Welsh Heart

We will be returning to the UK as soon as our house here in Australia sells but we have nothing to go back to, no family or friends in the area we are returning to and we have never lived in this area before (Carmarthenshire).

As you can imagine with 4 kids in tow we need somewhere to stay pronto and ideally we would like to tee something up from this end before we leave here.

We are able to pay 3-6 months rent up front if this would smooth things over with a nervous landlord but obviously would have no references or utility bills as we have never rented before. We will be using the period in the rental to view and eventually buy a house.

Also what are the rules regarding furnished/unfurnished and are there any other things we should know?

Many thanks.

brits1

We did the same...we returned from W.A this year and rented in an area we were not fimilar with...our furniture was being shipped back to the U.K so needed an un-furnished home.....we looked around the internet and papers etc...but we found phoning the local agents the best way to stay in contact and also to get the agents to know us.....we rented our home with 3 months deposit and hey hoe had the keys within a week of the application....we rented after we sold our home in Perth and asked the agent for a reference which they were only to happy to do, (we did leave the rental 100 times better than when we moved in...lol)we did not even need the reference...good luck

geeandtee

Our own experience hasn't been great.

We're currently staying in a one bedroom flat, which was generously offered to us by a friend.

Last week we went to look at a house to rent. It was reasonably priced and we could easily have payed the first six months' rent up front. Neither of us are employed at the moment, but I reckoned 6 months in advance would give us time to sort things out. I immediately filed an application with the snooty letting agent who treated me like shite on her shoe because of my status. Nonetheless, the agents promised to contact the property owner (the County Council, they bought a lot of properties on this street because of future tram line extension). She didn't take any money to process the application because she wanted to wait to hear from the Council. I phoned the agent back the next day and was told the County hadn't got back to them. I thought, right, fair enough, I know what Local government officers are like.

The next morning I checked the Agents web site and noticed that the property in question has 'Application Received' next to it. Given that we haven't heard back from the agent asking for money, I am assuming that we have been passed over for someone who is more to the agent's liking.

I am not impressed. It's not as if we chose to be unemployed. Our money is just as good as anyone else.

/rant.

whitelinen

Once you are in full time employment and can demonstrate you can meet rent obligations you will be able to rent somewhere.

Nobody is going to let tenants into a property whilst they are unemployed.

Jay Bird

I admit to knowing very little about tenancy law so have done a Google search and come up with two sites which may help. There are dozens of others if neither of these have the info you need. (just type Tenancy law into Google)

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Advanced...xt=tenancy+law

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/...agreements.htm

Hope everything goes well with your move back

Mummy in the foothills

If you are moving in the UK winter, you could rent a holiday let, and once you arrive go round all the agents and check your local paper for a rental.

dunroving

Not sure about the whole security deposit, etc., issue these days, but there does seem to be a lot of inexpensive rental properties in Wales.

Bevm

We rented and didn't have much trouble. Because we didn't have clear credit records immediately on returning we paid 6 months up front. I'm self employed, but we could show a good financial situation.

So with employment and paying 6 months up front, you shouldn't have any problems. But if you're willing to put stuff in storage for a while, renting a furnished holiday let could be a good idea. It would give you a couple of months to find a suitable house rather than taking whatever there is.

At the moment, renting rather than buying is probably good. Prices are sliding, and likely to slide more.

If you don't know, council tax isn't usually included in the rent.

We've just rented another place in Devon. We're off down there next week. Whitby's lovely, but that Arctic wind has driven us away.

Bev

Lara45

[QUOTE=Welsh Heart;8914949]We will be returning to the UK as soon as our house here in Australia sells but we have nothing to go back to, no family or friends in the area we are returning to and we have never lived in this area before (Carmarthenshire).

Hi Welsh Heart - we moved back in May and are living in Carmarthenshire, currently living with family and trying to get a bit saved so when we do move at least we'll be able to get a little furniture.

Ive looked at renting for the past couple of months here in Carmarthenshire and it looks like we'll be paying something like £500-£550 per month for a 3 bed place. Renting from a private landlord scares me a bit ... Id hate after a few months to be told that the they wouldn't be renewing and we'd have to find somewhere else - I've got a 13 year old and I hate the insecurity of finding somewhere else every few months. Im now thinking that maybe we'll apply for a housing association place - at least that would be a bit more stable.

PoppetUK

Not exactly true. We just moved back a few weeks ago. Mum went and stayed at her friends to give us some space. Hubby and I put calls into agents as rentals were going as quick as they we getting them on the books. A lot of nervous people not wanted to jump into the housing market apparently. We don't have jobs although we have some income each month. Nothing concrete so we offered to pay 6 months up front. Offered slightly less than they were asking for. I think you do have to be active and not just wait for rightmove to show props.

Good luck

MNandMN

they might if you can find a guarantor (not sure how to spell it) but the person would be liable for the rent if you didn't pay