Maybe moving to London.....are rents negotiable?

[Ali2202]

Hi All,

Wife and I are considering basing ourselves in London for a few years. Kensington/Notting Hill area. There appears to be loads of nice period property available for rent and I wondered if there is an active culture of negotiation on Rental costs? We'd like a nice 2 bedroomed period apartment for a max of £2K per month but the start point seems to be £750-£800 per week.

Anyone have any recent experience relative to this?

Cheers,

Ali

[davepoth]

So you want to move to the most desirable part of the most desirable city in the world, but you want a 1/3 reduction on the rent? It's not going to happen.

[fulham911club]

Are rents negotiable? Yes.

Are they negotiable down to the level you want to pay? No.

Even offering to pay a year in advance isn't going to get you a 40% discount.

If you only have £2k per month max then look in a different area.

[Ali2202]

davepoth said:

So you want to move to the most desirable part of the most desirable city in the world, but you want a 1/3 reduction on the rent? It's not going to happen.

So you have no experience on the issue then? Is that what you're saying?

There are a LOT of rental properties lying EMPTY not generating ANY income from what I can see on Rightmove. So the question remains valid...If we offer a figure of £2K per Month (versus the big fat zero they are currently getting) and commit to that for 2 years minimum, does the culture exist where that might be accepted? Or are the owners all Powerfully Built Company Directors etc. with no need for the cash?

[andy ted]

Ali2202 said:

So you have no experience on the issue then? Is that what you're saying?

There are a LOT of rental properties lying EMPTY not generating ANY income from what I can see on Rightmove. So the question remains valid...If we offer a figure of £2K per Month (versus the big fat zero they are currently getting) and commit to that for 2 years minimum, does the culture exist where that might be accepted? Or are the owners all Powerfully Built Company Directors etc. with no need for the cash?

Have you spoken to any of the agents yet? From my experience, most of the property on Right Move will have gone before it even made it to be advertised. I can't remember the exact figures but rental is oversubscribed massively in London, though maybe less so for the type of properties you are talking about.

[Bluebarge]

Ali2202 said:

So you have no experience on the issue then? Is that what you're saying?

There are a LOT of rental properties lying EMPTY not generating ANY income from what I can see on Rightmove. So the question remains valid...If we offer a figure of £2K per Month (versus the big fat zero they are currently getting) and commit to that for 2 years minimum, does the culture exist where that might be accepted? Or are the owners all Powerfully Built Company Directors etc. with no need for the cash?

Why would they commit to a massive discount for 2 years when they could have 4 different tenants in that time, most of them paying market rent? London has lots of finance professionals, students from wealthy European families etc moving in and out all the time - there's no recession in the London property market, quite the opposite - every time one of the PIIGS wobble, in comes another wave of cash seeking a safe haven.

Try a different area - there are some great flats in the Barbican - bang in the City of London - quiet when you want it but plenty of bars and restaurants on the doorstep, walking distance to 2 large supermarkets - nice communal gardens and lake with keyholder access only, theatre and cinema on your doorstep, walking distance to Smithfield for bars and restaurants, 30 minutes walk to the West End, v.low crime area, no riff-raff, parking available for residents in secure car parks from the Corporation of London and you can always get a taxi as cabbies know there is always a fare in the City or will cross it on their way back home to Essex. There's a 2-bed flat in Andrewes House in your budget with these people:
http://www.frankharris.co.uk/property-to-rent-cent...

[Riff Raff]

Bluebarge said:

Why would they commit to a massive discount for 2 years when they could have 4 different tenants in that time, most of them paying market rent? London has lots of finance professionals, students from wealthy European families etc moving in and out all the time - there's no recession in the London property market, quite the opposite - every time one of the PIIGS wobble, in comes another wave of cash seeking a safe haven.

Try a different area - there are some great flats in the Barbican - bang in the City of London - quiet when you want it but plenty of bars and restaurants on the doorstep, walking distance to 2 large supermarkets - nice communal gardens and lake with keyholder access only, theatre and cinema on your doorstep, walking distance to Smithfield for bars and restaurants, 30 minutes walk to the West End, v.low crime area, no riff-raff, parking available for residents in secure car parks from the Corporation of London and you can always get a taxi as cabbies know there is always a fare in the City or will cross it on their way back home to Essex. There's a 2-bed flat in Andrewes House in your budget with these people:
http://www.frankharris.co.uk/property-to-rent-cent...

I've always liked the Barbican too, but I'm a child of the 60's and am a big fan of the Brutalist school of architecture.

How did you know I don't live there any more?

[Ali2202]

Cheers Chaps,

I've spent the last hour calling around Rental Agencies to enquire further. Thought it prudent to advise what our budget was from the off and as you might expect there's been a lot of sucking of teeth and comments of 'most unlikely'. However, just had a call back from 1 who inferred that if we were willing to sign a lease for 2 years minimum then she could 'probably' offer a choice of 2 property's that should meet our requirement in the Notting Hill area (unfurnished...which suits).

