The stresses of house hunting

I feel absolutely shattered this week. Now, I know what you're thinking, how could a strapping, relatively young Welsh lad like me possibly be tired first thing on a Monday morning ?

Well if I'm honest I'm probably still suffering a bit since Emma Gordon's leaving do on Thursday. Instead of just having a few pints, I somehow ended up drinking white wine, which, as any of my friends will tell you, gets me very drunk very quickly. I'm not proud of that, but at least I managed to stay away from the impromptu Karaoke!

The other (and main) reason that I'm a bit tired is because I've spent the best part of the last week searching for a new flat to rent. A process that in other parts of the UK I've lived and worked in seems really simple, but in London is so much harder and frustrating.

Let me explain. As broadcast journalists we HAVE to be honest. If Capital is reporting on a murder or a court case or a football match we're legally obliged both as a radio station and as individual journalists to present the facts in an unbiased and honest way. It may or may not surprise you to learn that if I or any of my colleagues present a story in a news bulletin that is wrong we could, at worst, be sent to prison.

So I find it incredibly annoying that a fair few people who offer their flats to rent in London lie about the property on offer. And not just the odd white lie either, but dirty great big whoppers that would make anyone who has changed a couple of exam results on their CV look like a saint!

Ok - I know there's a credit crunch on at the moment and these are desperate times, but when the ‘gorgeous period property on a quiet tree lined street' turns out to be a grubby flat on the edge of the north circular then I feel it is time to take issue.

We've been to see houses which are described as having a ‘good sized family garden' only to find that they've got a small alleyway with space for one patio chair and the recycling bin.

And don't even get me started on bedrooms. Since when does ‘large double' mean a box room with a double bed jammed into it so there is no room for any other furniture and you can barely close the bedroom door?

I admit that those are extremes but just about every flat we've been to see over the past few weeks hasn't lived up to its description, and it's not just private landlords who are at it either.

The credit crunch is clearly having an impact on estate agents as well. Some of them are now using websites which are exclusively for private landlords by listing properties and using their personal mobile phone numbers and hotmail e-mail addresses as contact details to try and secure some business. A sneaky move i'm sure you'll agree.

One of them admitted to me that this is fairly widespread these days because they're so worried they're not going to make any commission, because of the effects on the property market from the credit crunch.

Maybe that isn't surprising from an industry which isn't necessarily famed for its honesty - but why lie?

The latest research puts the demand for rental properties in London out stripping supply at anywhere between 3 and 5 to 1, but during the past few weeks the same properties were coming up as available day after day. Properties which going by their description online were perfect but in reality were trying to be something they clearly were not and so remain empty.

So, I'll leave what started out as some observations but seems to have turned into a rant (sorry about that) at this. If you are a landlord and you want to try and beat the credit crunch by filling your property as quickly as you can then be honest. The one that we chose had been on the market for just a few hours. We had a viewing, it more than lived up to its description and we're moving in at the end of the month.

Phew!

Tim