got really annoyed, my friends said they trusted me to get a semi-decent place so I went and got a house, today. I picked one, and went for it. It's nothing special, and two of the rooms are tiny (and I mean tiny) but it's OK.

I'll post some pics up as soon as I can. I'm tired right now, though, so I can't be bothered. I kept the advice you guys had given me in mind, and I think it's helped my friends and myself come to a good decision.

So, a big THANK YOU!

(a very grateful) CobraDMX

[Hardcoreruss]

Listen mate, your a student, you will pay through the nose it will be a shit hole and the bastard will keep your deposit cause they'll be a mark on the wall or somthing.

If you get it back at the end I'll double it for you.

[Cobra]

I'm sure we'll be fine. We are planning to make a date-sealed DVD, which will have photos and movies of everything on it. We'll give a copy to the uni so it's guaranteed unaltered. It's not bulletproof, but it'll help.

CobraDMX

[Hardcoreruss]

You won't get your deposit back.

Don't pay your last month rent, they will keep the deposit, done.

My brother did the same.

[Sifaga]

they always try to take part of your bond to pay for cleaning up, i always refuse.

they have to take the matter to some rent bond committee before they can withhold any of your bond, usually to much effort for them.

i always put in a resonable effort cleaning up, keep the recipts if i got carpets cleaned ...etc

[SLK001]

If you do as harcoreruss says, it can damage your credit rating badly (right at the time that you will be needing it). Pay your rent on time (by check, so you have a record).

Also, having to guarantee two years is not legal in most states in the US. One year is generally the max that can be guaranteed at the initial signing. If that two years was in a lease for a US student, it would not be enforceable by a court. You might check your laws for "Rights of Landlords and Tennants". Knowing your rights is a very valuable piece of info to have under your belt.

Also, utilities can be a problem with a house full of unrelated individuals. If the utils are in your name, and you leave at the end of one year and DON'T have your name removed from the utilities responsibility list, your roomies could never pay another bill and the util company will come after YOU.

[Cobra]

I'm in the UK, but thanks anyway SLK001.

News of a bad landlord spreads quickly, and any landlord who causes problems is blacklisted by our uni. My landlord has been doing this for a few years now, and is still OK with the uni. There shouldn't be problems.

I'll worry about it when and if they arise. I intend to be armed to the teeth with evidence anyway, so any problems the landlord causes can be resolved quickly.

CobraDMX

[Hardcoreruss]

If you do as harcoreruss says, it can damage your credit rating badly (right at the time that you will be needing it). Pay your rent on time (by check, so you have a record).

Also, having to guarantee two years is not legal in most states in the US. One year is generally the max that can be guaranteed at the initial signing. If that two years was in a lease for a US student, it would not be enforceable by a court. You might check your laws for "Rights of Landlords and Tennants". Knowing your rights is a very valuable piece of info to have under your belt.

Also, utilities can be a problem with a house full of unrelated individuals. If the utils are in your name, and you leave at the end of one year and DON'T have your name removed from the utilities responsibility list, your roomies could never pay another bill and the util company will come after YOU.

A landlord cannot affect a credit rating on a person in the uk

[bugster]

A landlord cannot affect a credit rating on a person in the uk

They can if you don't pay the rent (or any other monies owed) and it ends up in court. A county court judgement against you leaves a black mark on your credit rating, I know from experience!

[Will Hay]

A county court judgement

Man, I wouldn't wish one of those on anyone.
I think I'd rather have a STD, at least you can get rid of those (not talking from experience there)
Will

[bugster]

A county court judgement

Man, I wouldn't wish one of those on anyone.
I think I'd rather have a STD, at least you can get rid of those (not talking from experience there)
Will

I did get rid of it, sort of. It was my insurance company that didn't pay up quick enough that resulted in the CCJ. If you pay up within 30-days of the CCJ you can have a 'certificate of satisfaction' (or something like that) issued and this goes on your credit record and effectivley cancels out the CCJ. The insurer finally paid up with 3 days left!

[Will Hay]

I did get rid of it, sort of. It was my insurance company that didn't pay up quick enough that resulted in the CCJ. If you pay up within 30-days of the CCJ you can have a 'certificate of satisfaction' (or something like that) issued and this goes on your credit record and effectivley cancels out the CCJ. The insurer finally paid up with 3 days left!

Good, good to hear
WH.