A delicate issue

[stargirl04]

Hi, I am due to move into a friend's flat in 4 to 8 weeks' time - a week ago I agreed to rent it from her without having seen it first. Which sadly was a mistake.

She's bought it as an investment and I need somewhere to live pretty sharpish. I need to be out of where I'm currently living by mid Sept. The sale is going through now and she expects to complete the sale within four to eight weeks. But she has also warned me that if it costs her more than a certain amount to extend the lease then the sale is off.

I assumed that I would like the flat and it hadn't entered my head that I wouldn't - I'd seen it on Rightmove and although it is small, it looked clean, modern and decent, but there was no picture of the bedroom.

Also, I thought - if my friend liked it then I will as I know that appearances are important to her.

However, when the tenant let me in tonight to see the place, I was distinctly underwhelmed. It wasn't looking its best as the tenant is untidy but the flat was small and dingey, the decor was kind of dowdy, a bit shabby and depressing, and there was NO storage space at all. A big negative as I have a lot of stuff.

The bedroom was very small - the current tenant had a double bed in there but there was not really room for a wardrobe, so he had only a clothes rail and a chest of drawers.

I want to buy a kingsize bed (as I am not exactly skinny and neither is any bloke I go out with!) but I would be hard pushed to get a king size in there.

The living room is small (14 x 10ft) and I would not be able to get a dining table in there, and the kitchen, which the lounge looks into, is very small also.

Also, I was hoping i could keep my bicycle in the hallway but that is too small.

Rents in London are steep - £1,000-plus a month for a 1-bed in a cheap (not trendy) area. And I don't earn much.

My friend had agreed to rent it to me for 750 a month and the tenant told me the bills came to 300 a month (inc council tax after single person's discount), meaning I would be paying out £1050 p/m.

I would be happy to pay that for a place I like but not for one I'm not that keen on. The main attraction is that I would not have to sign a contract or pay a deposit. I want somewhere to stay while I look for something to buy (again a challenge in London on my paltry budget).

I have decided though that I would rather flatshare (which is what I do now), even though I hate it, because at least I won't be forking out a large amount of money for a place I don't particularly like. And I can continue to save for a deposit.

The thing is - i don't want to offend my friend by saying I don't like her flat - and reneging on our agreement, although nothing was in writing - I don't want to lose her friendship.

Any ideas? Thanks for reading.

[purplewithred]

Take a deep breath and tell her ASAP, the sooner the better. She may well be perfectly happy to find a commercial tenant. Say you realise you can't really afford it and want to give her as much notice as possible. And apologise. And never buy a pig in a poke again.

[bookishandblondish]

Umm I think you will struggle to get what you want at your budget. The reality is London flats don't tend to have storage and bigger rooms will get better rents. I'm paying just over 1200 for a two bed in zone three and I'll only just get a king size & wardrobes into the main bedroom ( I use the other bedroom as a multi purpose). My current flat will go on the market at over 2k for a decent sized two bed.
Dingy - paint. Bear in mind you have your stuff rather than the current tenant so will look different - my current flat looked like a squalid squat when I viewed it.

[bookishandblondish]

Just read you plan to flat share - just tell your friend you don't think you can manage it financially as irs too tight wih bills increasing and don't want to put your relationship at risk

[formicadinosaur]

Just tell her now that you need to go for a cheaper flat share option. Although her flexibility really works round your house buying plan.

[stargirl0412]

Hi, just wanted to say a big thanks to the folks who gave me advice on here. The matter is now settled. I took a couple of days to really think it through and even went back for a second viewing, which confirmed my initial reaction.

I basically told her the truth - that it wasn't for me. When she asked me why I said that it was because it didn't quite have the space I needed, which was true.

And to quote purplewithred - I will never buy a pig in a poke again! This was a big lesson for me. Thanks all.

[poocatcherchampion]

was she OK about it?

[stargirl0412]

Hi Poocatcher (love the name!) - she reacted in a much better way than I thought she would and seemed entirely reasonable about it.

However, she may reflect on it in coming days and feel angry - one never knows.

I do hope our friendship will survive it as she is a lovely, funny, intelligent girl and we talk non-stop about everything under the sun, usually.