TENANTS! dog friendly house to-let : Northampton (NN2)

[kerrie and stan]

i am having real problems at the moment because no landlord down here wants to have dogs in thier property so its vertualy impossible for me to find somewere :-\

[Anonymous]

Kerrie,

Have you been approaching landlords direct or through agencies ?

something i reccommend is …

if using an agency, remind them that you are hopefully going to be their client aswell and you would like them to approach the landlord and ask them about accepting a dog. 

other ideas which can sometimes help are …

– if you have let via another agency or landlord, ask for a reference and make sure they include that the property was in good condition when you vacated and that you paid promptly and regularly.  you can also request references from the local council if you are on DSS to say that your benefits will cover the rent

– offer an extra deposit to be used if any extra cleaning is needed as a result of Stan living there (tho i advise care unless a 3rd party is holding this and be sure to explicitly specify what its for)

– if they are a dog lover offer for them to meet Stan themselves, if not perhaps one of their friends would verify he’s well behaved etc …

– offer to show them where you currently live to show them its kept well and respected.

– anyone else you can think of who holds some stature / position in the community / formal qualification in training or behaviour to vouch for you.

– parents / other adult with a good credit rating offering to go guarantor for you for the initial term (which should be 6mths) to guarentee your rent is paid and that any damages are paid for – after that if you’ve “proved” yourself then great.

Claire.

[kerrie and stan]

as i am only looking at the moment (cant afford to move quite yet) i went round all the estate agents and asked if they had properties that aloud dogs, out of all of them only 2 places accepted dogs.

i dont have anyone who could/would be a garentor and i hadnt thought of asking my present landlord to be a referance, do housing associations give referances?

anyway i realy shouldnt hijack your post :nono: ;D

[Anonymous]

s’ok kerry – I am sure a housing association would do tenant references, see if you can make sure to mention that the property has been kept well and rent paid on time – this is what LL’s want to hear 🙂

to be honest 2 places assuming you are looking IOW only is quite a result!  when i looked initially there was only 1 house.  another tip is to “be interested” in properties that have been up some time, especially if you are hinting you’ll stay long term.  looking in the papers can be another tip but you dont get the protection of a housing assoc or agency so be careful 🙂

remember if you are talking to an agency they may give you *their* answer (because they are against DSS / kids / pets as it is more of a chance they might have to actually do some work!!) ask for them to contact the LL with your proposal or if they seem to know the LL personally ask their advice on what the LL may accept.  Be a little firm with them point out anything like it being empty for a while or it not being an ideal location etc… and hint you may be looking long term too.

Claire x

[kerrie and stan]

thanks claire once my flatmate and i have the deposite put together i will push things a bit harder to see what they say 🙂
maybe asking for more advice when we are ready to move ;D

[dogwood]

[quote author=piglet link=topic=12445.msg240652#msg240652 date=1221492051]
Hi,

I have a spacious 3 storey, bed (all doubles, master with shower room) house to let from October 2008.  Located in Kingsthorpe Hollow (NN2) with easy access to town centre, major roads and train station.  very modern new home with double glazing, GCH, w/mach, d/w, t/d, average size garden to rear + single garage with tumble dryer and off-street parking.

Gorgeous house – current tenants sad to leave.

DSS, Children + Pets all considered.

£650pcm ( + deposit)

please PM me for more details.

Claire.
[/quote]
Good for you for allowing pets, it is a sad fact that so many landlords do not allow pets.
It is always us pet loving owners that have to suffer. We had to look for a home to rent a few years ago and boy was it difficult, never gave up though, in the end we were lucky but many are not.
I found that if you are looking it is best to stick to private landlords as opposed to through an agent, I believe many agents discourage landlords from allowing pets (just my opinion)

Anyway Claire where have you advertised the property so far, if you are going to advertise it on free websites, please state pets allowed, would help save time when pet owners are looking.
have you considered this site http://www.petfriendlyrentals.co.uk could be just what you are looking for.

[xtine]

am dreading this part of leaving London.. we are planing on renting for a couple of years… am dreading the hunt for dog friendly places  :'(

[Anonymous]

Hi,

some agencies do definately advise landlords against allowing pets, children and dss tenants.  this is because these tenants are considered more “high risk” in regard to causing a nuisance or damage to the property. 

i do use an agency but one which has a more inclusive approach than the sometimes snobby high street ones.  the problem this causes is that you need new tenants every 6 months because the only kind of tenant you get is “professional” couples just moving into the area – they then buy and you are stuck again, this is also part of why agencies want this – more people – more registration fees – more tenancy fees – more money for them !!

You have to look at what you are renting – this is an area near all the facilities a young or growing family would need, there are 3 double rooms, its on bus routes and walkable to the town or rail station.  It also has good access to the main roads in this area and is commutable for London (other houses in the street have people working in london).  It is a family house and families come with children and pets and many times through no real fault of theirs, dss aswell.

Claire x

[Anonymous]

Hi,

this property is let at the moment but i think the agency which manage my property have another ‘dog friendly’ one at the moment.  http://www.visum.co.uk

Cheers,

Claire.

[Alex]

Hi
I am looking for a property just like yours is it still availble???????? :happy:

Thank you
Amanda

[quote author=rooooooooby link=topic=12445.msg240652#msg240652 date=1221492051]
Hi,

I have a spacious 3 storey, bed (all doubles, master with shower room) house to let from October 2008.  Located in Kingsthorpe Hollow (NN2) with easy access to town centre, major roads and train station.  very modern new home with double glazing, GCH, w/mach, d/w, t/d, average size garden to rear + single garage with tumble dryer and off-street parking.

Gorgeous house – current tenants sad to leave.

DSS, Children + Pets all considered.

£650pcm ( + deposit)

please PM me for more details.

Claire.
[/quote]

[melinda]

Hi Amanda, If you are looking for pet friendly rentals, I suggest making a nice ad on Gumtree etc, with a nice description of your dogs and you etc.

I did this, explained we’re young professionals and very responsible etc and I also added a very cute picture of my dog and a description of how well behaved she is and we got lots of replies with people offering us their houses for rentals.

We had previously been trying the letting agent route and had little success, but are now in a gorgeous 3 bed semi in a nice area, with 2 dogs.  The landlords know we’re responsible and know what we’re doing so are quite happy for us to keep them here.

It works wonders, honestly!  🙂

[Author]

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