sanddancer

Prices in Ealing and Hanwell have jumped up quite a bit in the last year since I've been looking - they were pretty static for a while, but more recently they've started to go up again. There is some absolute dross on the market around that area as well but at least these do seem to be sticking.

In response to what is wrong with having children & renting, the last three place I have rented (in London) have stipulated in the contract that no under 18s were allowed on the premises. I think it is to do with concerns of damages to the property (although that is where the deposit comes in) or causing problems with the neighbours with noise (they've all been flats). It would obviously be different if you have the income to be able to afford to rent a whole house which they would expect to rent to a family, but if you could only afford a flat and had to rent privately, it isn't that easy in London.

Hammersmith has pretty much ceased to exist to Estate Agents too - its either Chiswick or Fulham borders or Stamford Brook.

I used to work in recruitment & our Director said that a company taking on new staff is no indication of how well they are doing & that many companies used to do that to try & give the impression of everything being alright when it wasn't. Hopefully that is the situation here!

I read the requirements somewhere too - I think it was to do with size - possibly had to be bigger than something like 8ft x 6ft. Anything smaller is therefore usually referred to as a study. Not that this is actually very big - anything smaller should be referred to as a cupboard.

Thank you for all the replies. I have thought about this more and definitely feel that I'm doing the right thing by refusing the increase. We are now waiting to hear back from the agent, but I will stand my ground on the issue.

From a search on the internet, what we are paying now doesn't seem to be too out of step with the going-rate (there are some a bit cheaper, some a bit more) - rents haven't moved much in our area in the last three years. There are a few places on for £50 a month more, but they are all newly refurbished & some have private gardens, so I would say are better value than ours, which it must have been at least 4 years since it was decorated. There are several flats in our building that are empty - not sure exactly how many as the multiple estate agents signs could all be for the same property, but there are a few windows with no curtains, so there certainly isn't an undersupply. I'm not particularly attached to the place, so wouldn't be that bothered about having to leave, but it is just the hassle of finding somewhere new, so I will stand my ground and see what happens. But I do suspect as suggested that it may well be the letting agency's idea rather than the landlord - perhaps they are putting up their fees.

Its a ground-floor purpose built (80s I think) one bed flat in Acton, West London - it is part furnished (all the bedroom furniture is our own). Currently pay £800 pcm plus all bills. They haven't said how much it will increase by yet, but I don't think it is right when there are so many outstanding maintenance issues. As well as the mis-matched bathroom, there is a bit of damp in the bathroom and in the lounge which is causing paint to peel away, which we informed them about 6 months ago & nothing has been done. I think they would struggle to find someone to rent it without fixing these problems. If these things had been seen to quickly then I wouldn't object so much to the increase.

Our tenancy is coming to an end in mid-April and today the letting agency called to see if we want to stay on, but said that they would be putting up the rent 'because it hasn't been increased for 3 years'. When we moved in 3 years ago, we naively didn't haggle on the price and the place had been empty for about 4 months before we moved in, so we feel that the landlord has done pretty well out of us. Last year there was a problem with the bath which wasn't fixed for 6 weeks, but we received no rebate on the rent. There is a new bath now, but it doesn't match the rest of the suite. So if anything, we feel that the quality of the property has declined. The property was bought quite a few years ago, so they must be making a huge profit on the rental as it is & I don't see that there is a real justification for the increase, other than greed. I have told the agent that we won't pay anymore & they are getting back to me about it. I don't really want to move as it is a huge hassle, the current flat is in an ideal location for us and at the current price is allowing us to save each month for a deposit when we (eventually) buy, but on principle I don't think we should pay more - I came quite close to saying that if anything we were looking for a reduction! Do you think I'm being unreasonable? Do you think it is likely that the landlord will accept us staying on the same rent?

I used to rent with a Canadian girl and she was astonished that we didn't get the interest because it is common practice (if not law) over there.

Has Gosforth been relocated to being a surburb of London?

I don't think you necessarily have to lie (although plenty of people do) - the amount most banks would lend us is more than we could realistically afford to pay back.

The lack of discipline bit annoyed me - I have saved what should be a pretty decent deposit & am saving about a third of what I earn each month (I don't very much so can't really save any more).

