In my Blog “How to find a Flat Studio or Bedsit to Rent in London” I describe the different ways that Flat Rentals are marketed in London. The article presents all the different ways equally & without bias, however the question that most people want to know the answer to is “how can I get the best flat for my money”. There are 2 answers to this:
- Find a Flat that has been mis-valued.
- Find a Flat with the lowest margin added.
Frankly it is extremely rare to find a flat that has been misvalued. Once you start Flat-Hunting you will very quickly form your own accurate valuations of the rental value of flats, & Landlords & Letting Agents generally know the value of their properties to within 2-3%. However their are 2 ways in which you may be able to get a flat at below it’s market value.
Firstly you may be able to present yourself to the Landlord in such a way that they are prepared to rent the flat at below market value just to have you as a tenant. Reasons might be:
- You might try it on the basis that they like you, but I wouldn’t hold your breath.
- Pretty girls seem to get away with murder, but I wouldn’t hold your breath, Landlords are a miserable crowd.
- Being honest, reputable, & convincing the Landlord that you will be an excellent guardian of their property is a distinct possibility.
- Solving a Landlord’s problem, is definitely likely to work. Examples would be:
- Offering to redecorate a delapidated flat
- Being a Plumber when the Landlord has leaky Pipes
- Being a Builder when the Landlord has a leaky Roof or other repair problems
- Being a Solicitor when the Landlord has problems with other tenants
- Being an Osteopath when the Landlord has a bad back
Secondly a flat might be misvalued because it has been placed with a Letting Agent who isn’t familiar with the area that the property is in. This has actually happened to a friend of mine, so don’t dismiss it. My friend rented a flat for 6 months prior to buying, & stumbled across this flat in an agency near to where he works, which is a much cheaper residential area. The Landlord had placed the flat with an Agency in that area (probably because it was close to where the Landlord worked?), & the Agent valued it based on his local knowledge, not realising the market rate of the flats area was double what he was used to. My friend snapped the flat up the day it went on the market, & still lives their 5 years later (well you would at half price wouldn’t you?).
Frankly the times when those listed techniques get you a bargain will be few & far between, but at least if you are aware of them you stand a chance of being one of the lucky few.
If you read advertisements from Landlords in the press they will very often say “No Agents”. This is because most Lettings Agents get their properties to rent out by responding to Landlord’s Advertisements & promising to let the property for the Landlord’s asked rent plus the Letting Agent’s Commission. This results in the rent to the tenant being increased by 11.5% – 17% (whilst Rent is VAT exempt Agent’s Commission attracts VAT). The most reliable way of getting a bargain is to deal directly with the Landlord.
In the next article in this series I will describe how you can use the Internet to find these privately let bargains.
