Renting my first own flat - Advice?

[SnorkMaiden]

It's finally happening. After years of flat-shares, I'm at last earning the kind of money that'll allow me to rent my own place (If you're wondering what took me so long, check out where I live). I'm so happy, but also a little anxious because I've never rented anything on my own before.

What I'd like from you guys is some advice, both general and specific, on what to look for in a flat, how to deal with rental agencies (I'd prefer a private landlord, but mostly, it's done via agencies these days), how to avoid stupid mistakes that'll cost me a lot of money and so on.

Thanks in advance!

[SeashellnBubbles]

Congratulations! You must be so excited...and nervous! A few tips:
ALWAYS read stuff before signing it. Landlords can be sneaky and have you sign for something you really didn't understand or know about.
Try to get an apartment that's all inclusive. If the landlord is paying for heat and hydro they're often much quicker to come and fix things. I learned this one the hard way when we had a particularly cold winter and I used space heaters to keep my apartment warm! The ceilings and walls weren't insulted, so I was actually heating the upstairs apartment, too...and paying for it! A LOT.
Look in the oven. It's a great indicator of the cleanliness of the landlord (if the apartment is empty) or of how the present residents have been living. If it's grubby as hell, that should put up red flags.
Open the cupboards under the sinks and get on all fours for a good look. Bad smells, mouse poo, dead bugs, all things to look for. Turn on the hot water and let it run to see how hot it gets. You'd be surprised how some landlords will try to save money by adjusting the hot water heater to do almost nothing!
Look inside the shower and check for grubbies. Flush the toilet. Look behind things. People often don't clean behind things and if there's bugs or mice, there'll be evidence there.
Talk to the people who are already in there, and check online by typing the address in to see what's up. You'd be surprised what you can find out about a place from old posts and stuff.
Research the neighborhood to make sure it's a good one.
Get renter's insurance! I can't stress that one enough!
Good luck! Hopefully someone else will have some good advice, too

[GazeboMouse]

And look around the place that you've chosen with the letting agent/Landlord and take photos of any damage already there, and get them to sign it's there already. So if you move out they can't pin the blame on you and you lose some or all of your deposit!
And check out the area at night time as well as the day as that can change things a lot too.

[Honeycomb]

If you can, go to see the place in the evening when most neighbours will be at home. It will give you an impression on the amount of noise you might have to deal with, or if there are heavy smokers next doors (I had that happen once, all the cold smoke drifting under my door, yuck ...). Maybe ask previous owners about the noise at night. 

[Aflame]

make sure there are no suspisious patches on walls or cellings that might be damp look at all the fixturs turn on taps and flush loos

[kaoskat]

No advice I'm afraid but best of luck!

[MikeysGrrrl]

Congratulations, that's really exciting news! You have some awesome tips and advice from the other members here, I don't have anything else to add

[SeashellnBubbles]

I forgot to add to listen to your gut. It can tell you a lot about a place, so don't try to force the "i'm home" feeling. I tried to force it with my last place because it was super cheap and included everything AND laundry facilities. It was a basement apartment and it was illegal. The people who owned the house had made it so the apartment was clean and stench-free, but when I moved in, it turned out that they were heavy smokers and it filled my apartment with nasty grossness. I have athsma, and had asked specifically if they smoked in the house, but they said nom I should have listened to my gut and walked away, but it was sooo cheap!

[hathorcat]

Whoot!!!!! I am so pleased for you. You are certainly starting at the top in London; I understand taking your time on that market. The one thing everyone has always said when flat hunting, is check the place out at least a couple of different times - ideally during the day and then in the evening [and if possible on a week day and then on a weekend day].

Good luck sweetie!

[SnorkMaiden]

Awesome advice! Thanks, guys!

[Eviecorn]

I've never lived in my own place by myself, so not much advice to give.  But congrats!

[tikibirds]

I dont have any advice either. I basically took the cheapest place I could find that allowed dogs which resulted in a 280 SQ FT studio in the ghetto of Fairbanks for $900/month 
The inside of it wasn't that bad - kinda cute actually but the neighborhood and other tennents were a whole other story.