Finding a rental property that ensures your living conditions and don’t land you into trouble can surely be a task and sometimes might make you feel tiresome. Sometimes they might quote you with “If you miss this, they are gone”, chill and do not rush into anything just to have something. While renting a property there are several factors that you need to look for in order to avoid rush.
Here we have listed a few:
1. Signing an unread lease
This could be a crucial step while renting any property. No matter what the rush is there in the market, don’t end up signing the lease without having the proper knowledge of it. You need to have clear verses with your estate agents in UK about terms like “included”, “stipulated”, etc in order to avoid any confusion at the dead end. Going to an expert will always work in your favour. You can go through the housing department website to check their policies and take help from someone who has got more renting experience than you.
2. Signing a nasty lease
Future is unpredictable and so is your desire. Before jumping into any rentals, it’s always advisable to cater for your lifestyle needs and what you expect from your home. Sometimes you might outlet in the future. You may have visitors or pets that can add up to your living space. Oftentimes, there are certain leases that will charge an extra amount from you if you host your guest for more than a day or two. Some leases might add up the repairing cost in your pocket. These are certain factors that you must be aware of before signing into any agreement.
3. Not documenting when you move in
In this digital world, it is almost foolish not to record your house when you move in. recording your house can act as proof of pre-approved damages in the house and what needs to be repaired by your landlord. You can sign a contract with the list with your landlord and get the repair done.
4. Not navigating the neighbourhood
The best way to navigate a home for rental, is to look at your neighbours. Knock on their doors and ask them about the ifs and buts of the building. Ask them what is the upkeep of the building, how are the people around, crime patterns, accessibility, etc. visiting a rental property at night, can clear a lot of doubts of yours.
5. Ignoring renters insurance
The most basic step before getting into any rentals is to get personal insurance for yourself. Many people skip this step as they believe that their landlord’s insurance will come and save them. Your landlord’s insurance is not going to save you in any unavoidable situations such as flood, fire or water burst unless your landlord knew something was wrong and hasn’t got them fixed. In such cases, your valuables might be damaged and you will end up at a loss repairing them.
6. Reimbursing excess rent
The key to a successful rental is to avoid extra rental charges. You can scroll through various rental sides to avoid drilling your pockets. You can search for sole landlords who give preferences to long term tenants and are more likely open to negotiation on rent. They are less likely to increase the rental charges frequently. The best hack for searching rental properties is to search them in the middle of any month when there is less crowd and sign up for the longest term that you can afford.
7. Not chip in your landlord for unlawful activity
When there is a scarcity of apartments, landlords tend to increase the rental cost and let go of certain repairs and unsafe parameters that must be covered under the rental agreement. Most likely they feel that they can owe their tenants and ignore the rental laws. According to the rental department, the landlords cannot increase the rents above the margins decided by the local government or else they are liable under a court of law. You can check all the rental laws on the local government website before signing any rental agreements.
8. Denying possible tax benefits for renters
One significant factor to be considered for tenants before rushing into rental agreements is to look for tax benefits. Often the property tax paid by the landlord gets added to the tenant’s rent. This is the reason why the government has tried to be fair with the tenants by offering them tax credits. You should contact your tax department for the confined state in order to counter check the tax benefits.
9. Eliminating rental anticipation on square feet
Not emphasising enough the layout can be one of the crucial mistakes that the tenants do while searching for houses. A well-structured layout can offer a huge space to cover your living needs even in smaller square areas while a poorly laid layout will not cover your living requirements even in larger square areas.
10. Not showing up with your roommate
Navigating a rental property can surely be a task and in any rental market, the competition is very high. There are several individuals hunting for a good house to rent. Once you have found exactly what you were looking for and then went to show it to your roommate it’s already gone. So it’s always a better idea to take your roommate with you while you are on the hunt.
Conclusion
While renting any property it’s always advisable to think for the long term and do your proper research without landing on any such property. As short-term delicacies can cause you long term harm.