SR5 covers quite a variable area of Sunderland - Fulwell & bits of Roker come under this postcode & they are mostly quite nice areas, but then Southwick & Redhouse also are SR5 and these are to be avoided. Agree with the suggestion of trying Cleadon (very nice) or Whitburn, which a few years ago was found to be the cheapest place to live in England. You would certainly be able to cycle to SR5 from those villages.

London flat Looks like a run of the mill overpriced London flat, but what isn't mentioned or shown in the photographs is that the whole block is 'conveniently situated' on top of petrol station. There is a small clue about entrance from street level. Presumably suitable for non-smokers only.

Is this really the typical income for an EA in London? I have a friend who has recently mentioned wanting to become an EA because she thinks it is a shortcut to huge amounts of money. I have tried to tell her that it probably isn't the best time to work in property, but her attitude was that if the agency is hiring then they must be doing ok.

Currently rent a 1 bed flat for £800 pcm in west London. Two other 1 beds in the same building (pretty much identical to ours) both on sale for £199,950. Assuming I paid full asking price and had no deposit, a repayment mortgage over 25 years at 5% would be £1,169 and the service charge is £600. Interest only mortgage is £880 a month so not much different from the rent, but I wouldn't want an interest only mortgage.

I know someone who has just paid £250K for a 1 bed room flat in Clapham. It was on at 275k but the estate agent immediately told my friend that they would accept £260k. It backs onto the common and it is large, but it is still just a 1 bed and has no garden, so it is still a ridiculous price.

In the north east of England a few years back, this couple would certainly have been able to buy a home - a flat, not a house, but still their own home. That wouldn't be the case now. But I don't really think that this couple exists (or not many of them). Certainly in the north east, everyone I know on low wages, is getting cash in hand and is claiming benefits and thefore rent paid for them. Its not a case of wanting to defraud the system, but for many, they couldn't afford any way live otherwise as they couldn't afford private rental costs.

When I last moved, I had the opposite problem of a months notice on my old place to see out and everyone seemed to want to get someone in immediately, so I don't think you will have a problem. If the property is empty, then usually the owner and the agent are keen to get someone into it as quickly as possible, so I think they can process things quickly. I had to get a letter from my previous landlord (not applicable in your case) and my employer, so you could make sure that your employer knows about this and can have it done immediately - perhaps get this prepared to take with you to the agents.

I work in the arts which is another low paid sector, but most people employed in it are Graduates (I know most people are nowadays, but at my work I'm in a minority for not having been to Oxford or Cambridge) There are only a few people here earning over £30k and most of them are in their 50's/60's and I work for an organisation that pays better than most in this field.

Where is your house? What type of property is it? The market is incredibly varied at the moment and I don't think anyone here is claiming that it is the same everywhere.

We get this sort of comment from my other half's father quite alot. He thinks that we should be willing to move to another part of London and live in a studio just to 'get on the ladder'. We now do have what we consider a decent deposit, but as others have pointed out, with the huge prices, it doesn't make as much impact as you feel it should. As we live in London, I have no illusions about buying a four bedroom house, but do want a 2-bedroom flat (with a garden if possible) in an area where I'm not scared to walk home after 7 o'clock.

The person my sister is thinking of buying a house from is intending to buy one of these and is trying to rush my sister into buying because they need a deposit. Didn't know about the helicopters (I haven't lived there for 12 years) but Park Avenue always had a terrible reputation, so I don't see why anyone would want to buy one of these new places as the surrounding area will still be pretty dire. Quite alot of new builds in South Shields at the moment - the Wimpey 'Westoe Crown' development looks equally ill-advised.

I overhead someone in my office who is in the process of buying a flat talking to their Estate Agent today (they have a very loud voice, so it is difficult not to listen) and I was shocked at how lightly they seemed to be taking the whole process. Firstly they said that they weren't having a full survey done, just the basic one because they are trying to cut costs and if the roof is about to fall in, they would rather not know about it. They then said, "if the bank is willing to lend me the money to buy it, that is good enough for me." They then asked if the Estate Agent could remember who long was left on the lease and if they could see the property again as they had only seen it once. I haven't bought a property myself, so don't really know, so perhaps I'm over-cautious, but considering the amount of money involved, this seems rather flippant.