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@dooks
wise words sharkstar.
i'm not poor. but i don't have much of a buffer for when things go wrong. i've been paying off debt for the last 5 years or so and don't have any savings to speak of. as such i'm heartily sick of being ripped off by landlords/lettings agents too, their money grubbing tactics often leave me seriously hard up for months at a time. the previous landlord "stole" £400 of our deposit spuriously claiming the flat hadn't been cleaned (not only had it been cleaned way more thoroughly than when we moved in but it had been decorated!). they essentially held us ransom refusing to release any deposit till we agreed to their made up deductions. total crooks.
the current landlord just tried to charge us a hefty renewal fee for "negotiating" a temporary 6 month extension during which they put our rent up £300 a month and simultaneously served notice. i refused to pay their fees for this "service" and am now fully expecting to be bummed by them on the deposit.
on top of all that because the way things have worked out we're going to be paying two rents for the entire duration of january as well as having to come up with the new deposit before (and if) we get the old one back.
and i was already skint and overdrawn from the december feastings before any of this kicked off. ouch ouch and ouch.
i'd love to buy but the amount of deposit required in london is so wildly beyond the realms of possibility even for a couple with a fairly healthy joint income that i can't even bring myself to start saving for it.