They are the best - hands down. I went out with on few dates with a Polish girl, it was awesome. Also, this czech girl who contacted me over facebook is actually a proper model she has pictures of print adverts she was in on her facebook. And I googled her and she was in an international pageant of some sort Gutted because I'll be over here in Abu Dhabi the entire time she is at uni in Glasgow!
Yeah, done that once before. Swore I'd never do it again. Costs a little more, but I prefer having someone to look after the stuff that I'd be inappropriately disinterested in. Amen. Lived with four girls and one guy. Oh heaven the arguments. They were amusing after a bottle of rum, but not so much at umpteen o'clock in the morning. Terrible waste of talent.
- Pay bills on time, or alert landlords ASAP if you're not going to make it. - Inform Landlords about problems in a timely manner. I.e. call him if you think the wall to the neighbours is gonna fall down the next time it rains. - Treat the house well. - Make sure you bring your parts to the table. (example: Our boiler's pressure valve broke. as a consequence, the water bill shot through the roof. The pressure valve is my responsibility, and the water bill is my landlord's. I replaced the valve ASAP, without drama, and called the landlord, informing him of the high water bill, offering to pay a proportional difference. As a consequence, my landlord said not to worry about that, and thanked me for ensuring he's aware of it, me replacing the valve ASAP, and mentioned that with our bad water quality, pressure valves tend to break occasionally).
Unless she decides that you need to "inaugurate" that new IKEA couch you spent the afternoon assembling together. Anyway, living with dames is, in general, a bit of a pain in the neck. Unless it's someone who knows you very well, like your best friend or something.
My biggest issue with living with women is that they pull some sad face BS when they need help and all of a sudden you don't feel like telling them it's their own stupid fault. Very, very, annoying.
As the others have said. Pay the rent on time, don't trash the place and keep the noise down are the main ones. Tbh, your landlord will have a tenancy agreement with some rules in it. Record all damage like others have said too, you don't want to get stung like that. If he is a private landlord, ask for you deposit to be but in a Deposit Protection Scheme. This is basically to stop unscrupulous landlords ripping you off when you move out (had that happen before as well). If you ask and he fails to do this, he is then liable, I think up to 3 times the amount of your deposit or what he takes from it, I can't remember. I've been having alot of trouble at my current flat, which I cba to go into (I live in a flat below a HMO, he owns the whole building) but the landlord really seems to respect the fact that I am completely straight with him - If I have done something wrong I put my hand up, admit it, apologise and tell him it won't happen again and he likes that rather then someone warping the truth to make them sound a bit better. Suffice to say, we are handing in our notice this week anyway so...
This! I don't know if you like to listen to music on your bo sound system or not but I can guarantee nobody else wants to hear it! Also, one thing I bear in mind: if a housemate does something to annoy me, I stop for a second to think about all my annoying habits. Ahh, and another thing: there's keeping things clean and then there's being a cleaning Nazi. Nobody likes the person who expects everyone else to hoover every single day and to clean the bathroom every single time they use it!
This is a serious thread about a serious subject started by Mankz. Nexxo barges on in and derails the thread talking about hot girls. HEAD EXPLODE
Dont be anally retentive and try to share- ive lived with about 12 people now, all of them were awesome. The only ones that werent awesome and were just ok were the ones who, for example, didnt like me using their plates or their pans. Its /really/ annoying when someone doesn't trust you with a plate. Also, if they use a tin of your tuna because they started their dinner before they realised they didn't have one- thats fine. You have other tins of tuna, and you werent going to use it tonight anyway. Its fine to ask them to replace it too, it just doesnt have to be immediately, and dont go on about it! This isnt all about tuna and plates, but hopefully you get my point If you like your music or films quite loud, make sure they have a signal they can give you to turn it down without getting too annoyed. Its fine to want things loud, but its also fine for them to not want to hear it Try and spend some time together socially, i.e. just watch a film with them on the TV, goto the pub etc. It just makes things easier if you are friends. I think thats it, the top one is most important though. Dont go into somewhere expecting to get screwed and so pick up on everything you think is unfair and throw it at them. Just relax a little, be calm and compassionate. edit: oh, except with regards to the inventory and landlording companies. Check under every rock, every bad, behind every wardrobe because (a) they might not have and (b) they will **** you for it at the end if it was there or not at the start, and wasnt on the inventory. I disagree that landlords arent your friends (I live with mine) but especially the companies might try to sc-rew you so feel free to be as mean as you like.
