30 Focus
PROPERTY
3 April 2015 East Kilbride Post
Fleeing The Nest? Find Your Footing
ARGUABLY one of the most crucial points in a young adult’s life is the transition from living at home with the ‘rents, to the big bad world of self-sufficiency.
The situation of young people going through these changes varies greatly with different degrees of help from their families.
Elaine Kelly
editorial@eastkilbridepost.co.uk
What to look for and what to ask when viewing a flat:
ll Check how well the property has been maintai- ned - look at gutters, win- dows, roofs
ll Check to see how the place is heated and how well insulated it looks - this will affect your bills
ll Run the taps, bath and shower, and flush the toilet. Do they all work? Ask to be shown that the heating and hot water works - and that windows open
ll How clean are com- mon areas - how often are they cleaned and by whom? How are any com- mon grounds maintained?
ll How close are the transport links? How close are other amenities, shops, etc?
ll Talk to existing tenants (if they are still there) and neighbours- ask what it is like to live there and what the landlord is like.
ll If the landlord will be looking after the mana- gement, asking if you can meet him
money
ESTABLISHING A BUD- GET IS YOUR PRIORITY. HERE IS A ROUGH IDEA OF THE COST OF LIVING ON YOUR OWN FOR ONE MONTH:
Rent: £350- £400 for a one bedroom flat Council Tax: approx. £85 Electricity/Gas: £60 Telephone: £30 Travel Costs: Bus pass £45-£57 Food: £120 Toiletries/Clothing: £40 TV Licence: £24
Total: £816
...And if there’s anything left then it’s yours to squander (or save!)
ll Ranging from the full- blown dinner making, clothes washing, weekly cleaning pa- rental support system to the independent young adults managing on their own. So what do you and your pa- rents and need to know be- fore the official leaving, or lo- vingly kicked out of the nest?
WHERE TO FIND A FLAT?
Trawling through newspa- per listings or in estate agent shop window might seem like a thing of a past but both can still be a viable options to find the right home for you. How- ever there is a vast amount of listings online and vario- us property websites such as Rightmove, S1 rentals or Zoopla. The decision you are abo- ut to make is huge and is ex- tremely daunting.Up until now, your parents have be- en the blown up armbands in the pool of life but all of a sud- den the arm bands are off and you can find yourself can- nonballing into adulthood. Often the water below looks choppy and uncertain but you will soon find that the independence is worthwhile and before long your parents will either be turning your be- droom into a new home gym or preserving every inch of it in an attempt to alleviate the symp- toms of empty nest syndrome.
LANDLORD VS. ESTATE AGENT
One of the first decisi- ons you will be faced with is the choice between priva- te lettings or renting throu- gh an estate agent? To a first time renter this may not
be the most pressing deci- sion but there are pros and cons to each method of ren- ting. Dealing directly with pri- vate landlords to find a pro- perty can be worrying. You'll have to meet and trust a to- tal stranger and landlords are unregulated so they don't ne- ed to be part of a profes- sional trade body or association. Lettings agents can offer gre- ater peace of mind and se- curity but the- re is often a fee that is atta- ched to this- one that many cannot afford when you are on a tight budget.
It can be difficult for a yo- ung person to find private accommodation because of their status. People who haven’t lived on their own before can fall short of so- me of the requirements that property owners set out for applicants, with some lan- dlords deliberately indica- ting in advertisements that
tenants must provide a re- ference from their previo- us address. Will a note from Mum or Dad suffice? Some- how I don’t think so. Jamie Leitch, a student from East Kilbride, ex- plained his experience of letting agents:
The Office for National Statis- tics says in in its annual report athat lmost a third of men and a fifth of women aged between 20 and 34 live at home.
30 %
“It wasn’t easy to find a flat, a few places we wanted and thought we were going to get en- ded up be- ing given
to couples or people wi- th full time jobs.
We weren’t given
an explanation why and the estate agents weren’t very helpful.” Some proprietors using private advertisement si- tes such as Gumtree enti- ce you in with an ad for a de- cent flat at an acceptable pri- ce only to burst your bubble with the dreaded “sorry, no students” tagline at the very end of the description, which
usually means that the renter will be more inclined to lea- se their property to someo- ne who is older and who they deem less of risk when it co- mes to paying their rent and keeping their property free from damage.
Some adverts are a little more considerate; masking their contempt for the wild breed of youngsters with the gem “would suit professional person”. Can’t a young per- son be professional? On the other hand, not all property owners are so stringent. Lo- cal Landlord Mark Alston says that he would be a bit apprehensive of the situati- on, especially if the property was furnished but he would never avoid renting to young adults or even students, as there would always be a se- curity deposit.
EXPENSES:
Educating yourself on the cost of living alone is very important. Budgeting, whi- le boring, will be your best friend. You should prepare a comparison of what your in-
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