The main questions I like to debate are;

* Can rental accomodation ever become the 'norm' for NI people and be regarded as the common way or best option of living for many young & old families, couples and single people as it is considerably cheaper?

* As many people are still holding back from jumping into the NI housing market at the present time to buy, myself included, have any other potential buyers or people who were looking to move/buy in the next few years, considered the NI rental market now as an option until the prices become more affordable?

* Has anyone who had given up on buying rented recently and find renting a good &/or bad experience?

* However with the difference between rental figures and I.O mortgages still being considerable big and does not seem to ever become similar in the near future, is renting even sustainable within our housing market?

- On a side note, we have recently seen a property we would like to rent. It is a great apartment, adequate for our immediate needs but at £575 p/month (inc. rates) it is a little steep for rent for the property. However as figures of £500+ are the figures that we have in our local area for rentals, does anyone know can this figure of £575 for example be agreed at a lower rate with the letting/estate agent? Can we take the immediate 6month contract but request a compulsory review after the initial contract for a further 6months?

Unfortunately I don't think young families will ever want to rent as a best option, that is the problem. People want to give their children security and not to live somewhere that could potentially be sold from under them with very little notice. Renting from a local authority is completely different, you have longterm tenancy/rights, reasonable rents etc.

On the other hand, personally if I was older (late 60s/70s) I would be very attracted by the idea of STR...sell up for £300 -400K and get a nice apartment for £7000 a year...a no brainer!

On your second point...even if prices do go into freefall over the next year or so, won't we again face the prospect of every available property being hoovered up by specuvestors ? A depressing thought I know...

Incidentally what happened to the MDwhatever guy?

rent is always negotiable
offer £500 a month

Hello FTB2008

Others here (especially renters) will be able to answer your questions better, on the subject of renting sustainability there is a poster called Fubar who posts on a different site and has an ongoing chart measuring properties for rent / sale in NI that you may find interesting:

Click to view attachment



Ah that old chesnut

Come on md - time to re-enter the fray; I hope that all of us (including you md) can get along again a bit better now are at least try

I agree with most of what you have said. The gf has already said that if we ever want kids we need to A. get married , B. own our house. There is no getting out of A of course (nor would I want to! ), but I've talked her out of B now after showing her the way the market has been going over the last year or so. Although ownership security is ideal, if you get a long term rental contract (our landlord wanted 3+ years, rather than 1), you can have a relatively secure home. I'm sure they could ultimately have the house taken from them (the landlords), but the way I look at it, you need to assess (their medium term plan with the property, experience etc) your future landlord too. It's a two way street and if they look/sound like BTL newbies, move on the the next letting instead - there are plenty out there.

Also, re the houses being hoovered up, I don't think so. This was a speculative bubble, fuelled by cheap credit. I think after the specuvestors have had a belly full of negative equity and the odd repossession, I doubt they'll be queuing up to get on the band wagon again any time soon (once bitten, twice shy, as they say!). Also, it looks like the banks will be reined it to stop such irresponsible lending happening again. This should stop the majority of upward pressure on the housing market as people simply won't be able to get the credit to drive up the prices. Of course, there will still be cash (or mostly cash) buyers doing some BTL (as there always has been), but you won't get every Tom, Dick and Harry buying flats to make a quick buck - the quick buck just won't be there.

there should be no problem w. long-term rental contracts.

all BTLers are in it for the long-term don't you know

What type of property is it and where is it?

Yes, renting is great while the market is the way it is. When buying is cheaper than renting - as it will be sometime quite soon (hint - not as a result of rent going up!!) then that is the the time to buy.

Welcome BTW.

I'm renting longterm and if you had asked me 5 years ago I would have said "no way on earth!", but sentiment changes

Renting is a no-brainer at the moment, its less than half the cost of buying, with no risk of NE

The property we like is a newly built apartment in Co. Antrim. It includes rates and the main appliances but another apartment was for rent for £525 but that one is now taken. This apartment has better views and is slightly bigger but it is being let out from an estate agaents whereas the £525 p/m apartment was through a rental letting agency. Has anyone any advice on how we can possibly approach this rental situation and get the best deal possible for us?

I believe that people have been spoilt for choice in recent times. The question you pose may very well be answered by income and lending conditions. If lending were to return to 20% LTV then most NI people will simply not be able to buy. There is no "are we willing to rent?", i wiould rapidly become "we are forced to rent".

I do not think people will be at all happy or willing to make this change but, if the current economic climate does not change rapidly, the choice will simply be removed.

http://www.housepricecrash.co.uk/forum/ind...hp?showforum=36

look in there and don't forget to haggle on cost, you should be able to secure it for 500 a month

Thanks.

Going to go into the estate agents in the morning and offer £500 p/m (if that is what you do?). Also going to see if the contract can have the added option of another 6months for added security. If we are told no on the spot should we raise to £525 tomorrow before we leave?