Well the first step has been taken already showing that you care and worry about it. 1.) Paying the rent on time 2.) Honesty ( you may break something by mistake just keep them informed ) 3.) Tidiness 4.) Keep the place clean at all times and then it becomes a good habit. 5.) Bleach every night in the loo's. 6.) Keep the noise down after 22H00 because the neighbours can become a good friend or a horrible enemy. Doing all this will only help because that first Landlord can become a good reference for the future
I didn't know bit techers were all such clean freaks... especially since we can all see how messy many members rooms are WUT???
There is one BIG rule which I never forget before signing make sure the inventory matches what you find. Every detail including faded marks you should get noted down because you can run into trouble at the end. Also make sure everything works and TEST IT don't just believe the agent. Deposit wise most agents have a third party company that holds the deposit, this method is more secure as neither landlord or agent holds your money. On check out you are given codes to get the money back and it's instant online bank transfer. When you leave don't forget to replace the bulbs that have gone as they will charge you and if you leave anything in the flat without approval you can be charged a removal fee. Back to moving in, once inventory is done for god sake take electric / gas / water meter readings and take plenty of photos. You can be in hot water when you can't prove that £300 bill wasn't you or that mark wasn't smaller when you moved in. I was lucky and had a father who is a landlord to several properties him self so he gave me all the advice I will ever need. Be careful on having a flat mate too and read the contract don't just sign. It maybe 30 pages long back to back but it's worth it. Having a flat mate you need to make sure who has the sole responsibility for paying rent and who is liable. For example if your flat mate ran off and he damaged the apartment who is to blame by the contract. Most agent will have a multiple tenant lease contract. Find out how many car park spaces you have and which ones. If agent says "I think" to anything don't sign till you know. Basics are be good, pay on time and get to know your neighbours, they can be very welcoming and could save your tea when you run out of sugar Lastly find out how long the minimum contract length is and if you can make sure a break clause is in there. Like 12 month contract with 2 month notice for leaving early. This way if you lose your job or need to move out you can. Best of luck and ready meals arn't the cheapest!
We all know how we were when we moved in with friends. Damn I stayed with 4 other chaps with were drunk 6 days a week except Mondays religiously so we could empty our boots with all our spare clothing so the maid could wash the clothes. The good thing is we were very close mates and still are today and that's after 30 or so years after some of us being in the army together as well. Our loo's were a state hence today I'm freakish about maintaining clean toilets
Don't get caught doing anything you would be embarrassed doing with your door open. You know what I'm talking about.
I've done the deposit, and I'm doing inventory the day I move in with the landlord present at the time, and have decided to take photos of everything. As for rent, its being paid in 4 quarterly payments, and I've already paid the first quarter, so I'm fine until early December. As for cleaning, it gets done properly twice a month by a hired cleaner, who the landlord has used for years, but daily up keep is up to us, obviously.
Especially if she decides that you need to "inaugurate" that new IKEA couch you spent the afternoon assembling together. Poor boundaries = recipe for disaster. ROFL The universe must have has just divided by zero...
Just my 2 cents, my landlord at uni kept his house as a hobby almost (he'd bought it for his daughter years ago) and it was always passed down word of mouth, without advertising it. As a result, it was full of homely touches, absolutely wonderful house. The Landlord was also really nice, he lived away away so never visited unless there was a problem - most of the time if there was an "issue" he'd let us sort out the details then just pay us back any costs (unless he came and did it himself (he's an engineer)). At the end he gave us all the deposit back, I was even trusted enough to brew biodiesel in the tiny garden on a concrete plinth. Other friends who are cleaner / more organised / etc than us still ended up with awful landlords, it seems those who have a lot of properties / use agents tend to be the nastier ones, and those which advertise privately (look for you uni's property list) will be people who have just the 1 place casually and would be much nicer about it. I'm going out with the girl in my house (3 guys, 1 girl) and have been for ~20 months now, we're all best friends (I'm on a year abroad now). It was interesting to see how many 2nd year houses split up, people chose them after 1 term in halls together - it's very different living with someone who lives down the corridor and you don't share with them than living next door to them.
