How Many Should We See?

When looking to rent a property, it is natural to want to see as many properties as possible before making the "right" choice and common sense dictates that you should view a handful of alternatives before deciding which to rent.

Our job as professional letting agents is to help tenants make decisions that are genuinely in their best interests, which, without our assistance, they might have had difficulty making. So here are some pointers for those who might be struggling to balance the merits of No.33 with its new kitchen against No.16, with the better garden.

First, there is a place for instinct and sometimes the heart should be allowed to influence, if not rule, the head. This is a home after all. Ask yourself the obvious question, "could I be happy here?"

However, sometimes you need your head to agree with your heart. Is your favoured property a significant improvement on where you already live, or are you just being bowled over by a smart exterior or fashionable lighting?

Weigh up the important aspects of life – commuting time, school run, parking, entertaining space (although do you really entertain that much?) Satisfy these first before allowing the view or the extra storage space to sway you away from your reason for moving.

Finally, you can bet your bottom dollar that if you instinctively like a particular property, other tenants will as well. We usually find that a property that fills most people's basic needs, as opposed to their wants, will let very quickly. The more you see, the more difficult it becomes to make a decision at all. So our advice is: decide your minimum criteria with your head and once these are satisfied in a property, let your heart take it from there. Happy hunting!

© Copyright 2021 Richard Rawlings except as excluded under licence.