Say you are considering a 12 month contract and would commit to that for 500 quid per month. Do not let then think they are doing you a favour - you are the customer they need you to survive as a business. Try to be confident. and good luck.

Asking for a longer contract is almost always justification for a drop in rent. It is very much in the LL benefit to have a longer contract because it is guaranteed income, the tenant cannot easily get out of the contract after all. It is security to the LL more than security to you, the tenant.

I certainly would not sign both for the longer term AND the higher rent. Either or....

The past two or three generations here have been lucky enough to buy up property at affordable prices, buying became the norm, part of the culture but this wasn't the case before and it won't be the case from hereon. The mess that is the social housing system is under so much pressure as tennants on benefits compete in the private rental market with more affluent tennants who can afford to pay more, and if you don't believe me ask a letting agent.

For many people, there is no choice between buying or renting and I shudder to think how lower income people will be affected financially if the rents continue to rise as they appear to have been doing lately.

I put an offer of £500 per month for the place on Saturday. We didnt discuss whether it would be 6 or 12 months, but I did give the girl my name and telephone number. Never heard anything from them today so I am just going to sit back and wait for their call, if they ever call that is?!

Good on you. Hope you get the flat you want.

keep us posted

Hi all.

Just got word back from the estate agents. They said that £525 and anything less is a no but that at £550, the person renting might accept. Should I now target at £525 over a 12 month contract or refuse outright and see if there is any come back? There was no mention of the length of contract (i.e. 6 or 12 months or longer) but also we are in no desperate rush to rent this month but would not mind having something set up for April.

We really do NOT want to pay anything more than £525 p/m as a I.O mortage is approx only £300-£350 more per month and we aim to get a mortgage at a reasonable rate sometime in the future.....

Personally I would make sure that you really want this flat. Have you thought of advertising locally to see if anyone has a flat to let who don't want to go through a letting agency. Thats how I got mine. Some people prefer to choose their tenants personally. At worst try 525 for 6months and bargain down to 12 months if it gets sticky.

go 520 per month MAX and see if they take the

you can choose where and when....THEY still have to pay the mortgage so the ball is in your court

I would offer £475 take it or leave it. Give them the web address of this site or print off some data showing them how greatfull they should be that you want to rent their property. How dare they ask for a fair rent in these desperate times!

Maybe a few of the top negotiators on this site will put you up if your offer is rejected!

?

I cant offer £475 - I started at £525 so I cant go back on the monthly amount. I think I shall call them on Monday morning & let them know that I can only go to £525 max and that would be over 6months as we might be interested in moving on again depending on how it goes. What extra conditions should I ask for in the contract before it is signed? Can we ask for all the appliances that come with the property to be checked before we might move in?

I could offer a little advice here. Check your inventory carefully against the list provided and if you are careful by nature also video/take photos of any faults before you start. This can save a lot of arguments when you come to ask for your deposit back. I would imagine a responsible landlord will have had the electrical items checked and they may be new anyway. I use my own dishes/small electrical items and leave the owners in a cupboard so that I dont have to pay for any breakages. Experience of student flats and the difficulty of proving the condition of the flat at the end of the tenancy make me over -careful in this respect. I hope you manage to get the flat at a rate you can afford. Good luck.

Ok heres what you do, tell him if he takes a look at this web site he will see the error of his ways. Tell him it's £475.50p a month and not a penny more. If he still says no way, go to the EA and tell them House price crash forums told you that due to the housing market being on its knees the landlord should be gratefull your even interested in renting from him. If this doesn't work tell them you'll go to £500.00 a month but you want them to pick up your shopping and come round once a week to tidy up.

If this approach doesn't work try and rent a property in your price range.

We are going to head down this morning and offer £500 p/m for a 12month contract. If this offer is rejected we will increase to £525 p/m but that would be our maximum, as the property is unfurnished (except built in kitchen appliances). I also think that EA are so rude in regards to potential buyers having to ask about renting the same property. Its happened to us recently but a friend of mine also went to look at a property and had the same experience.

He enquired about buying a property in Belfast in December. He had a partner, a very good deposit and a independant M.A but once he was told that it was going to cost himself £980 p/m for the mortage alone he politely asked about the rent for the property. The same EA was the agent for letting the property out and he was told that renting was not negiotatable at the rate of £500 p/m but that the asking price to BUY was open to offers of £5,000-10,000 less.........

Anyone else had similar experiences?

I have found from personal experience estate agents to be singularly rude and offensive to first time buyers enjoying their power - I look forward to the day that the boot is on the other foot. Good luck with your offer. In years to come you will be glad you didn't buy at inflated prices.

Well, our offer of £500 has been accepted but until we get everything signed I am not holding my breath.......

Any advice on setting up things for us first time renters?

great news on the haggling rent

get a digital camera and start taking photo's of the property. Ensure that the letting agents knows you're doing this....will save ANY problems with deposit back etc...


check out the ALL ABOUT RENTING section in here too

Well done mate.