Natasha Afxentiou: Hello and welcome to OnTheMove, a podcast from OnTheMarket. I’m your host, Natasha Afxentiou, and in this series we’ll guide you through everything you need to know about the home moving process from start to finish. I’ll be speaking with our guest experts who will share their tips and tricks to ensure you are equipped to make informed choices, breaking down industry jargon, and clearing the path to your dream home.
Today’s episode is your renting 101, where we’ll be outlining the rental process as well as the benefits and key differences between buying and renting a home. We’ll also be answering some common renting FAQs. And to do this, I’m joined by two special guests, Sophie Durkin, Regional Lettings Director at Portico and TV presenter, finance and property expert Tayo Oguntonade.
Thank you both for joining me today. So before we go into today’s topic, I thought it would be nice to give some background on you both, just so our listeners can get to know you a little better. So why don’t we start with you, Sophie?
Sophie Durkin: Sure. Yeah, so I work as a regional lettings director at Portico Estate Agents in London. I’ve worked in lettings for the past 15 years or so. I’ve also been a tenant many times. I’m a landlord, so I’d like to think that I’ve got a pretty well-rounded perspective on all things lettings.
Natasha Afxentiou: Yeah I’m sure you’ll be able to cover all bases in today’s episode, which is great. How about you, Tayo?
Tayo Oguntonade: Hey, so my name’s Tayo, I’m a TV presenter and content creator. I’ve been in property for about just over eight years. I’m also a property investor, so a landlord as well, so can give my perspective on that, and I effectively help people buy their first property and get into rented accommodation as well.
Natasha Afxentiou: Well, it’s a pleasure to have you both on, and I think, yeah, both the insights from both your experiences and perspectives will be really helpful for our listeners today, which is our Renting 101 episode.
So if we’re gonna go straight into today’s topic, it’s quite common that for a lot of people owning a home is their aspiration when they want to get onto the property ladder. But renting is of course, a common alternative for those individuals who might not be in a position to buy. And also if you are coming onto the ladder, for a lot of people they might have the perception that buying is better than renting, but everything has its pros and cons and everyone’s motivations for moving and circumstances are different.
So with those things in mind, what are the common reasons why some people may not be able to buy or why renting might be a good alternative? And then what would we say are some of the benefits of renting over buying?
Sophie Durkin: Yeah, I’m happy to, to jump in on that one. I think that completely buying is a big dream for lots of people, but there are some definite advantages to renting.
I think probably the big obvious one is the lack of upfront cost. You know, if you’re buying, you need to find a deposit in the thousands of pounds. So that’s a challenge. And with renting, you just need to get together your first month’s rent, a deposit. Actually, in some cases there are alternative options to deposits now and renting, so you may not need one at all.
So in short, lower barriers to entry, I suppose. And I think also just fewer costs when you’re living at the property. If you’re renting, if you own a property, you are completely responsible for any cost associated, any repair, any bit of maintenance that’s on you. Whereas if you’re renting, typically those costs are the landlord and it’s up to the landlord to arrange those repairs too so sort of takes all the stress and hassle away. And I think the last big point, which is often forgotten, is the flexibility that renting gives you. You’ve got that freedom. So you know if you get a job offer in Australia or you need to move across the country, or you just want to try a different part of London, you’ve got that opportunity.
Buying is a massive commitment that you’re gonna stay in that property, in that location in the long term.
Tayo Oguntonade: Yeah, I echo everything Sophie said. I suspect I’ll be echoing a lot that Sophie says. To add to that for myself, I think that one thing that people forget is that whilst buying your first home is a huge dream for a lot of people, it does take that long-term sacrifice, and sometimes people don’t have the affordability of having that time to make that sacrifice. I think that sometimes we forget that some people have to move now, they have to move next week or in three weeks time, and in most cases you can’t buy a property in that time.
So that’s where renting does provide that flexibility, like Sophie said. And I think it’s an important thing for people to be able to understand in order to be able to rent correctly as well.
