When you finally get a phone call after tirelessly looking for a property to rent in your chosen area when you are a first time tenant is a feeling of victory!
It’s even more so a victory during a pandemic when you have to virtually view properties and need a place fast!
But there are still factors you need to consider before you say yes and obstacles that can make or break your living experience in certain properties if you don’t get on to your property manager or landlords before it’s time for you to end your tenancy with them.
Because let’s face it, your first ever home is usually not your forever home. It’s a stepping stone that allows you to get your foot in the door when it comes to properties.
So here are 5 key factors to always consider and apply when moving in and out of a property for First time renters and homeowners!
- Research the Real Estate Agency
Knowing how well organised and managed your estate agent is, will determine if you are going to extend you lease with them and your landlord or swiftly want to part ways. Using trustworthy sites such as trust-pilot is vital as you can see how often they respond to their current and previous tenants.
You will also get to see how they navigate complaints and what type of pain points other tenants have experienced, as well as the success stories form tenants who have experience your Estate agent and landlord.
- Get to know what local amenities around the
To know what is around your local area is so important especially if you are relying on public transport and stores its important to take into consideration how much funds you will need to set aside just for commuting and what stores you’ll be using to do most of your groceries shop at
This could sway you to either take a place or say no to a property because it is extremely important.
- Take photos of your gas and electric meters
You will thank me for reminding you to do this one. This is especially necessary for when it comes to you leaving your first rented property because when you leave and move into your new home you must supply the electric and gas meter readings to either your landlord or estate agent on the end of tenancy form to be able to receive your deposit back and also to the supplier as this will conclude if you are in credit with your supplier or in debt with them.
Its also important to give accurate readings monthly to your suppliers to avoid unnecessary debt at the end of your tenancy. Another thing to make sure you do your research on is what your tariff is and how much power you are using as your tariff is simply an estimate of what the suppliers think you will use and only acts as a portion of a contribution to you bills so always ensure you understand this before agreeing to a tariff rate and deciding on prepaid meters or direct debt.
Here are things to consider:
- How often do you use your washing machine
- How many people are in your home
- Working from home
- How often you home cook and use the oven
- Take photographs of everything and send emails to your property manager
Always take photos of the property once you receive your keys and email your property manager or landlord all of your findings. This can be damp, mold, or one broken tile.
If you find anything broken or snagged please that photographs and report it immediately to your property manager or landlord via email as you need this information as form of evidence when it comes to ending your tenancy.
This will ensure you are not charged at the end of your tenancy to pay for any of the issues that occur as they will have a backlog of you reporting it in advance.
- Invest in an End of tenancy clean
This is a more of an investment for you than it is for the property or landlords as this ensures when you have your home inspection you will receive a high score on your tenancy report which is vital for receiving your deposit back and even being accepted for a new place that is of a better standard than your first home or apartment.
It’s important to have a end of tenancy clean as this is a reliable source and a great security measure to get your deposit back. Once you have received your invoice from your end of tenancy cleaners ensure you keep this in a safe place as they tend to provide a breakdown of what they did in the property and it also looks good on you.
And provides you with more time for yourself to focus on unpacking your new home as it is an unnecessary stress to think about cleaning an entire house (That you no longer live in anymore!) after you have spent hours packing up your entire house possessions to move. Moving home is tiresome as it is so hiring out professional cleaners are is great way to give yourself more time.
So here you have it 5 tips that will give you a smooth transition from your first rented property to your next home whether that be private rented or your first home that you’ve purchased these are tips will stay with you for a lifetime and surely will help someone you know out!
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Article written by Elisha Chanté
