When we talk about renting, it’s often focused on young citydwellers in house-shares or couples saving up to buy property.
But a family home can be rented too.
In our weekly series What I Rent, we take you inside people’s rented homes to see what they get for what they pay, as well as how they’ve turned the space into their home.
This week we’re with Carolyn, a 41-year-old mental health nurse, and her husband Andy, a 41-year-old clinical engineer, who live in a four-bedroom house with three of their four children (their eldest daughter has her own place with a partner and her son): six-year-old twin boys and a seven-year-old girl.
Carolyn moved to Hull from Guildford 23 years ago, while Andy, from Gilberdyke, moved to Hull when the couple got together back in 2004.
Six years ago they moved into this house.
Hi, Carolyn! How much do you pay to live here?
We pay £575 per month, our money just gets lumped together and the rent and bills come out of one account – on average including travel and food it’s around £1300 per month
And what do you get for what you pay?
We have two bathrooms, four bedrooms, – one of which is now our study – two parlour rooms and a kitchen diner.
Do you think you have a good deal?
Definitely. Our landlords are fabulous and they live close by. They’re easy-going and we have never had any negative issues.
They’re pretty happy for us to make changes if we want to. We realise we are very lucky as in the past we have used letting agents who just charge extortionate amounts for very little.
Are you happy where you live?
I am now. We live central Hull, about 15-minute walk from the city centre.
We both spent a few years being hard on the area. But there have been major changes such as the council making an effort to remove anti-social stuff. There are more families and working people in this area.
We fell in love with the property when we first walked in and asked to sign the tenancy there and then.
How did you find the house?
We both knew we didn’t want to go through a letting agent so I advertised for a property on Gumtree. Four hours later, our landlord sent us a message saying he had just finished renovating a place and we viewed the house the next day.
We moved here around 6 years ago after the twins were born. We couldn’t afford to move to somewhere with more space in the Avenues area where we were.
Do you have enough space?
Absolutely, although we both like collecting and we have said if we were in a position to buy our home, we would make a third floor from the loft
How have you made the house feel like home?
We’ve just started decorating as we have a bit more time now the children are growing.
When we moved in the garden was just mud and decking so that was lovely to be able to take something and make it completely ours.
Are there any problems with the house?
It can be cold! It’s a Victorian house so does get a little draughty but we have open fires and jumpers – and central heating!
Do you have plans to move again?
Definitely no plans to move! We would love to be in a position to buy this place one day. It’s definitely our home now.
Let’s have a look around.
What I Rent is a weekly series that’s out every Tuesday at 10am. Check back next week to have a nose around another rented property.
How to get involved in What I Rent
What I Rent is Metro.co.uk's weekly series that takes you inside the places people are renting, to give us all a better sense of what's normal and how much we should be paying.
If you fancy taking part, please email whatirent@metro.co.uk.
You'll need to have pictures taken of your kitchen, living room, bathroom, and bedroom, plus a few photos of you in your room. Make sure you get permission for your housemates!
You'll also need to be okay with sharing how much you're paying for rent, as that's pretty important.
MORE: What I Rent: Dominic, £625 a month for a one-bedroom annexe in Bagshot
MORE: What I Rent: Megan, £550 a month for a two-bedroom house in Hessle, Hull
MORE: What I Rent: Cameron, £395 a month for a one-bedroom flat in Hamilton
source https://metro.co.uk/2020/01/07/rent-carolyn-andy-three-children-575-month-four-bedroom-house-hull-12014495/
0 Comments