Natasha Afxentiou: I think that’s a really good point there in terms of the flexibility, especially like you said, their Tayo, sometimes people have no control over when they need to move. If they need to move now, then those fear barriers to entry, like you mentioned Sophie, make renting a much better alternative. So it’s definitely something that should be considered, even though for many people they might think that buying is the ultimate goal, but actually you might find that renting suits you and your circumstance a lot better.
So the market itself, it can be quite a fast paced environment. So what are some of the key things that you’d say renters need to know about the rental market before they enter it?
Tayo Oguntonade: I think from my end, they need to know the documents they need that they should receive when renting a property. I think that’s super important.
There’s a lot of legislation behind that as well. So that includes things like gas safety certificate, electrical safety certificate, your EPC, your how to rent document, evidence that your deposit, if you have put one down, is in a deposit safety scheme. I think I missed out one or two, your tenancy agreement, you can’t forget that one! All of these documents are really, really important, and I think that for the comfort of the tenant as well, when you’re in the property, I think that it’s just very important to be as observational as you can throughout the process. And I mean that we’re dealing with a landlord or dealing with a letting agent, pay attention to things like communication because that can give you an indication of what communication’s gonna be like during the tenancy agreement. Pay attention to the upkeep of the property when you go on a viewing. Are there things that you can see that haven’t been tended to in a long time? And then you also need to have an idea of what questions to ask as well. As a landlord, and many landlords will say, one of the most common or most talked about problems is, the boiler breaking down. And sometimes it’s wise to ask questions about when was the last time a boiler was serviced. That gives an indication of a landlord that is making sure that the property is kept to the right standards and the appliances and the things that are in the property are regularly being looked at.
Natasha Afxentiou: Yeah, those are really good points because it’s not always just about the property and the place you’re gonna be living. It’s about the service that’s gonna come with that and all of the other things around it. Anything from you, Sophie?
Sophie Durkin: I mean, I completely agree with all of that. Compliance, understanding the process is really important. I think focusing on practical aspects, anything you might need to bear in mind to actually get out there and secure a property in this market. You referenced that it’s fast-paced, it absolutely is. You know, unfortunately we’re in a situation where the supply of rental properties is pretty low. Demand is high. That means it’s competitive. So, um, I think a couple of things to bear in mind; make sure you are ready to move that either you’ve given notice or you are in a flexible position, and that you’ve got funds available for that first month’s rent and deposit. And it’s important just to make yourself available if you can.
So if the right property comes up, clear your diary, you know, get out there in an evening or take a day off work, or, or a weekend just to make sure that you’re not missing out and, and be prepared to make a decision on the property that you like on that same day to avoid missing out. Those are just the realities of being in a competitive market.
So I think those are useful points.
Natasha Afxentiou: So going back slightly on a couple of bits that you mentioned at the start of your point, Tayo, you mentioned the documentation that you need to have ready when you are about to get started on the process, and I think that’s a really nice segway into something that I thought would be really key to mention as part of this episode, which is what the actual renting process involves.
So we’ve spoken before in this series about the buying process and what that entails and what it looks like from start to finish. So everything from getting your finances in order to, you know, applying for a mortgage, speaking to an estate agent, viewing the property and then making sure once you put an offer in and it’s accepted, you’ve then gotta go through conveyancing, et cetera, before you’ve actually got the keys.
So I think it’s really important to know the processes differ between buying and renting, and therefore there’ll be a different series of events that you’ll need to follow. So just so people that maybe haven’t rented before, or if they’ve bought but now want to go back into renting, just to give ’em a bit of an overview or a refresher, can we outline the process from start to finish?
Tayo Oguntonade: Yeah, absolutely. Sophie will probably do this a lot more justice than myself as probably a lot more involved in her day to day, but it all starts with a search right? I think there are a lot of similarities though between buying and renting in that you’d often deal with an estate agent when buying and you deal with a letting agent when renting effectively.
