Are you ready to move away from home and enter the renting world? We’re here to help! Esther is the youngest member of our client services team here at I Am The Agent and, as a young renter herself, she has created a handy essential guide for first time renters – seven things we think are of great importance when searching for your perfect property with an online estate agency.

Write down all your questions and prepare

With all the excitement you’ll feel before viewing your potential new home, you can easily forget some of the most important questions you may have for the landlord.  It’s always best to have things recorded in a written format and the best way to handle this is by creating a structured list of questions ranging from parking arrangements and when the bins are collected to council tax bands. Make sure to have this prepared before your viewing appointment and find time at the property to have all your questions answered by the landlord. Carrying a notepad and pen might make you look a little strange, but we’re sure the landlord will perceive this as you being extremely thorough and keen to find the perfect property. Once you have signed the tenancy it will be too late, so check out as much as possible from an affordability and convenience perspective, keep that sensible hat on!

Ensure the property is safe and secure

Before a landlord can let out their property, there are a few legal requirements that they must fulfil. Make sure to check for the following:

• An Energy Performance certificate (these are valid for 10 years, but check with the landlord whether they have had any work done since the last assessment). This will give you an idea of how energy efficient the property is and the higher the letter or number on the certificate, the higher the bills, so again ask rough costs per month.
• All furniture complies with the Fire Safety Regulations 1998.
• There are keys for all the windows and doors leading to the outside of the property.
• A gas safety certificate (these last for a year), which is required for all properties that have gas at the property (eg, a boiler).
• Ownership of the property: always double check this as sub-letting is often not permitted.

If your landlord can’t prove their property is safe enough for you to live in, run away as fast as you can and continue your search elsewhere.

Take lots of photographs

We wouldn’t suggest bringing along a camera and carrying out an hour-long photoshoot of the property - as this could really aggravate the landlord. However, it shouldn’t be much of a problem if they’re taken on your phone and you explain your reasons for taking them. Make sure to photograph all the features you love as well as those you dislike, maybe even a property video tour. Remember that having a visual record of all the properties you’re interested in will make it easier when it comes to comparing all the properties you’ve viewed or showing your partner or housemate.

Look out for nasty hidden surprises

Before signing anything, please, please, please ensure the entire property is clean and habitable for human beings! There couldn’t possibly be anything worse than finding out you’re sharing your new home with a family of mice, cockroaches or mould. We cannot stress to you the importance of carrying out thorough checks of all the properties on your viewings list. Look out for signs such as nests, droppings and any weird smells etc. Don’t be afraid to ask the landlord whether they have taken precautions against these types of invasions. At the end of the day, you’re the one who will be living there and you deserve a good night’s sleep. Obviously, it goes with our saying, whether you are using an online estate agent, a traditional agent or AIRBNB, always, always view the property before you part with a penny!

Discuss your deposit

Whatever the amount, you’ll be devastated if you were to lose your deposit to a dodgy landlord. Your deposit should be returned to you at the end of your tenancy – so it’s essential that you leave the property at the same standard it was when you moved in or you could forfeit the deposit amount. Avoid this by ensuring that your landlord has an inventory check done on the property before you move in and make sure your deposit is protected by a government approved tenancy deposit protection scheme. This way if you feel your landlord is withholding your deposit dishonestly, you can open a dispute to get your money back! Also ensure the deposit has been lodged with one of the government approved schemes such as Deposit Protection Service, MyDeposits - including deposits that were held by Capita, Tenancy Deposit Scheme

Find out the total cost for each month

It’s easy to ignore the additional expenses attached to a property when the rental amount (pcm) looks great. Be sure to clarify the total monthly cost of living in the property, including water, internet, gas/electricity bills and even the cost for late payments. The landlord should provide you with all this information and you must bear this in mind before signing anything!

Check out the Citizens Advice budget calculator which could help you work out your monthly budget and calculate the rent you can afford.

Do your research!

According to a survey conducted by Kiwi Movers (The Independent, 2017) 80% of renters do not screen their potential landlords before signing their tenancy agreements. This is a huge mistake and you have every right to know as much about them as they know about you. Find out all you can from their other tenants if possible, although this is a lot harder when it isn’t a flat share. If any major issues are flagged up - run! You could also ask the landlord a few questions too – how many properties they own, how long they’ve been a landlord for and so on. We’d advise you to go with your gut instinct when choosing a property as well as a landlord (as long as it’s never let you down before!)

Don’t forget that at I Am the Agent, the UK’s first online estate agent, we do not charge tenant fees, so that’s something you won’t need to budget for.

We can also help you find your dream property. Just register with us and you can add details of your ideal home and get instant notifications when a property matching your spec comes on to the market.

We hope that you’ll find these points useful. Good luck with your property search!