How hot is the rental market in SW London?

[FrogInASock]

What’s the market like right now? I’m moving back from abroad and need to find a lease. I see lots of properties on rightmove, but how current are the listings? If it’s fast moving I’m imagining I need to get an Airbnb, be on the ground to do viewings and offer on the spot. Would there be any benefit in trawling rightmove and contacting agents 2 months ahead of arrival?

White hot poker hot

Lack of supply, rocketing prices, people signing up to properties without actually seeing them etc etc

@VanCleefArpels Thanks. That helps manage my expectations.

Sorry to say that a lot of rentals on Rightmove are ghost properties. They leave them on long after they have been rented to look more attractive to future clients.

DS was flat-hunting more centrally a few months ago and his GF has just found somewhere with her friends - the market is horrible. Tons of viewings, landlords being very choosy, lots of people viewing and then offering perhaps several hundreds of pounds more to secure the place, people offering without even viewing. I'm not sure how people are expected to manage in a market like this!

@KievLoverTwo thanks - I suspected that was the case. Sounds like it might be a waste of time to invest too much in trawling the site.

It’s ridiculous. I have a relative currently trying to find somewhere in that area.

If it is anything like SE London then it is fast moving and difficult. People are offering over the rental price just to secure a property. My DD and her OH have just moved into a flat but the process was brutal.

It is truly brutal. We were pretty much told by the agent to offer as much as possible over the asking rent plus we are paying six months’ rent upfront. I honestly don’t think we would have got it otherwise. It’s mad.

This is SW London.

Expensive. Awful processes. Some shitty landlords. Estate Agents doing open days for small 1 bedroom flats and inviting bids....

ouch. This sounds like it’s going to be very painful. Is this sort of thing happening all over or is it particularly difficult in SW London?

It’s all over as far as I can tell. We wanted to rent in SE and only ended up in SW because we had to take whatever we could get.

@FrogInASock one other thing to bear in mind - assuming you don’t have a UK credit record - you may find that as a result you will not pass typical landlord background checks so may be required to either pay upfront in a lump sum and/or provide a suitable Guarantor. I’m a landlord and have required this from tenants. It’s nothing personal: landlord insurance often requires tenants to have passed financial checking in order to be valid, that’s why landlords ask this.

@VanCleefArpels thanks for the heads up. We had anticipated having to pay a chunk upfront. We won’t have a credit history, or indeed any standard proof of income. Although we have assets in property abroad and investments. So that will make us either totally undesirable (compliance wise) or desirable (paid up in front).

Yes you may find like international students that you will have to pay the 6-12 months rent upfront

@Spirallingdownwards 12 months!!! Shit.

This is starting to feel more like I should take a short term fixed let - 3-4 months and then take a hit on the inconvenience of having to move again. Friends in similar circumstances had to pay 6 months up front in North London. But that was nearly 2 years ago now. It is sounding like it’s got worse. Especially if as a previous poster mentioned that folk with a credit history in the UK are having to bid over asking and still offer a lump up front.

I am also a landlord with a property I'd like to sell in Hounslow Borough. I decided to let it one more time to wait for the sales market to pick up. I had 13 viewings on the day it went on the market and 5 offers, all at the asking price.

As someone earlier said, the rental market is white hot.

@HappiestSleeping Thanks for that info. Good time to be a landlord I guess!

What criteria did you use for deciding which of the 5 at asking price to accept? I’m wondering what else I can do to make my case look attractive alongside all this competition.

I was told three things: (1) offer over asking (2) pay a chunk upfront (3) say you want a long-term tenancy agreement (at least two years but preferably three). You mitigate the last point by adding a break clause.

What type of property are you actually looking for? 1 bed flat, 6 bed house? What criteria do you have? Garden, parking, transport etc? Because some property is harder to find than others.

@Scramblelina thanks for asking and I thought size might matter. I’ll be looking for a 3 bedroom property. For 2 adults and one primary aged child. We need the 3rd bedroom for a home office/breakaway space. We’ve already tried balancing both adults working from home in an open plan 2 bed and it didn’t work. We’ll kill each other. Garden would be a bonus, parking not required but we would rely on transport/Ubers. And it doesn’t need to be a house. Apartment living is fine.

Do you think that’s at the easier or harder end of the spectrum to compete?

ate you wedded to SW London or could you consider a commute?

@VanCleefArpels given all the updates posters have kindly given, I think I have to consider a commute! We don’t need to live in the thick of it - that was more a preference for familiarity, and also less likely to need a car straight away.

What kind of budget do you have? Also, SW London covers a vast area from Knightsbridge/Chelsea to Colliers Wood/Mitcham. I know a couple of places that friends are looking to rent it but they’re fairly pricey albeit gorgeous. You might want to look at openrent website where the owner is renting directly.

Be careful with Openrent.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-66846416