And I think that it’s quite similar in that you can start the search yourself when buying or you can speak to an estate agent. And I think that speaking to a letting agent when renting is a good way to start as well. A lot of people search online and then look for what their search gives them and goes to speak to the different letting agents. But sometimes you can actually start with a letting agent. Let them know what you are looking for and a lot of the time that can give you an early heads up on things that are coming to market. And like Sophie said, if you are ready to move and you are in the right financial space and you’ve handed in your notice, or you’re flexible, what happens then is that you are able to have that advantage in a fast paced market whereby when a property does come to market, you can act quite quickly and secure a property before all the bid wars happen right. After that, you’d go on your property viewings, you then make your rental application tenant referencing after that, which does involve getting references from previous landlords if you have rented it before, and then we’d go about getting your tenancy agreements and further documents. Security deposit would also be something that comes in and then inventory when you finally move in. And then we’d also go through all of those documents that I mentioned before, like the EPC, gas safety certificate, electrical safety certificate.
I dunno if I’ve missed anything.
Sophie Durkin: No, I think that’s a very comprehensive response. I think the only tiny detail that you missed is right to rent checks. So that’s just where you need to show your passport and any other relevant documents to, to the agent just to confirm that you’ve got the right to rent in the UK just as that’s a, a legal requirement these days.
But other than that, bang on, Tayo. Perfect answer.
Natasha Afxentiou: That was really helpful. So something you did mention there, Tayo, so it was something I was going to come onto in a bit anyway, but it was the idea of having your tenant reference if you have rented before. So a quick question, perhaps maybe for those who haven’t rented, would it put you at a disadvantage if you’ve never rented before?
What would be the case in terms of your referencing there? Would you still need to get tenant referencing or would you still be able to rent a property? And how would you go about overcoming that if you’ve not rented before, especially where the market is so fast, would it put you at a disadvantage to somebody who has those references that has rented before if you were going at a bit of a bidding war for a property?
Sophie Durkin: I would say not necessarily. Look, references are there, basically just to establish that, as far as we can tell, you’d be a good tenant. So a track record of renting is gonna help with proving that, but it’s not the be all and end all. So, you know, other references are important, so how stable is your employment?
Credit checks come into it, and if you can prove where you’ve been living up to there, it’s not necessarily a disadvantage. So the more you can build around your tenant profile, if you haven’t been renting, maybe give the landlord a bit of a paragraph about you and who you’re moving in with. And use it as an opportunity to reassure the landlord that you’re gonna look after the place, you’re gonna be great tenants, alongside the sort of official referencing that will happen in the background.
Natasha Afxentiou: So I guess the building of a report is really important, not only I suppose for securing the property, but going back to what you mentioned before Tayo, also for the relationship that you’ll then have throughout your actual tenancy as well.
So there, you mentioned Sophie, that you’d give the landlord that paragraph, would it depend sort of case by case, whether you are dealing directly with the landlord or if you are always dealing with the letting agent and that also leads me on to a point that I thought would be important to cover, which is what the differences are between what your landlord and letting agent is responsible for and how their roles differ in the process, and then also throughout the tenancy as well.
Sophie Durkin: So who you’ll deal with will depend. So you’ve got some landlords that will manage the entire process themselves. So they’ll advertise the property, they’ll do the viewings, they’ll do the sort of tenancy paperwork and manage the property. And in some cases a landlord will ask a letting agent to do some or all of that process, so you might be dealing with the letting agent from start to finish. So what that means is that once you move in, you will go to the letting agent directly to report any maintenance issues or anything else that might go on during the tenancy. The agent will be responsible for arranging contractors, repairing any issues, looking after safety inspection, certification, anything like that and so you really won’t deal with the landlord at all. I mean, ultimately the landlord is still gonna have the final say in terms of the decisions about the property. But letting agents are the experts. So you know, we are gonna be there to advise landlords of their responsibilities, make sure tenants are protected. We’ve got a duty of care towards tenants, so you’ll be in really safe hands with an agent or a landlord.
