It can be quite daunting going to rent your first home. Most people don’t get taught about the details of renting and have to figure it out as you go.

Luckily, there is plenty of advice out there for when it comes to renting from people who have had to learn as they go.

Be Financially Prepared

Before embarking on your search for properties, set yourself a budget. Look at how much you will be earning at the time and consider the costs. As well as general rent amounts, you’ll have to consider costs such as bills.

Bills can be a variety of different things in certain properties. The big one is council tax. Council tax rates vary depending on the type of property you live in and the location. They are organised into bands from A-H and are usually based on property price.

As well as council tax, you’ll have to consider bills such as water, electric, gas, internet and other such utilities. These bills will differ based on the age of the property. For example, older houses with older pipes are more likely to use more waste water, increasing your bills.

Aside from bills, consider that most properties and landlords will seek a security deposit and an advance of one months rent when you first move in, to protect themselves.

Landlord Reliability

When it comes to actually choosing where you want to rent, you should consider the landlord of the property. The last thing you want when moving into a new property is to find you have a landlord that won’t listen to requests for maintenance or trying to rip you off.

Thankfully in this modern world, it’s easier than ever to speak to landlords before renting. You can use websites such as Rentola to view properties and search for rent limits, number of bedrooms, bathrooms and property details.

The really useful thing about Rentola is that they provide the service of being able to message the landlord any questions you might have. They get landlords that list their properties online direct to their site, but they also scour the internet for available properties, putting them all into one easy search engine.

This way, you can speak to your landlord and know what sort of landlord you’re getting and can ask questions that perhaps more traditional lettings agents wouldn’t have the answers too, as they deal with hundreds of listings.

Viewings

Ensure you view any property before deciding to move. Pictures can look great but impressions in person can differ. This can be said for images that are either flattering or not. Sometimes properties may even look better in person. There’s plenty to look out for at properties when viewing.

It’s really worth booking as many viewings as you can, within reason, to get an idea of property comparisons, but take them with a pinch of salt.

If you’re viewing a property that’s messy, it can be easy to think it has no potential, remember the place will be cleaned up before you move in.