Your ultimate guide to renting in the city

The rental market can be difficult to understand, especially when you’re looking to rent in the city. With many diverse cultures, architectural wonders, and beautiful bustling streets, a concrete jungle can create the perfect home for many people to find peace within the chaos.

By simply preparing yourself to enter the rental market, you can gain a competitive advantage. So, we ask the five most important questions to prepare you when renting in a city.

What is your budget?

When renting in the city, it can become a costly experience as you dream to be at the heart of everyone and everything. Living in the city is always going to be costly, so it’s important to plan your income, discover a budget, and identify what properties are available for you.

According to a well-known rental guideline, you should spend approximately 30% of your gross income (before tax) on rent. With so many activities and restaurants to enjoy, it can become hard to sacrifice the city lifestyle, so to prevent this, it’s important to plan and budget.

Where do you want to rent, and why?

When choosing which city suits you, it can be a difficult decision with many factors to consider, as finding the right location in a city can be a daunting. All types of suburbs suit different personalities, and many factors can impact deciding where to live: your work location, the availability of amenities, and transport links.

Living just outside of the city can bump your monthly outgoing costs on transportation, so sometimes it’s better to pay that slight bit extra in rent. Before committing to the big move, it’s important to visit your chosen area and truly find out if it is right for you.

What type of property?

Choosing the right type of property is dependent on what lifestyle you plan to lead. There are plenty of options for different types of properties in a city, from a cosy flat with unlimited amenities to an elegant house that offers a hidden garden retreat. Choosing a furnished or unfurnished option can also be a big decider on the type of property that is right for you. When moving in a city, it’s easier to have a furnished choice, as this creates ease when moving from property to property.

When is it right to move?

There is no best time to move into a property as the market continues to succeed throughout the entire duration of the year. Summer is an ideal season to relocate because of the weather making it an easy move. The city rental market will become busiest around summer as people get ready to begin the academic year. It is also important to get to know your surroundings before moving, allowing you to make a smooth and successful move.

Have you consulted with a property professional?

If you’re moving to a city and are confused about what to do when renting, get in touch with your local Guild Member, who can help guide you through the ups and downs of the city rental market.

Choose your property professional wisely, see our properties available to rent.

Financial Services

Contact a specialist from Aston & Co Financial Services for help with finding the right mortgage.

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Jodie Skinner

From the beginning, our experience with Michael and Rhys has been brilliant. Whenever we had a question to ask or needed some additional information, they were both just a phone call away and were always happy to provide us with an answer. As first time buyers, they made us feel ...

Sue Smith

We can’t fault Aston and co in Syston, for their handling of the sale of our property. We were kept up to date weekly and nothing was too much trouble. Both Micheal and Rhys were approachable and very professional. I would definitely recommend using them for an efficient and hassle ...

Andy

Having had issues with other agents, we came to Astons who gave us an honest appraisal of our house – not overpricing it like others to gain business. Michael and Rhys are a great partnership and Rhys being local was able to provide viewers with information that other agents hadn’t. ...

Andy Freer

Recently sold our house with Aston & Co. We honestly could not have asked for more. From the moment Michael came to value the house, to the day to day communication from Rhys we have not had to chase them once. Michael and Rhys are a great partnership and a ...

V Pears

We chose Aston & Co in Syston to handle the sale of our property. We were kept up to date regularly and Michael and Rhys dealt with all matters efficiently and quickly.We would definitely recommend using them for an efficient and hassle-free move.

Gareth Mueller

We bought a house from a vendor who used Astons & Co as their agent. Rhys was helpful and professional from start to finish and regularly kept us in the loop with how things were progressing. Communication was efficient and swift all the way through.

Julie Pearson

From the first visit to value our property to the final phone call informing us of completion Rhys and Michael at the Syston office have been brilliant, down to earth, realistic with valuation very easy to get in touch with.Making everything less stressful.Regular updates were very reassuring . I would ...

Charlotte Hings

The team at Astons are great. They’re really down to earth, take time to listen and help resolve anything they can for you.Their communication is excellent as they always keep you in the loop with what is happening with your sale. They keep both seller and purchaser happy.Fees are reasonable ...

Julie Perkins

We have recently used Aston & Co to sell our property. At all times we received regular reports from them on interest and following viewings . When our property sold Astons managed the chain keeping all parties fully informed and I believe that without their input our sale would have ...

Tina Poole

Michael and Rhys handled both our sale and purchases. They had good local knowledge, their valuation turned out to be on point. Our sale viewings were nearly all on the same day and we accepted an offer very quickly. We were kept up to date regularly with that and our ...

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