Natasha Afxentiou: So again, if we go back and touch on deposits, ’cause these are always a big thing that I think people think of when they’re buying or renting the deposit that you need to have ready at the start of the agreement is something to keep in mind. So when it comes to getting that deposit ready, is there sort of rule of thumb in terms of how much deposit you need? Do you need first month’s rent available? And also, I know you mentioned a little bit earlier on Sophie, that there are now also some alternatives to deposits, so if you’d be able to also shed light on what those are.
Sophie Durkin: Sure. So when you are renting, actually legally there is a cap on deposits. So you can only pay a maximum of five weeks rent as a security deposit unless your rent is over £50,000 a year, in which case the maximum is six weeks. So it might be that the landlord will last for a lower deposit, but they can’t ask for more than that. And yeah, as you mentioned that there, there are alternatives now. So typically you pay your deposit upfront. But alternative deposit schemes or deposit guarantees. Enable tenants to, rather than paying an upfront sum, pay a small monthly sum or subscription instead. So the landlord still get sustained protection as a normal upfront deposit, but it makes renting a lot more affordable for tenants because they don’t have to find that one, two, £3000 in a big lump sum before they start the tenancy on top of their first month’s rent.
Tayo Oguntonade: So I’m just gonna add to that, and I think that that’s something that’s really great because, like Sophie mentioned earlier, that what renting can offer people is it reduces the barrier to entry and quite often with your deposit being very, very similar, identical, maybe even sometimes more than your upfront month’s rent, that effectively doubles the financial commitment that you typically have to put down.
So this is where on our platform we often talk about is that in a lot of cases, education is as good as money because education can save you money. There are so many people out there that don’t know about these deposit alternatives and just like Sophie mentioned, just then, it can literally half the financial commitment when you are looking at properties and make renting a possibility for people who might have thought it might have been a lot more difficult otherwise.
Natasha Afxentiou: So as we come to the middle of the episode, I know we mentioned at the beginning what some of the main benefits are and some of the differences to buying, but if we had to summarise what the biggest key differences are between buying a property and then renting a property, so obviously we’ve talked about the flexibility, what would we say would be the main three key takeaways if somebody is in a position where they’re deciding, do I want to rent, do I want to buy?
Tayo Oguntonade: I can go for this one. So I’d say that the main three are upfront costs. So significantly lower upfront costs. You don’t need a deposit. You haven’t got to worry about stamp duty. You don’t have to worry about lender fees and solicitor fees, and all the other upfront costs that come into buying is significantly lower when you are renting a property. The second point I would say is that your ongoing maintenance is reduced significantly as well. It’s not your asset, so where you have things like someone who buys a home would have to be concerned about a roof leakage or potential of damp buildup that could cost thousands in the years to come, or floorboards that have got a water seeping into them, the endless problems that can come with home ownership for a renter, it’s not actually your asset, so that’s not something that you have to be concerned about. Per se, so it can provide a much more peaceful living situation as well. And I guess the final thing would be back to flexibility, because there’s not a huge amount of commitment when it comes to renting a property. You don’t sink deep roots. When it comes to buying and selling a property, it can take quite a while to actually sell a property, and you are subject to market fluctuations at the time. With renting, you can decide that there’s a new area that you wanna explore, and without much friction, you can make that move because of the flexibility that renting does offer.
Natasha Afxentiou: Thank you Tayo. Anything to add to those, Sophie?
Sophie Durkin: No, I think that’s, uh, a great top three.
Natasha Afxentiou: You’re listening to OnTheMove, the home moving podcast by OnTheMarket with me, your host, Natasha Afxentiou, and my guest this month, Sophie Durkin and Tayo Oguntanade. So far we’ve discussed what can be expected from the rental process as well as the benefits of renting. Moving on, we’ll be answering some common renting FAQs, shedding a light on what renters may wish they knew before they started their property journey.
