Hiring a Letting AgentWritten by dan the roommate man
You may be interested in finding tenants to occupy your property while you're temporarily away from your home. Many people feel more comfortable hiring letting agents to manage their property for them. By hiring a professional to take care of their home, homeowners don't have to handle typical tenant dilemmas.Choosing a Letting Agent A personal recommendation is always easiest way to find a good letting agent, but if you don't know anyone who has used one, you'll have to look for one on your own. While you can go any “Joe, Letting Agent“, it's advisable to find an agent who is a member of a professional body or association. For example, members of Association of Residential Letting agents (ARLA) have been operating for two or more years, have Professional Indemnity Insurance, hold separate accounts for their clients, and only take commissions from landlords (not from tenants). The extra experience and support of a large organization can't hurt! Once You've Found One Once you've established a relationship with chosen letting agent, they will typically ask you to sign an agency agreement. This agreement generally covers agent's right to let property on your behalf and manage it during tenancy. Make sure you read through and understand agreement. Do not sign anything you aren't sure about. If you don't agree with a clause in lease, let agent know. You may be able to delete that clause before you sign. If agent refuses to compromise with you, find another agent. You want a good, agreeable relationship with your letting agent. After all, he or she will be looking after your home while you're gone!
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How Much Rent is Too Much Rent?
Written by dan the roommate man
You want what every apartment renter wants: most comfortable surroundings you can get for lowest possible monthly rent. Some of today's newly constructed apartment communities have taken luxury to an entirely new level. Some complexes have gas fireplaces, TV monitors by front door, drive-through mail service, and office equipment for their tenants, among other creature comforts. Every renter has to consider importance of amenities like these. Are they important enough to you to merit a rent increase of perhaps $200 more than rent you pay now, at a modest yet affordable complex? While some of us consider an apartment as just a place to hang one's hat, others place a premium on home surroundings. But how do you determine how much you can stretch your budget -- without ending up in poorhouse in process?One suggestion, provided by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, is to spend no more than 25 percent of your monthly gross income on your rent. For example, if your annual salary is $30,000 per year, or $2,500 per month, you shouldn't plan to spend more than $625 per month on rent. And although it goes without saying, it's important to remember that extra money you allocate for rent in a slightly more upscale complex means less money for your other expenses -- utilities, loan payments, entertainment, food, and most important, savings. Here's a short checklist of factors, provided by Florida-based Apartment Hunters, that you'll want to consider when checking out a neighborhood. Of course, some of these factors may mean more to you than others, and you may want to consider some additional factors of your own. * Is it close to your place of employment? * Is neighborhood safe? * Is it close to a good school system? * Is it close to your church? * Is it close to stores, banks and post office? * Is it close to public transportation? * What are parking regulations (if you own a car)? First-time apartment renters share one thing in common: surprise at just how many hidden expenses they encounter. Hiring movers and paying your first month's rent only represent two small pieces of what can be a rather expensive pie. In addition, you're going to be subjected to a credit check, and you're required to prove that your gross monthly income is at a certain level, in order to provide your complex with some degree of security that you can pay your rent each month. So if you've overestimated your financial abilities in past, either failing to make rent payments or credit-card payments, now is time when that history could come back to haunt you. Here's a brief run-down of some of those hidden expenses -- and pre-move procedures -- of which many renters either aren't aware, or that they overlook in excitement and bustle of moving:
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