Estate Agent

If the rent didn't start off lower than it should have been, or wasn't any type of agreed low introductory offer of any kind, then yes, increasing the rent by 10% so soon would annoy me too. If he won't negotiate, leave when your agreement is up and don't allow viewings whilst you hold the tenancy. We can all be difficult if we want to be. He may not care but if all you say is true, and you are a good tenant, he doesn't sound like someone you would want to rent off longterm anyway.

if you signed a tenancy agreement for a 6 month fixed term, then that is exactly what you have. If you want to stay on after the agreed 6 months then that is up to you to decide. You can always negotiate the rent increase. You can simply say that you are happy to stay on at the premises and sign for a further 6 months once your current agreement expires but at the existing rate or you will move out. You can also state that in this event, it won't be convenient for viewings until you have vacated. Not very nice of course but if you don't want people in your home until you move out, there is not much anyone can do about that. If you are a good tenant and pay on time, few landlords will want you out, then have to pay costs to advertise and go through the hassle of getting someone else in unless he is putting up the rent considerably?

Hey Clara, any update on this, hope everything worked out?

As long as you can provide a mortgage DIP document from your bank, that's you qualified. Nothing against Blundells but using your estate agents solicitors is probably not the cleverest move you will make this year.

If your cat hasn't done a number 2 for 5 days (as of today?), and she is still eating? In fact, eating or not she must be experiencing discomfort by now. I take it she is just lying down a lot, is she sleeping with her legs in unusual positions by any chance? Have any x-rays been done or is that on Tuesday as the x-rays will obviously show if she is constipated or not. I am not a vet and may be completely wrong about your cat but hate to think of her in pain. When you feel around her body, does it feel fuller than usual, does she display signs of pain if you lightly press on her bladder / stomach etc? If you think she may be constipated, you could always try a small dose of cat laxative into her food, forgotten what it is called, this worked for the cat I mentioned previously. He remained on the laxative after his operation for a number of weeks.

Do you have pet insurance, for a 7 year old cat it is very cheap? I've known a cat appear to lose use of it's back legs, skidding about and looking uncomfortable and displaying all that you mention. Took him to a vet who after full examination failed to realise that the cat was just constipated. Cat went For an enema at another vets which cured the problem.

I would always encourage landlords to judge potential tenants with pets on a case by case basis before just stating a no pets policy. After all, people love their animals and it shows a caring nature. To help your case, if you currently rent with a pet, invite the landlord to meet your pet at your existing rented property. Can work wonders to instil confidence.

Hi S6 The repairs would be the responsibility of the rent to buy tenant along with all the maintenance costs as if the property was owned by the tenant already. The tenant could probably even make home improvements if agreed with the current actual owner. Ultimately, the owner wants the rent to buy tenant to serve the 5 years, make the payments on time and give him, the landlord, 5 years of constant rent without any void periods, hassle or any repair costs. If the tenant comes good after the 5 years and has managed to raise their creditworthiness to acquire the mortgage to buy, which shouldn't be too hard as the landlord will give them a lump sum cash back for the deposit, then they buy at the original agreed price and buy out the landlord for good and enjoy any increase in value. As far as I'm aware, these deals are available I suppose to anyone. I can see this type of deal being quite good for those starting out or those in current financial difficulty and and are able to find a property under one of these deals that they like. My opinion is that on the plus side, if you are determined to keep to your side of the bargain and work hard, as a tenant you could make this deal work for you. You'd have a property that you knew would become yours in 5 years, that you would acquire any increase in value and have a stable home in the meantime. On the negative side, there would have to be some kind of insurance in place for example, what if the landlord goes bankrupt etc. Also, I would imagine that if the tenant has a change in circumstances and maybe wants or has to leave the area, they would lose all of the monthly extra payments that they had made but that's life I guess. Just wondered what peoples views are on this or similar alternative ways of gaining property ownership.

What do you think about private rent to buy property deals that are starting to become more available over recent months? Various individual investors and companies aim these deals at first time buyers or those having difficulty raising a deposit etc? You know the type of thing, (example): House valued at £60,000. No mortgage required to move in.. You pay a very small deposit like £1-£99. You then agree to rent for 5 years for say £350pcm you pay an extra fee like £95pcm to build up a deposit. then after the 5 years you receive a lump sum back to be used as a deposit if at this time you can then get a mortgage for the balance of the original house value. If you can, you receive all the increase in value if there is any and you buy and that's that. If you can't you are allowed to sign up for another 5 years rent to buy, same deal. You are liable for all maintenance as if it were your home from day one. Do you see this type of deal as giving an opportunity to those currently not in a position to buy a realistic way to achieve ownership in a few years or just a legal ploy by greedy landlords to rent properties out maintenance free in the hope that the tenant still won't be in a position to buy in 5 years? What are your views?

This is so true. I've stupidly fallen for this myself, went to view a property and laughed out loud once I saw the living room.

I think in a lot of cases if you manage to speak with an agent that has actually been inside the property you are enquiring about you have performed a miracle. You call up regarding a property, you are then put through to the negotiator dealing with that property, and then that person usually knows nothing and will sometimes even read to you from the description you originally saw online lols. All good fun.

I find myself laughing out loud on a daily basis whilst browsing through some of the descriptions on rightmove. It's all very entertaining, however, I never get annoyed because unfortunately, that is the nature of the beast that is property. It shouldn't be, but it is, and probably always will be just like it is with second hand motors. Whether buying, selling or renting, you simply have to surrender to the fact that time will be lost on thorough due diligence.

Then it is you that clearly doesn't live there

Like I said, lived in Dore all my life until a few years ago. Parents still there so I'm in Dore every week. What part of my post do you think is incorrect?

There are so few roads in Dore that if you were a multi-millionaire you would even consider buying property on to make your home. Very few, and of those it would also obviously come down to the specific property itself. Ranmoor / Fulwood in my experience has much more imposing, desirable, private and secluded property when spending the big bucks. You think that there are no millionaires in S10 lol? I'm not denying there are Millionaires in Dore. I'm intrigued to know exactly which parts of Dore you think are so desirable for the mega rich. There's so few to choose from. It's a myth that Dore is so exclusive and affluent, most couples with half decent jobs can afford a property there no problem. It's just a few expensive roads and Dore as an area has so little to offer apart from it's near to the countryside, most of the village shops are pretty rubbish (if you can get parked), there's always tons of kids and traffic everywhere. The place is mostly annoying and far from desirable. It certainly has its crime as well. If you were really wealthy, you'd be pretty crazy to buy there considering what else is available in the Sheffield / Derbyshire area.