Before you sign a contract for a rented house or flat, you want to be sure it’s the right home for you and your family. Asking the right questions during viewings will ensure you get all the information you need before signing on the dotted line. So if you’re unsure if you’ve remembered everything, here are the things you ought to know before agreeing to move in.
Rental Price and Deposit
Firstly, you need to know the exact rent the property is being let for. Rental prices are displayed as per calendar month or per week so you should ask when the rent will be expected. Deposits tend to be a month’s rent however more and more rentals are starting to ask for five weeks rent instead. Your deposit should be going into an official deposit scheme too, to ensure there’s no hassle with getting your deposit back when you decide to leave.
Estate Agent or Private?
Whether you’ve gone for a private letting or an estate agent, you want to be reassured you can always contact them if you need to. It’s worth gathering phone numbers and gauging an idea of how long they will take to call you back, should there be anything wrong. Estate agents will come with an agency fee for their services which is sometimes a percentage of the rental amount or a set price, so be sure to ask about this. Private landlords benefit from no agency fee but might have call out charges if they need to stop by.
Contract Length
Contract lengths vary depending on who is renting out the property. If you and your family are after a long term let, then check how long you are allowed to stay for and make sure this is written into the contract to safeguard against any problems. If the landlord is after a short term let, it is worth asking if you could stay for longer after the short term let had run its course. Some estate agents charge for continuing a tenancy after the proposed time so do check this beforehand.
Availability Date
Before you make moving arrangements, you need to know the date you can move in. You might have an ideal date in mind to move, but the rental property could still be occupied so ask about this before getting your heart set. It could be that the property isn’t available for a few months, in which case you will have a bit of a wait, or it could be available immediately.
Furnished or Unfurnished?
Moving into a furnished property offers the ease of moving straight in with all the essentials already there. However, moving into a furnished property when you already have a lot of your own furniture could be awkward. Using a safe storage like ours is a good way to keep your belongings safe, or you could enquire about having the furniture taken out. With part-furnished places, be sure to check which furniture comes with the property, especially in terms of the expensive white goods such as washing machines and fridges.
Pets Allowed?
If you and your family are planning on bringing lots of pets into your new home, then you need to make sure this is accepted by the landlord. Typically, landlords are fine with small household pets such as fish and rodents but larger animals such as dogs and cats will be subject to the landlord’s approval.
Car Parking
Parking spaces nearby the property are essential for a family with a car. If the property does not have a drive or a designated parking space, then it’s worth driving past the property in the evening to see what the parking situation looks like. It might be that there is a quiet road nearby with plenty of space but moving into the property to find yourself with a twenty minute walk to the car every day would not be ideal.
Tenancy Agreement Small Print
Reading through the tenancy agreement is really important to ensure you are happy with all the terms and there is nothing troublesome in there. You will find how often house inspections are and other small bits of information you might have forgotten to ask about in there.
If you are moving to a rental property and would like to make the move as seamless as possible, then you require the services of Intransit. We are a removals company you can rely on, so please get in touch. You can call us today on 01225 759200 or fill in our contact form and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