Okay guys, so before we wrap up today’s episode, we asked our listeners to submit any renting questions that they had for you both, and we also asked current renters some of the things that they may wish they knew before they started moving just so we can help any prospective renters feel a little bit more prepared.
I’ll put some of these questions to you guys and if you’re happy to chime in and give your answers, that would be really helpful. So, first question, what are some good questions to ask a letting agent or a landlord when they’re showing you around a property and what should you be looking out for?
Sophie Durkin: I think one good question is just making sure you are clear what the property comes with.
So is it furnished or unfurnished? And what does that mean? Is furnished a bed and a sofa or is it, you know, down to knives and forks and you know, if it’s got a garden, is that private or is there any shared areas? And is the parking allocated, free for all? Just getting clarity on exactly what the property offers, and I think what you should look out for, maybe just any maintenance issues or signs of disrepair. Check that the landlord or agent that’s showing you around is aware of them for a start and what the plan is to resolve.
Natasha Afxentiou: Yeah, really good point. The last thing you wanna do is move in and then realise there’s no bed, there’s no sofa, then there’s no cutlery as well, so knowing what’s there and like what’s gonna be providing what you need to account for. Definitely really important question. So the next one, do you have any tips on how to make yourself stand out as a potential tenant when the property that you are interested in has a lot of demand and there’s competition when you can’t bid over the asking?
Tayo Oguntonade: I think just presenting yourself as best as possible is the best thing you can do here. And what I mean by that, I’m not talking about what you’re wearing, I’m talking about your documents and things like that um, when you’re providing like your bank statements, just make sure there’s no gaps in what the letting agent or the landlord is asking for.
And it’s exactly what they ask for, presenting correctly. And I think back to a point that Sophie made earlier. Sometimes even just telling a little story about yourself as well. Maybe mentioning that you’re looking to move with your family, you’ve been keen on the area for X amount of years. It just allows people to buy into you a lot more because, effectively the property business is a people business, right? People buy people, and that is an effective way to ensure that you are still considered when you’re not going over the asking price. I think the final thing to do as well, build a rapport with the letting agent where possible, and what I mean by that is picking up the phone and speaking to ’em about the property and just making sure that they do remember you and you do stand out in some way. I think that can definitely help to secure the property.
Natasha Afxentiou: Definitely, and even if you are unsuccessful in securing that particular property, like you said there, having that rapport with the letting agent will be something that’s totally priceless because if you can’t go over asking and then you are not successful for any other reason, then when things do come to the market or if the letting agent is aware of things that are about to come to the market before it may be goes then is advertised to the masses, they might think of you first and that’s a really good way to get your foot in the door early. So definitely a really good bit of advice there.
The next question is, how can you negotiate adding in break clauses and negotiating the tenancy length with your landlord? And are break clauses actually important and why would you want one?
Sophie Durkin: Okay, so break clauses are a benefit because they give flexibility. So they allow you to leave property with notice sooner than the end of the fixed term contract. But something to be aware of is that they work both ways. So a landlord could give notice, could use the break clause and give you notice as well as you being able to use it. So that might mean you leave sooner than you want to, so do bear that in mind. The other thing I would say is that landlords don’t usually prefer break clauses because more tenant turnover means more cost for them. There’s more wear and tear. There’s more admin costs, so usually they prefer offers without break clauses. So something just to bear in mind.
Natasha Afxentiou: Awesome. That’s super helpful. So next question, do you have any tips for splitting bills when you are living with friends and should they all be under one name or can you split the bills across the pair or the group you are living with?
