There are lots of reasons to rent a property – from having the freedom to live somewhere for a short amount of time, to having a place to live between properties, or if you want to get to know an area but want to see how it feels to live there first without having to commit to buying a place. Millions of people across the UK rent their home, but if you have never rented before, how do you go about ensuring that you find a rental place that you are happy with?
First things first, you need to consider what you want from your property. The proximity to things like bus and train stations, the number of bedrooms that you need, how much rent you can afford to pay, whether you need a garden – these are all things that you should think about before you start your property search, as this will give you a better chance of finding what you want.
Of course, it is not always possible to tick every box, you may need to make some compromises, especially as rental properties are more scarce at the moment. Once you have an idea of what you are looking for you can then begin your search. Going online and using sites like Rightmove is a good way to start and to see what sort of properties are available in the area you are looking for, as well as what the prices are for rents, as this can vary from place to place.
Registering your interest with letting agents that are in the local area, such as this letting agents Cheltenham based company http://www.meandyouestateagents.co.uk/ is another good thing to do, as they will be able to let you know as soon as something that might be of interest to you comes in.
Once you have seen something that you might like, then you will need to go and view it. This is also a good way to get a feel for the house, as well as being able to ask more questions, such as whether it is furnished or not, how long the let will be for, if you can keep pets there and how will the property be managed.