Flathunting - What to look for?

Vixen · 1 Aug 2006 at 20:37

Location is definately a big deal. The things I would personally look for would be plenty of parking, on or within walking distance to a good bus route, and how easy is it to get to the nearest supermarket.
Try to find out what the previous occupants were paying for council tax and (if applicable) water, gas, electricity etc. Add that to the rent, and then use that as your basis for comparison.

Jez · 1 Aug 2006 at 21:04

Furnishing it will cost very little, i have completely furnished my 2 bed house including dishwasher/washingmachine/fridge/microwaves/2 decent leather sofa's/dining table/desks etc etc etc for only a few hundred for the lot, and none of it is very old and all is decent stuff.

Definately go for a house, call me snobby but i'd feel like such a ***** in a flat unless it was a lovely city centre apartment thing, but they will likely be out of budget, i looked at them when first moving out but just couldnt do it. Between the two of you it wont be too bad at all.

Surfer · 2 Aug 2006 at 12:50

dirtydog said:
Those will not be included in the rent.

unless you have a very nice landlord

dirtydog · 2 Aug 2006 at 12:51

Jez said:
Definately go for a house, call me snobby but i'd feel like such a ***** in a flat

Okay you're snobby. And you can't spell definitely.

Wryel · 2 Aug 2006 at 12:57

You can get all inclusive packages, usually shared houses or flats. I think my landlord didn't realise how much everything would cost and is paying the price!

agw_01 · 2 Aug 2006 at 13:00

Move up here westy.

My sister and her boyfriend rent a 2 bedroom house in a nice-ish area. Front and rear garden, garage, driveway...

£350 a month.

Samtheman1k · 2 Aug 2006 at 13:05

dirtydog said:
Oh and FWIW, my advice - get one on the top floor, it's usually quieter.

And also cheaper to insure!

Choose your letting agent wisely, some charge an absolute bomb for reference checking & contract fees. Find the cheapest ones, and only go with them.

dirtydog · 2 Aug 2006 at 13:13

Sleepy said:
But hotter!

Probably true but would you rather be a bit hotter or have to listen to a noisy bar-steward upstairs

William · 2 Aug 2006 at 13:35

dirtydog said:
Probably true but would you rather be a bit hotter or have to listen to a noisy bar-steward upstairs

You have a bar?

Sleepy · 2 Aug 2006 at 13:40

William said:
You have a bar?

its ilegitimate

William · 2 Aug 2006 at 13:41

The Dirty Dog Speakeasy.

It actually sounds like it could be real. Al Capone once murdered somebody with an ice machine there you know.

elroberto · 2 Aug 2006 at 20:18

William said:
Al Capone once murdered somebody with an ice machine there you know.

What..like a Mr Frosty? :confused:

Ricochet J · 2 Aug 2006 at 22:10

I live in a spacious and very rare three bedroom flat with a large kitchen, bathroom (shower and sep. bathrub) and living room. All this in greater London.
We got lucky with this one.

But things to look out for is one thing no one never picks up on. Neighbours. You'll not only be sharing your walls, but your floor and cieling too with neighbours. See how are they are. Ask them questions about the area. As someone as pointed out, you don't nesseceraly need to buy in a tower block.
You get these smaller 2 storey block of flats these days.

wozzizname · 2 Aug 2006 at 22:12

Shop around, in some areas there's been lots of buy to let investors and not enough tenants - I got my brand new penthouse for the same price as a ground floor flat due to the owner being desparate to get some money coming in.
btw top floor is hotter, but that means in the winter I didn't have the heating on at all hence low bills

-westy- · 3 Aug 2006 at 01:52

Well, we wouldn't actually be moving that far from home, only about 35 mins away

but its a start!

We'd also be looking for furnished places, most places i've seen online have been fully furnished.

Just going to have to learn to be more careful with electricity :/

LeftfieldTilt · 3 Aug 2006 at 08:30

Sounds Dumb - But Think about windows, I used to live in a pretty nice top floor flat, had a nice big curved window feature and a big living room space becasue of it. trouble was we only had three windows that opened in the entire flat, 1 in each bedroom and 1 in the living/dining/kitchen area, there was no air in the place at all.

So LFT's golden rule about flats - ask about windows

dirtydog · 3 Aug 2006 at 08:42

eXSBass said:
I live in a spacious and very rare three bedroom flat with a large kitchen, bathroom (shower and sep. bathrub) and living room. All this in greater London.
We got lucky with this one.

But things to look out for is one thing no one never picks up on. Neighbours. You'll not only be sharing your walls, but your floor and cieling too with neighbours. See how are they are. Ask them questions about the area. As someone as pointed out, you don't nesseceraly need to buy in a tower block.
You get these smaller 2 storey block of flats these days.

Yep it is the case with all properties to some extent, but it is critical with a flat that you have decent neighbours or living there could be unbearable. I have moved from flats with noisy neighbours before. The trouble is you don't really know for sure what they're like until you've moved in - and by then it's too late, you're stuck there for at least six months

One thing you can do is visit the building at different times of the day/night to try and get an idea for noise levels. Also getting on the top floor means there'll be no problem with footsteps and things being dropped on the floor (your ceiling) from above.