Tayo Oguntonade: Reminds me of the joys of being a uni student that one. I think with this one in particular, communication’s key, verbally speak about what you’re doing, but I’m also a big fan of writing it down. Now when I say writing it down, it can be a Word document, it can be an e document. The purpose of that document isn’t for it to be legally binding in court right, it’s just to be able to manage expectations. It allows people to go back and say, look, this is our agreement, and that there’s that clear line of communication. When it comes to paying the bills, sometimes it can be a bit tricky when one person pays and they get the money from everybody else. That’s why quite often where possible, I’m a big fan of having a joint account for the expenses for the home that you’re renting. The reason being is that everybody is at the same financial risk, so that joint risk allows everybody to have that joint responsibility. Sometimes without risk, people feel that they don’t have the responsibility, so you’ve got that joint responsibility to make sure that everybody does pay on time. And then finally, there are some nice apps out there that can help with splitting your bills and help keep everything on track.
Natasha Afxentiou: So moving on to the next question. Do you have any tips for maintaining a good relationship with your landlord, especially when they’re being slow to fix things in your property?
Sophie Durkin: That’s a tricky one. I think on a basic level, a good relationship is just about being friendly, being polite, being a good communicator. You know, it’s in everyone’s interest, uh, to have a good relationship between tenant and landlord. I think if they’re being slow to fix things, trying not to let frustration get in the way. Ask them what the delay is. You know, do they need help with giving the contractor easy access to the property? Do they want you to wait in? You know, is there anything you can do to help things? But if it doesn’t get better, keep a record of conversations and take advice if you need to speak to Citizens Advice, Council websites have got a lot of really useful info on what to do if the landlord isn’t repairing the property.
Natasha Afxentiou: Next question. When you are looking for a property, how important is it to have a checklist of what you want and not cave in to the pressure of competition and worry about not finding something?
Tayo Oguntonade: I think these checklists are so, so important. I always say have a must have checklist and a wants checklist as well. Reason being is that I think the in property when renting went buying, there will be points where there needs to be an element of compromise.
So sometimes you may not get all of your wants, but I think getting your needs are important and your needs may be around the location because of your transport to work. Or maybe you’ve got kids and you need to be relatively close to the nursery. And your wants may be bay windows or something like that.
Basically something that adds to your experience but isn’t something that you definitely need. The next thing I’ll say as well is that when you are making these lists, make them at home. The reason why I say that is that when you’re on the viewings, it’s very, very easy to start making a U-turn on your lists and what your wants and needs are because you are in an emotional state and that’s where we get into situations where we may start over bidding basically. So do it in a relaxed state away from the hustle and bustle of the property industry. Write down your wants and needs and try to stick to that as much as possible.
Natasha Afxentiou: Really good advice. That’s one I’ll take away with me as well.
So next question, what should you look out for in the inventory and in the property when you first get the place?
Sophie Durkin: Um, so I would say well make sure you read the inventory, first of all. Um, make sure it’s correct that it actually does list everything that’s in the property and the condition is reflected accurately on the report.
So you’re normally given a week or two to check, um, add any queries or comments once you’ve got it. And once you’re in there, again, if you spot any maintenance issues or anything that you are worried about, then make sure to report it or query it. Ask what the plan is. And the last top tip, make sure you take meter readings ’cause that’s one thing that often gets forgotten and you’ll need them obviously to set up your bills and to make sure you are only paying for what you’ve actually used and not the previous tenants bills.
Natasha Afxentiou: Yeah, really helpful. So, next question, what is a rent guarantee?
Tayo Oguntonade: Rent guarantee is insurance that a landlord can take out to ensure that in an event that a tenant can’t pay, the insurance effectively ensures that the landlord does get their rent, and it can help landlords avoid voids in their rental receipts effectively.
Quite often with rent guarantees, schemes or policies, there are things that a landlord has to abide by and has to make sure is in place before they are eligible for those payouts, but that’s effectively what rent guarantee is.
Natasha Afxentiou: Now for the next question. We did touch on this briefly earlier on in the conversation when we spoke about deposits, but again, as a recap, one of the questions that came in is what is a deposit cap?
