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Do any of these rentals sound ok?

5 replies

Firefumes · 06/12/2025 14:36

I’m in my 20s and rent alone in London. I have a high spec one bedroom apartment where my rent is slightly less than one week’s salary & I’m able to save. I work remotely. I mainly wanted another bedroom for guests/home office - but not sure if I should just stay put and save. It’s quite small - I have a lot of books but literally nowhere to add a bookcase for example. My desk is my dining table.

I viewed another apartment in the same building yesterday. It’s £350 more per month for 2 beds, 2 bathrooms, walk in wardrobes, storage room and small open plan living area. It’s the apartment directly next to mine, I viewed it the day after my neighbours moved out and it was a state. They were terrible, filthy neighbours. The agency will clean the property between tenants but the furniture would stay - and main downside is having to use the same furniture as gross neighbours. I’d have to put that furniture in storage at my own cost. Am I being silly to write the apartment off because of that? It’s otherwise fine for my needs although slightly overpriced.

The other place I viewed is £300 more per month. It’s a small townhouse, smaller than the 2 bed apartment. Downstairs the front door opens into a living room, separate kitchen, upstairs there’s 2 small bedrooms and a bathroom. Building is very old but landlord recently renovated. The key downside is the landlord would live next door, and he seemed overly invested in the property and the tenant moving in. Again not sure if this is a valid reason to write the place off…

OP posts:
NuffSaidSam · 06/12/2025 14:38

Neither sound great.

For the first one I would insist on new furniture. If they don't provide that then don't take it.

The second one could be hard work, but tbh if you're a good tenant then having an involved landlord next door is not necessarily a bad thing. Are you able to speak to the previous tenants?

Firefumes · 07/12/2025 16:37

Thanks. I doubt they would change the furniture, the agent was saying how removing it would be too much effort let alone removing & replacing. I’ll just have to keep an eye out for unfurnished.

I’m really stuck between saving and upsizing. I’m in a sweet spot at the moment with my bills only being about 30% of my monthly income, if that. So I’m able to save a fair bit even whilst living somewhere nice in London. I think it would still take years before I save a house deposit so it’s what to do in the interim, I guess.

OP posts:
Firefumes · 07/12/2025 16:44

Also with the landlord living next door, I slept on it and I don’t feel comfortable with it. I don’t intend to do anything bad, I just wouldn’t want him monitoring my comings and goings, or who I have over. He has security cameras outside & Ring doorbells on each door which he would give the tenant access to whilst maintaining control of himself. I’d rather get my own security cameras that I have sole access of, instead of triggering the landlord’s every time I have a guest over or accept a delivery etc. And that’s without the IRL curtain twitching.

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LIZS · 07/12/2025 17:40

What makes you think the furniture needs to be put in storage. Presumably it would be cleaned or replaced, if it is dirty, or you could arrange to do so yourself?

Firefumes · 08/12/2025 05:00

LIZS · 07/12/2025 17:40

What makes you think the furniture needs to be put in storage. Presumably it would be cleaned or replaced, if it is dirty, or you could arrange to do so yourself?

It’s just basic quality of life. I was shown the property before it was cleaned. The people who lived there before were tenants from hell, when I went in for the viewing there were stains covering every wall, cupboard doors taken off, curtain rails broken, dirty furniture. It’s a new build and they were the only people to live there.

Beyond that, I have my own furniture and a high enough income to buy anything I need. I just want more space, not random shit furniture. The included furniture is cheap, or uncomfortable eg buying my own mattress is obviously preferable to using the same one the animals before had.

I wouldn’t be looking to place all that random crap in storage myself - I would just move on.

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