Here's the Wiki topic for today which should be a good one!!

"The pros and cons of renting"

Add your pros and cons here or directly to the Wiki.

We're OK for the pros but a bit stuck on the cons! Any ideas?

Cons,

You can't alter the house and/or garden with out the landlord/lady approval. (decoration, etc)
Can't save on energy bills (cavity wall insulation etc..)

True, but when they do approve it, they also pay for it - I just got a new bathroom for nowt

Some lady I was talking to recently said she'd had the insulation all free in her rented house but the landlord missed out oin a new heating system cos he didn't want to pay for a bit of pipe between lead and the new system.

She reckons that he wants her to leave cos she's a long term tenant and has no central heating at all. (40+ years apparently) - thinks he'll sell up the minute she goes, which she will when the council find her a bungalow.

Cons:
1. The landlord/lady may decide to sell up giving you no choice but to leave
2. There may be less choice of rental properties. This is not true for flats, but seems to be true for houses. For example, there are only a few 4-bed detached houses advertised for rent in my local area, but there are many 4-bed detached houses for sale.

The stress of arguing over the deposit.

Billy Shears

No dogs allowed... especially WAL!

I thought that a global ban on pets was considered an unreasonable term?

The only reference I found in a few seconds was from 2001 though. Has the law or the interpretation of the law changed?

http://www.letlink.co.uk/Facts/Lfacts10b.htm

Though, perhaps "having to deal with unreasonable terms in contracts and the conflict they can cause" would be another con for the wiki.

Billy Shears

Neighbours look down on you doesn't matter how nice an area you chose to rent in. Never as good as an owner occupier.

Dealing with tosser letting agency who rip you off £120 for a credit check that cost them a fiver and stick their nose in every 3 months to check you ain't running a crack den.

BTW Webmaster if you are No 2 who is No 1? Just out of interest.

There is no number 1. It's almost like The Prisoner.

Not really a big "con", but has anyone else noticed in their contract "The tenant cannot change energy suppliers"?



Every 3 months? Never had check more than every 6 months, and currently no checks at all (ll just uses agents to draft contracts and hold a spare set of keys for me). No crack den here... but do have a full brewery installed

Just added mine

You dont own the house at the end of payments

Can't remember why but yes, there is no number 1. I must have set it up as a test account when I first set up the forum then deleted it.

Insult is the highest form of flattery Shaker.

WAL is actually a renter (i.e. It's the Dogs House, they just pay the rent). No problem finding a place to rent with dog and two cats. I think you have a better chance if the Landlord is a pet owner. Pets actually do not do damage, I've said it before, its the kids you have to worry about.

My landlord came to set up our alarm and set it so that the dog can stay inside while the alarm is on. I even asked him to let her out for a pee and then let her back in again while I was at work. The cheek of tenants today, I don't know.

My tenants in Oz got themselves a puppy and a kitten without asking. Discovered when my managing agents went for the 3 month inspection. I don't care though, it tells me that they are settling in for a while. Just renewed for their 2nd year. They have two kids too. Oh dear, good thing I'm 12,000 miles away!

I have something called 'Landlord Insurance' though. Probably a new concept to the amateur BTL'ers







I see loads of places that say "no pets, no kids".




Con

Unreasonable withholding of deposit.

Yes, I've noticed this in every contract I've had, and I've ignored it every time.

Same here. Was actually one of the first things I did on moving in. Landlord didn't have a clue who the place was with anyway.

Just out of interest, who is Number 6?

"Questions are a burden to others. Answers are a prison for oneself".

Be seeing you.

In general, I think properties that people wouldn't necessarily want to own and live in tend to get bought as a rental investment. We have a nice rented flat but one problem is that it is stuck in a dark corner of the block. It gets almost no sun for most of the year. I wouldn't want to buy it, personally, but I'm happy to rent it for a couple of years.

If less people want to buy it to live in it, the landlord doesn't have to overpay to purchase it, so that keeps his yield higher than it would be otherwise. It's not always true but hard-to-sell properties tend to get rented out if the owner doesn't need the capital and won't lower the price.

My first flat (ex-council) is a classic BTL investment. I bought it to live in because it was all I could afford, but when I came to sell it I realised most interest would come from BTL. The BTL who bought it from me probably has a decent yield and no trouble renting it out.

I'm sure there are some lovely properties to rent, but it is harder to find a really nice one, particularly where I live (Central / North London), than it is to find a nice place to buy (if we just leave the price to one side for the moment). Also rented flats tend to be a bit unloved - no-one's really thought about the decor or what really suits the property beyond magnolia walls and laminate floors.

On the other hand .... renting's a lot lot cheaper than an interest-only mortgage (particularly on a flat I think).

One solution to the decor problem is to talk nicely to the landlord about upgrading his property and offer to pay for some of it. Eg. if you want to replace the curtains or furniture, maybe the landlord can contribute towards it - after all you both benefit from the upgrade, as the flat should be easier to rent out again at the end of your tenancy. This has worked for us. We have spent about £1000 on the flat and got most of it back. Better than living with curtains etc you don't like.

pros

buldings insurance covered by the landlard.
increases in the service charge will have to be met by the landlord (mine went up by 4% this year due to electricity price inflation)
Labour mobility.
You don't care if you trash the place its not yours.

cons

If your landlord decides to sell up then you might have to put up with many months of failed viewings because he/she is asking an unrealistic price for it.
your not as much of a stakeholder in your house or your local community.

We asked the landlord to paint the flat as it was looking a bit tired. He got a few extortionate quotes from painters then asked us if we'd like to do it. He paid us for materials and gave us one months rent for doing it. Mind you it was a hell of a job especially all the moving of furniture etc but at least it looks like a new flat again and there's a bit extra for the house deposit.

You can get grief from a spouse or partner particularly if they are female and/or pregnant.