Interesting!

[jdw1234]

Ali2202 said:

Cheers Chaps,

I've spent the last hour calling around Rental Agencies to enquire further. Thought it prudent to advise what our budget was from the off and as you might expect there's been a lot of sucking of teeth and comments of 'most unlikely'. However, just had a call back from 1 who inferred that if we were willing to sign a lease for 2 years minimum then she could 'probably' offer a choice of 2 property's that should meet our requirement in the Notting Hill area (unfurnished...which suits).

Interesting!

Check what they class as Notting Hill!!!

Don't expect to see Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant at the North End of Ladbroke Grove.

[scotal]

Ali2202 said:

Notting Hill area

I hope you find what you are looking for, have you done plenty of homework on the Notting Hill "area" ?

[Bluebarge]

Riff Raff said:

I've always liked the Barbican too, but I'm a child of the 60's and am a big fan of the Brutalist school of architecture.

How did you know I don't live there any more?

House prices have gone up

[Bluebarge]

Are you sure you want to commit to 2 years from the outset? - you might have problem neighbours, a landlord who never fixes anything, unexpected street crime or a change in your personal circumstances - any of which you wouldn't know about when you picked up the keys. Since you don't seem to know much about London, I'd say you're taking a huge risk. Start with 6 months, then see.

[alex_rsa]

Hi there,

My wife finds rental propeties for corporate clients in a similar area. There is very little movement in the rental value but you may get some items included if you sign a long-term lease (crockery, bedding etc).

As has been said before you are trying to find a desirable property in a desirable area. The best properties never even make it onto RightMove and even at this price level expect to make an offer when you walk out of the viewing, if you wait overnight the chance is it will go.

Any property that is available with a discount is likely to have issues and most probably you Notting Hill post code will be Shpehards Bush.

Good luck.

Alex

[Ken Sington]

You may get £50 - £100 a week off, but unlikely that it will be much more.

[Wombat3]

Ali2202 said:

Cheers Chaps,

I've spent the last hour calling around Rental Agencies to enquire further. Thought it prudent to advise what our budget was from the off and as you might expect there's been a lot of sucking of teeth and comments of 'most unlikely'. However, just had a call back from 1 who inferred that if we were willing to sign a lease for 2 years minimum then she could 'probably' offer a choice of 2 property's that should meet our requirement in the Notting Hill area (unfurnished...which suits).

Interesting!

Until you find they're on the all saints road or smack up against the A40 flyover. Suggest you get addresses and gooogle map/streetview them before bothering to go & look. the "Notting Hill area" can cover a multitude of sins!

[Murph7355]

As others have said, check the areas very carefully first. Postcodes hide a multitude of sins.

To your original point, in the past it wasn't totally impossible to negotiate big discounts (12yrs ago I managed a massive discount on a place next to Tower Bridge). But what you're expecting is likely to be very difficult at the moment. You will need to find somewhere that has been vacant for a while with a decent estate agent, and with things how they currently are anything that falls into that category will likely be "sub-optimal"!

Why are you set on Kensington/Notting Hill? I looked up there once and was shown some utter ste that the young estate agent lady thought was superb. Mate of mine had a beautiful house up there, but financially wouldn't be in the same universe as 2k a month. And there was no parking. And the surrounding areas were "tired". And despite having lived in and around London for 19yrs I wouldn't want my wife walking around there in the dark (and not just for fear she might mug someone ).

[jke11y]

It has been mostly said before, but even in outlying areas £2k a month will not get much that is not without some drawback (I have viewed a lot of property in the last 2 years).

We paid just over your pcm budget and for a 2bed conversion in West Hampstead. 99% of what I called about from Rightmove / Gumtree had gone, and the stuff I did see that was decent had people offering over value and full term payments in advance.

[Miguel Alvarez]

I've spent a lot of time in that whole Bush, Grove, NH, Latimer, Mozart area and where as I feel comfortable in any of the estates and side roads it is not "Notting Hill" with Julia Roberts in the slightest. Not saying it's a bad area but you do need to be fairly clued up in certain areas. I'd definitely advise doing a visit to the areas the estate agent mentions first before committing to anything.

[RC944]

decide whats more important first and then decide; location or budget. if location then forget it unless you want to up your budget

if budget then youll get something decent enough around in E or SE in zone 2/3

[Dr Interceptor]

You're better off looking elsewhere... there's currently a huge lack of rental properties in London and the surrounding areas. Even out here, I just let a house in Sandhurst 3 days after informing the agents it was available. Viewed last Saturday, move in tomorrow.

For landlords at the minute the market is excellent, fast turnarounds, long lets - just what we all like

So, you may need to look further out, and travel in.