Flat wars

Two people I know have experienced the situation where more than one group of people have been desperate to rent the same flat.

In my old housemate Rob's case, back in August 2011, several couples were eying each other suspiciously as they looked round the property during a joint viewing.  Finally, one couple cracked and before the viewing had even finished they sprinted out of the house, onto waiting bicycles and pedaled furiously to the agency to pay the deposit before anyone else could get the chance.

Also in August 2011 I got a call from an agency at about 12.00 about a 3 bedroom flat on a council block.  When I tried calling back at 13.00 the agent didn't pick up his phone When he did pick up at 14.00 the flat had already gone.

In a more recent example (this month) my friend Mark had heard about a 2 bed flat that had previously been up for rent at £1000 a month.  The landlord increased the rent to £1200, but when two couples viewed the flat at the same time a furious bidding war broke out and the final rent agreed ended up being £1600 a month.

It's dog eat dog out there!