No... it's not porn, and it's not a discussion that most kids will be able to participate in (which will become obvious in just a momment...)

I'm in the process of getting my first place of my own. It's a shared house, which for anyone reading that have no idea what that is... it's a house that multiple people live in. HOWEVER, it's not just a regular house and we are like a family that just HAVE to get along. It's split into usually 4 - 6 bedrooms and then there's usually a kitchen that everyone shares. My new place has 6 bedrooms, each with an ensuite (no other toilets / bathrooms, so really they're considered toilets / bathrooms...) and there's 3 kitchens (two are private and one is for all, so essentially me and three other people will be sharing one kitchen)

So the reason this is for adults, is because i'm asking anyone else on SEN who's either LOOKING (seriously looking, like you have an income and are actually looking on the market) or HAVE your own place. Be it a flat... a house... a shared house... anything that you personally own or are looking to own.

Now the reason i'm asking this is because I was hoping you could shed some light on what I should look for as I get more serious about it. Right now i'm paying 280 pounds a month, which on google translates to 495.63 Canadian dollars, each month. What are you paying? What should I look out for so I don't get scammed? Are there any legal issues I should know about? Anything that can either help me out... or anyone else looking on here...

Are you splitting rent? If so, 1980.52 a month may be a bit high for your first place on your own, but it's pretty damn reasonable for a 6 bed, 6 bath, 3 kitchen house.

I'm looking in the sense that I'm not going to be living at home in Uni.

I would prefer a temporary apartment than a shared house. I'm not sure if they raise the price in the United Kingdom for multiple occupancy.

Wait, you are going into this house to own it and you are the one that will be renting it out to other people?
You are paying 280 pounds for what then?

Imo, if you're going to be paying that much for a shared house, go pay that much for your own apartment. It'd be like the bedroom and kitchen you'd have in the shared house, except you wouldn't share a kitchen and it wouldn't be a house. But then again I like to be independent, don't trust other people to come up with rent $, don't trust people to keep things clean, etc.

Bum off other peoples houses for as long as you can, it is the cheapest route. (Family, Friends, nerdy people that are desperate for friends, homeless shelters, ect.)
It works I tell you.

Oh god the nerdy reference made me ROTF

I don`t think some of you quite grasp the concept of a shared house... we do not split the rent 6 ways. The house is split into 6 bedrooms / bathrooms and four of us are using the same kitchen. my door is locked so noone can go in. it essentially is an apartment but costs less. it is 320 pounds a month and that includes all bills. So tv liscence, broadband, gas, electric, water, heating. where as a normal apartment would be a tad bit more money rent and bills excluded... also Rantent, i did that

If you mooch off people's food it might be worth it.

Is the price raised for multiple occupancy?

That's a pretty good deal then if it includes all bills, and if your flatmates aren't dicks.

I'm gonna say too high.

Everything is too high in UK.

Most of Europe has ridiculous taxes, but you get many benifits from those taxes. Healthcare and education are among the few. I suppose it would be reasonable but what you have to account is...

What is the level of service (do your utilities suck?)
Flat-mate happiness (Are they dumbasses?)

And other general stuff.

I am living in my own apartment with 3 other guys. We have a 4/4 (4 bedrooms, 4 baths) and we each pay $595 US dollars a month. This includes cable, internet, parking (we all go to college) but we have to pay for the electricity and water.

Price is IMO of the least important thing to consider. I think the three most important things to look for are: 1) Conditions of the house, 2) Surrounding environment and third and most importantly 3) Who the landlord/managers are

1) is important because this is afterall what you are going to be living in... For young people such as college students or something, you have to make sure that this house or whatever is going to be suitable for whatever you'll be doing with your life. Are you going to have parties in it? Study? Tendencies are when houses are just newly built, they may have some design flaws or the quality won't be great as the construction may have been rushed to meet a deadline or something. And if the walls are hollow, it'll be hard to have a quiet environment especially if one of your housemates snores. If the realtors or whatever offer you this place for a price, make sure that you are not getting ripped off for untold or unforeseen damages.

2) is important particularly if you plan on staying in your house for some time each day. If this house is in party central, it's going to get loud at night. I think this is quite an obvious issue but it's really important to me that is. I know some places where every day people would walk outside and find puke all over their front steps or hallways.

3) This is the most important one. Based on personal experience, some realtors and landlords are complete and utter jackasses. They may charge you extra money for damages you've never done or realized, they can be inconsiderate and not care about their customer's needs, and some can be lying hideous people who leave out important info just so that they can get their money; even if you throw trash into the wrong bins they will charge you money. They are your typical business major people; they can manipulate people into signing for a piece of property while not letting you know about some important information (like hidden costs and/or other things that must be known prior to living in a house or apartment).


Those are just some things to watch out for. Price range is the most easy thing to bargain or look for, but house conditions, surrounding environments, and management are things you have to truly be careful about.

I pay 210 (not including bills) but the conditions are not as good as yours.

I was able to pay the water bills for 9 months in advance (about 250 pounds from the house where 5 people live in), and according to the little research I've done, that was cheaper than what I would have to pay. Gas and elictricity payments are laughably small (atleast in Cardiff). So after considering the bills, I'd say I pay about 220-225 a month.

Not to get scammed:

-When you arrive to check out the house, ask for the keys to your room and the house. Don't allow a situation when you go somewhere after the viewing and get the keys after the viewing, because there are cases when people are given keys that don't fit.

-There are two main documents you must sign: the inventory and the tenancy agreement. The inventory is the list of everything in the house and the conditions of the listed things. Make sure everything matches what you see - if you sign an inventory that has 'everything is in perfect condition' written in it when that's not true, the landlord will have the right to take away your deposit (or even more than that). I wrote this part assuming the teanancy laws are the same in all parts of the UK.

-Meet the landlord in person (I even asked mine to give me a lift from the railway station to the house). This implies that no payments are made until you meet him and nothing is signed until you meet him and see the house with your own eyes. The internet is only for getting in touch - never use it for money transfers or anything like that.

-The deposit may not be larger than the monthly payment, if memory serves. Not too sure on this one though, double-check this.

I met him the day I viewed the place. He said we will do the tenancy agreement later this month when i move in (on the day i move in) he's not mentioned inventory thingy... but I will keep that in mind. Will do on the keys making sure they fit etc... but other then that, thanks for the advice JaFF! Of all people !

This slightly bothers me. Why would you imply that my help is so... unexpected? Have I been mean to you without noticing it? If I have, my apologies.

Is porn included in the house?

They'll make their own porn.