What Do You Need To Know Before Securing A Property?

You’ve booked a viewing online or by telephone to see a property you quite fancy online, you turn up and absolutely love the snazzy living room and want to move in desperately so you go home and chat to your future flatmates about taking this property off the market but then realise you don’t know if this property although lovely specifically meets your needs!

If you come to viewings with a set of prepared questions you will be able to efficiently work out if this property will work for you and therefore be able to secure a property more quickly and not risk losing out. The first is a seemingly obvious question, "what is the rent?" It is really important to know how much the property is on the market for and what are you getting for this price? Are there any bills included in the price? Is there furniture provided? Are there any appliances in place at the property that the landlord includes? And most importantly, do these arrangements meet your requirements?

Secondly, you really want to know the move-in date, does this work for you? Does it give you too much crossover with your current tenancy? Or too much of a void period? You need to be sure that the available date lines up and doesn't leave you short by paying for two properties at once for too long (or with nowhere to live).

You also need to know what the agent requires for your application; do you meet the requirements to pass referencing, or do you have a UK guarantor available that can guarantee your rent? If not, what does the agent need you to provide in lieu of this (if is it possible)? Know what you will need to provide and when so you can sail through referencing and get all the paperwork completed swiftly. In addition to this, what are your financial outgoings in total for this property going to be? How much is the holding deposit and following this when are you going to be required to make your damage deposit payment and your first month’s rent?

If you are able to ask these questions on your viewing and make sure you know everything you need to, it puts you in a much stronger position to be able to secure a property that is perfect for you! It is always best to be informed and use this information to guide your property search, rather than be ruled by your heart and end up in a tricky situation.