Don't know what to do!

[nappyaddict]

Just got DS into my first choice school which is about 20 minutes walk from where we live (40 minutes at DS' pace). Have been looking for a house to rent in the area for months but haven't found anything that will accept housing benefit. I have finally found one but it takes me 30 minutes to walk it at a rushed pace so I don't even want to think about how long it will take DS. He has got a scooter and a bike but he is even slower on them than walking as he lacks confidence.

The house is perfect size. (New gally kitchen - small but the flip up tv under the cabinet makes up for it as I love to watch tv whilst I cook , dining room/study, living room, 2 bed rooms and small box room which I would use as a playroom.)

Garden is a bit smaller than I would have liked as landlady has cut it in half and got a vegetable patch there

It is very dated, probably 70s decor. None of the furniture I want to buy will look right in their rooms. Furniture, carpets and decor looking very worn and tired too.

It's got a brand new bathroom but it is downstairs. I wouldn't mind a downstairs bathroom if there was a toilet upstairs I think. The stairs are incredibly steep being a terraced house and I don't fancy coming downstairs in the middle of the night for a wee TBH.

No drive but should be able to get a disabled space on the road through council.

On a quiet residential street but opposite a pub.

sounds like you are not keen and the cons outweight the pros.. the school run is twice a day, at least half an hour there and half an hour back.. you don't sound keen

if you need a disabled space, am guessing your DS has mobility issues? another reason a downstairs b athroom and steep stairs might not be great

and opposite a pub would , for me, be a great reason not to go for it, there will be gaggles of people outside smoking all year round and lots more when teh weather is good

Doesn't sound perfect for you but if rental market anything like it is here, I imagine you don't have much choice

Is there much chance of the landlady improving carpets/decor? Perhaps if it is a long term rent she might consider for good tenants.

Pubs can be fine but as lulumaam said - the smoking thing could be an issue. Might be worth finding out if there is a covered area out the back.

We had a veg patch in our rental when we moved in - landlord was quite happy that we grassed over it to make more space for the kids to play...

They have a beer garden so presumably smokers would go there? Have been passed both during the day time and at night and it was quiet but think it may have been after kicking out time. It looks a bit like an old man's pub TBH so don't think there would be much trouble or noise but I will check that out.

The 30 minute walk to school wouldn't bother me if DS could do it at that pace too. It is already 20/25 minutes from where we live now. But 40 minutes versus 60 minutes is quite a big difference. I suppose I need to do the walk with DS to see if it does take 60 minutes or not.

The thing is the price is quite cheap and I worry if I ask her to paint it all (even though I would only want white or cream so should get the paint quite cheap) she will increase the rent. I was going to see if I could just rip the carpet up but I don't know if you can do that without doing anything to the floorboards afterwards?

Also if lots of people are interested she's not going to want the tenant making all the demands is she. But then if I wait until I've already got it she might not agree anyway and then I'm stuck with it.

I'm in catch 22. If I don't take it then someone else will and nothing else might come up for ages. Or I could take it and something perfect come up next week.

Oh the vegetable patch is seperate to the garden. They have fenced it off and the landlady's DH uses it for his own use.

Just a thought, but have you approached any agents and asked if any of their advertising landlords will accept HB? It may be that there are landlords out there who would be flexible, especially if they have properties that have been vacant for a while. Also as you're a mum with a child you might be viewed differently (rightly or wrongly) and more positively than say a single man who they might think is more likely to run off and not pay the rent or not look after the property. If you haven't already had a chat with a few of the letting agents it might be worth a try. I think a lot of the time (speaking as a sort of landlord myself - we have been renting out our old house since we moved away, we're not property tycoons!) the agents just tell you to put 'no DSS, no children, no pets' when the landlords themselves don't actually care. Most of the rental properties near us carry all of these restrictions but our tenant has a young child and we couldn't care less if she got a pet as she is reliable, pays her rent and keeps the house immaculate. So you never know unless you ask - don't just rely on the advert saying that HB is accepted.

Yes even when I see a house I like that says No DSS I still ask the agent if the landlord might be flexible and they always say no.

When you advertised your property did it say No DSS, no children, no pets?

The house I have seen doesn't say No DSS on the advert but I am a bit scared to ask in case it's an oversight. Would it be so bad if I don't mention I am on housing benefit? It will go directly to me to pay the landlord with.

I think our advert said 'enquire on pets' and that was it, because we were advised to take a higher deposit to cover carpet cleaning if we got someone with a dog. I don't think it mentioned DSS or children but it's a long time since it has been advertised as our tenant has lived there for over 3 years now.

I would think if they want to know if you are on HB then they'll ask. So if they don't ask, why tell?

That's what I thought. My friend said even if a property says No DSS just not to say anything but I don't know if I feel right doing that?