Picture this, your nineteen, leaving home and moving in with a boyfriend.
What do you want? An easy, stress free move. What do you get? A serious wake up call, and proof that you are obviously far too trusting and naive to be leaving your mothers safe little house and homemade casserole’s just yet.

You spend weeks, months even, trawling through box flat after box flat desperate to find even a tiny bit of character in one of these inexpensive little starter homes, so when you do, it really is like gold dust!

You call for a viewing, get butterflies, visit the property and suddenly your picturing dinner parties, cocktail parties and every other grown up occasion you can think of, In YOUR new humble abode.

You tell the agent, ‘I want it; I have a guarantor, deposit, admin fees and references’. Everything you think they want to hear in a desperate bid to secure what could be your own little party palace! ‘It’s yours’ he tells you, ‘Nobody else will even get a look in.’ At this point this agent is not only the most loyal sales person you have ever met but he is now GOD.

Your home, sipping on champagne, ringing every person you have ever clapped eyes on telling them you are now the proud tenants of that stunning, spacious maisonette. You sit at work the next morning, excitedly awaiting the call from that lovely, honest letting agent you spent the whole evening praising.

Twelve o’ clock. Still waiting. He must be busy. Maybe on lunch? Maybe there has been an emergency? Anything…

Home from work. The agonising wait is far from over not even a courtesy call as yet. But he did say it was ours!

Finally a call, hours later, ‘Sorry, we decided to give it to someone else’

And there it is! Over before it even began! You feel like your whole world has fallen apart! Your back on the beer, calling everyone you have ever clapped eyes on and slating the man who has ruined your life.

So what’s have we learned here? Until you have signed that all important paperwork you are most definitely not the proud owner of that ‘little party palace’ you loved so much.

This experience is unfortunately not an uncommon one. On Rentright every step possible is taken to ensure all property listed on the website is so by reputable agents, helping to eradicate experiences like the above one.

What makes dealing with the APW team in Cobham any different from other letting agencies in the local area? For a start, they are Award Winners in their industry, with APW winning Overall Best Letting Agent in the UK in a recent Estate Agency of the Year Awards ceremony. In other words they have been judged to be the crème de la crème in every aspect of their business. No other local lettings agency has this accolade.

In addition APW’s knowledge of Cobham and surrounding areas is vast. APW has been serving the local community for a great many years and is now in its 24th year of successful trading. With that knowledge comes extremely trustworthy and practical advice for customers looking to rent their next home in the area. APW knows the properties, the schools, the local amenities, exceedingly well and can help new-comers with any queries they may have about living in this superb, highly desirable area.

Natasha Howard, BranchManager explains more about this popular location: Cobham’s heritage can be traced back to the Iron Age. It is almost

Natasha Howard, Branch Manager

encircled by the River Mole, a tributary of the Thames, which provides a distinctly rural appearance to the village in some places. With its beautiful water mill on the outskirts of town, dating back from the early 19th century, the ancient parish of Cobham boasts a comprehensive and up-to-date selection of delightful shops including a delicatessen and local bakery, as well as a supermarket with good parking, and one of the best restaurants in the area – La Capanna.

There are excellent schools nearby including the ACS International School, Reeds and Notre Dame together with good Primary Schools, Nurseries and Playgroups. Anglican, Roman Catholic, Methodist, United Reformed and Brethren Churches can be found in Cobham which is also the home of Pioneer People.

It has its own Cottage Hospital and Health Centre and is home to one of the chief attractions for visitors to the area ~ the magnificent Painshill Park which is considered to be one of the finest 18th century landscape gardens in Europe. A short drive away brings you to the Royal Horticultural Gardens of Wisley.

Cobham is a thriving residential area with access to the A3 and the M25

Woodgate Court - £795 pcm

orbital motorway which provides good links to both London Heathrow and London Gatwick Airports. There is also a regular train service to London Waterloo (approx. 30 mins) which, in turn provides a frequent service to Paris and Brussels via Eurostar.

Cobham offers a wide variety of architecture, from period properties dating back several centuries to modern apartments and executive style properties with large and flexible family accommodation.

Cherrywood - £8,500 pcm

Prices for renting these properties through APW range from as little as £795 per calendar month for a 1 bedroom apartment within a short walk of Cobham High Street to £10,000 per calendar month for a 5 Bedroom executive home in a sought after private estate. 

Search for a range of properties available for rent in Cobham using Rentright.co.uk

This blog was submitted by Brunel University Graduate Kerry Stanley and discusses her experience with student rentals.

A student rental…speaks for itself really. Whenever the term ‘student’ is used in a description you think know what to expect…

Student Bar- A dingy basement bar to which the soles of your shoes pull up sticky tendrils of snakebite that has been there so long it has evolved in to a gummy zap. A place that you would never in your right mind choose to go in; but no worries: you are out of your head every time that you have and if you are not, well at £1.50 a drink, you soon will be.

Student dress- A mish-mash of hip trends that finds designer clothing muddled up with Primark’s best; where Abercrombie or Fitch, Super-dry and Jack Wills are splashed across every chest and bum. The crinkled ‘just rolled out of bed look’ is hot and no one who is anyone actually uses the iron that mum insisted they pack.

Students we are not painting a particularly good picture are we?! But do we really care? Hmm let’s pretend to think about that one. Just living the dream man; we are happy people who will make the best of any situation! Give us a bucket and some hose pipe we can defiantly make an ideal drinking device!

