Searching for a suitable rental property
While searching for a rental property you’ll be looking for one that suits your needs and falls within your budget. Before the digital world came along, a tenant search would be restricted to scouring the rental section of newspapers, browsing the windows of local letting agents, driving around preferred streets in search of ‘for let’ signs, or simply asking friends and relatives if they know of any rental properties available. Today, things are a lot different as searching for a suitable rental property has never been easier or quicker.
Carrying out your search with the right tools and tactics is an important first step, but there are several other steps you can take to provide yourself with the best chance of securing a rental property that ticks every box for you.
Using online property portals
There’s no getting away from the fact that a staggeringly high percentage of property searches now take place online, the majority of which are through the use of online property portals. These portals allow letting agents to list their inventory of rental properties turning them into a one-stop database containing all different types of currently available properties covering all streets, towns, cities and regions across the UK.
There are many portals to choose from, but some of the larger and more popular online property portals include Rightmove, Zoopla and OnTheMarket.
Besides allowing property seekers to narrow down their search by things such as price range, distance from post code or number of bedrooms, they also contain other useful features, such as property alerts. Opting to receive alerts when a certain property that matches all of your criteria becomes available means you’ll be one of the first to know. When the property market is in a competitive state, it’s important to give yourself the best chance possible of getting in there early.
Using a letting agent
Tenants also have the option of sourcing a rental property directly through a letting agent, rather than using a third-party portal. This can be particularly useful if you’ve already had a positive experience of using a particular letting agents services in the past and know that they have sound knowledge of the surrounding area. You could pop in for a chat about what you’re looking for or simply take a peak at the properties available for let in their window or on their website and social media channels.
As with portals, even if the letting agent doesn’t have any inventory that matches your criteria right now, they’ll be more than happy to alert you through mailing lists every time a potential property does become available - plus you’ll have the added bonus of knowing the recommendation is coming from a letting agent you’re already familiar with and in some cases you may find out about the property before it even hits the market.
Using private listings websites
Listings on these websites are often made directly from landlords or existing tenants who are soon vacating. They are often popular choices for those who are perhaps on a strict budget or just happen to be super sociable and are looking for house shares with other people.
They also tend to offer a wider range of tenancy lengths, so they can be useful for tenants looking for short-term agreements that are shorter than the usual 6 or 12 month contracts.
With all of that said, tenants using private listing websites should do so with caution as they can attract rental scams and are typically a bit more of a diy approach from landlords, meaning the professionalism may not always be as you’d expect when compared to dealing with seasoned letting agents. Before agreeing to send or pay any money or attend any viewings, do plenty of background research so that you can be sure the property listing is genuine.
Looking for the perfect rental property in Cardiff? If so, our lettings team are here to help. Get in touch with us today to discuss your needs and to see if we have anything suitable for you by calling 02920 668585, e-mailing enquiries@cpshomes.co.uk of by dropping into one of our three branches.