Sophie Durkin: Um, yeah, all, all that means is that you cannot pay more than five weeks rent towards a deposit other than where your rent is more than 50,000 a year and it’s six weeks. So if a landlord or agent asks you to pay more than that, well they can’t is the short answer.
Natasha Afxentiou: Thank you, Sophie. So next question, what can cause a delay in getting a tenancy agreed?
Tayo Oguntonade: I would say one of the biggest delays can be just as a result of incorrect document or missing document being provided effectively. I think that it’s very, very important to go through the referencing process when asked to make sure that you provide all the, all the information that’s required. And then on top of that, like Sophie mentioned, things like your right to rent. Make sure all of that information is provided as quickly as possible as this is where a lot of the delays can come from when getting a, a tenancy agreed.
Natasha Afxentiou: Okay. Next question. How much notice is typical to give if you want to leave a tenancy or does this vary between different agreements?
Sophie Durkin: So it does vary, it depends on the type of agreement. So if you have signed a, a fixed term, 12 month contract, for example, without a break clause, then you can’t give notice to leave before the end of that contract. And if you have a break clause, the break clause will tell you how much notice you need to give. So, normally that’s either one or two months notice. A landlord will always need to give you two month’s notice. If you are on a periodic contract, so that’s sometimes called a rolling contract. Often that happens when you’ve come to the end of your first year, your first fixed term, and no new contract signed.
It just automatically moves to a rolling contract. Then how much notice do you need to give? Depends on how you pay the rent. So if you pay the rent monthly, you need to give a month’s notice. Again, the landlord will need to give you two months notice.
Natasha Afxentiou: Awesome. All makes sense. So final question that came in.
What are red flags to look out for when you are viewing a property?
Tayo Oguntonade: There’s so many red flags that you could really be looking out for. But I think, I think the obvious damage, and I think signs of negligence is a really, really good one for people that are potentially renting. I think that everything that we see tells a story, right?
So you either make conclusions or you can ask the landlord or let, or the letting agent on the viewer when you see certain things. So if there is, um, I dunno, furniture that is basically wearing away you could ask like, why hasn’t that been replaced? Or maybe there’s like a, a washing machine that’s got brown water in it.
When was the last time that was serviced or when was the last time that was looked after? Be inquisitive and just make sure that you pay attention to everything. Also on the viewing, and I always say as well, do one view it sounds funny, but with your eyes, no phones or anything just so you don’t get distracted.
Then after that, ask let an agent or the landlord if you could do a video afterwards, that allows you to then review it in your own time, basically. So you may pick up things that you might have missed the first time.
Natasha Afxentiou: That’s a really good tip. Yeah, I think being present on that viewing is really key because sometimes you might get caught up, especially if you’re view a lot of properties, oh, lemme take a picture of the bedroom, or what’s the view like here?
Or how much storage space in the kitchen? So you can compare later on. And that can take away from being really present. And like you said, actually feeling the emotion of being there in that viewing and paying attention to the things that you need to really focus on like your needs and like your wants and then also asking the right questions. The last thing you want is to then think of a question later on, and then that puts a delay in getting that final tenancy agreement in place.
So that brings us quite nicely to the end of the episode, so thank you both for joining me today. You’ve given some really helpful insights.
Sophie Durkin: Most welcome, pleasure to be here. Thanks.
Tayo Oguntonade: Thank you.
Natasha Afxentiou: All that’s left for me to say to our listeners is thank you for joining us for this episode of OnTheMove. For access to our show notes and additional information on the topics that we’ve covered today, you can visit our blog at onthemarket.com. The end of this episode also marks the end of the first series of OnTheMove, so you can find all of our previous episodes on all of the major podcast platforms.
It’s been an absolute pleasure to sit down with all our guests and guide you through all things property, and I’m looking forward to covering even more topics soon in our next series. So thanks again for listening, and remember, if you’re looking to get on the move, get OnTheMarket.