Is it any wonder that Student pads have earned their less than desired reputation? Why would a landlord spend his money doing out a place for bunch of debouched mummy’s boys, living out for the first time, to trash?

There comes in renting, I would say, two types of landlord: the ones who won’t do anything to improve a property and the ones that won’t leave you alone! We had found the former and within no time our prospective luxury pad had become a grotty student slum and this was before we had got {established! It was obvious from our initial viewing that the previous tenant had been supplied with alternative furnishings that had been removed before we took up residence. We were type cast as student bums with no respect for ourselves let alone a rented house that we were sure to trash with raving parties and an inability to cook. Our landlord was not taking any risks; it was cheaper for him to pick some old tat up from a dumpster to furnish our pad with, rather than run the risk of leaving the nice stuff for us to ruin.

I guess it does work out, my friend Kate’s newest landlord is wonderful and continues to supply them with ‘beautiful’ garden fountains…they now have four. You know the type with all the mist and lights and a spinning orbs that roll around as the water passes over/ under them. He indulges them with luxuries like they are his grand children and expects in turn that they respect his old family home.

So from one extreme to the other I guess I do understand a landlords perspective, I have seen how some people chose to live! But is that really just students? Remember that as a student you need a place that you are able to work in; a desk is key and a double bed is just a bonus! If you want people to respect your property then you have to show them some respect also.Treat ‘em like ‘students’ and that’s what you will get!

When you are looking for privately rented accommodation with your pet, there are a number of things you can do to make the house hunting process as simple as possible. Lets with Pets have put together a list guide to help with this process:

1. Don’t leave your house hunting until the last minute – Give yourself plenty of time to find a pet-friendly property and begin searching at least 6-8 weeks before you need to move out of your current home.

2. Be as flexible as possible – The more restrictive your search criteria are, the more difficult it will be for you to find a pet-friendly property. Try to be flexible on location and property type as this will increase your chances of finding somewhere for you and your pet to live.

3. Write a CV for your pet – Provide your prospective landlord with as much information about your pet as you can. Write a CV and include contact details for your veterinary practice and for someone who can care for your pet in case of an emergency. You could also include details of your pet’s last vaccinations and any flea and worming treatments they have received.

4. Get a reference for your pet – By providing your landlord with a reference from your previous landlord or your vet, you can show that your pet is both well behaved and capable of living in rented accommodation without causing problems or damage. This will also demonstrate that you are a responsible pet owner.

5. Introduce your pet to your landlord – Meeting your pet in advance may put your landlord’s mind at ease. You could invite your landlord to your current home so that they can see that your pet has caused no problems there. This is particularly important for dogs as it’s an opportunity to show that your dog is calm and well behaved.

6. Offer to pay a higher deposit – Many landlords are concerned about pets causing damage to their property or furnishings. By offering to pay a higher deposit, you will reassure the landlord that you will cover any damage that your pet may cause.

7. Offer to have the property professionally cleaned – Landlords often worry that accepting pets will lead to flea infestations, excess pet hair and dirty carpets and soft furnishings. To put your landlord’s mind at ease you might consider offering to pay for the property to be professionally cleaned when you move out. Some landlords and letting agents may ask for a non-refundable payment in advance to cover the cost of cleaning.

8. Be honest, don’t sneak your pet in without permission – It’s never advisable to keep a pet in a property without the landlord’s consent. This will only lead to problems in the future and could result in the termination of your tenancy. It’s possible that keeping pets in the property may even violate the landlord’s own leasehold agreement. It’s advisable to always be honest about your pets from the start.

9. Get written permission – If your landlord has given you permission to keep a pet in your property, make sure you get it in writing. You should ask for a clause to be added to your tenancy agreement to cover the keeping of pets and make sure that any ‘No Pets’ clauses are removed.  This will prevent problems from arising in future.

10. Raise awareness of Dogs Trust’s Lets With Pets campaign – By spreading the word about our campaign, you can help us to encourage more landlords and letting agents to accept pets.  We have produced a separate booklet for landlords and letting agents which gives help and advice on renting properties to pet owners. For more information, go to www.letswithpets.org.uk.

About Lets with Pets
Dogs Trust’s Lets with Pets campaign aims to help pet owners find privately rented accommodation with their pets. We have put together advice for pet owners on how to find pet-friendly accommodation as well as information for landlords and letting agents on managing properties with pets.

Dogs Trust knows from experience that many pet owners are forced to live in unsuitable properties or keep pets without consent from their landlord. In some cases, owners are even having to give up their pet or else face becoming homeless. A recent survey by Dogs Trust found that:
•    78% of pet owners had experienced difficulties finding privately rented accommodation that allowed pets
•    54% of pet owners were never able to find a suitable property that accepted pets
•    8% of pet owners had to rehome their pet

Dogs Trust is the UK’s largest dog welfare charity and cares for over 16,000 stray and abandoned dogs each year through its 17 rehoming centres. Dogs Trust is working towards the day when all dogs can enjoy a happy life, free from the threat of unnecessary destruction. For more information on Dogs Trust, please go to www.dogstrust.org.uk

Dogs Trust’s Lets with Pets campaign is run by the Outreach Projects team, which deals with issues surrounding pets and housing. The team’s other work includes the Dogs Trust Hope Project, helping dog owners who are homeless or in housing crisis, and the Dogs Trust Freedom Project, a dog fostering project for families fleeing domestic violence in Greater London and Yorkshire. For more information on these projects, please go to www.dogstrusthopeproject.org.uk and www.dogstrustfreedomproject.org.uk