Register your interest with Hilton King & Locke by contacting one of our three local offices across Buckinghamshire and get to know the team at your local branch. We will be happy to discuss in detail your property requirements and see what we have available for you. Once we have a full understanding of exactly what type of property you are looking for one of our dedicated team will ensure that you are kept fully up to date with new properties that come to the market in your desired location and that fit your criteria.
You can also register online for automatic property alerts and hear immediately as soon as properties matching your requirements become available.
When you have decided which properties you would like to view then our extremely dedicated and friendly team are available to arrange those for you at your earliest convenience. Our offices are open Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm, on Saturdays 9am to 4pm and our Farnham Common office is open 10am to 2pm on Sundays.
We will accompany you throughout your viewings and although we are as flexible as possible to arrange the viewings to suit yourself, our diaries do tend to get booked up very quickly, especially at weekends. Therefore please try and contact us prior to your preferred viewing date and time to avoid any disappointment.
Please feel free to ask as many questions as you like regarding the property. If we cannot answer them immediately then we will endeavour to find out the answers upon our return to the office.
After the viewing has taken place it is beneficial for both yourself and the Landlord of the property in question if you supply us with your feedback. This will help in gaining a better understanding of your wants and needs enabling us to find you the perfect property.
Once you have found a property that you would like to rent. The next step is to make an offer to the Landlord via Hilton King & Locke.
Think about your offer carefully and take into account a number of different things such as your budget, any competition from other interested parties and what would happen if your offer was rejected.
To put your offer in the best light, we need as much information from you as possible, such as:
Negotiations will then begin as we put your offer forward to the landlord.
Once your offer has been accepted you will be asked to pay a holding deposit equivalent to five weeks rent as a way of commitment to your application to rent whilst we carry out references and draw up the necessary agreements. The property will be taken off the market for further viewings, subject to references. Upon successful application, the holding deposit is deducted from your balance when you move in.
You will be provided with a breakdown of the balance, this will need to be paid and cleared in our account prior to your tenancy start date.
Should you change your mind and withdraw your application to rent, you would lose your holding deposit.
You will be sent a link to complete the reference process. We use a company called ‘Letsure’. They will carry out credit checks plus employment and Landlord references if necessary. It would be worthwhile to alert your employer to respond to our reference request as soon as possible in order to speed up the process.
If you are self-employed you must have accounts or proof of income for at least one full year. Proof of income can be taken from a chartered accountant or HMRC Self-Assessment statement.
In addition to the reference checks, you will be asked to provide the agent with proof of Identification (passport copy) and proof of current address (utility bill/ bank statement) This is to comply with money laundering regulations and ‘Right to rent’.
After the references have been approved, we will draw up an Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement. You will be provided with a copy in advance of your move so you can read through the clauses to ensure you understand your obligations. You will need to initial each page, sign the document and have your signature witnessed. You can either arrange to sign in our office or post the signed copy back to us in advance of the tenancy start.
Your Landlord will sign another copy of the agreement, both documents will then be dated and exchanged over. You will be sent a copy of the Landlord’s signed agreement after you move in.
We will arrange an inventory check in for the day of your move and confirm a time with you. You will meet the inventory clerk directly at the property on the day of your move. They will go through the report with you, take meter readings and provide you with keys to your new home.
Congratulations, you are now the tenant of your new home!
We are a member of Money Shield, which is a government approved Client Money Protection (CMP) Scheme (membership Number 57779748).
The accounting rules of our client money protection provider can be viewed by clicking on the following link to the Money Shield Scheme Rules …
The Government publish a How To Rent Checklist and this can be viewed by clicking on the following link
This information is intended as a guide, to help you through the process.
We are aware that renting a property although very exciting can also be quite daunting and a little stressful too.
At Hilton King & Locke we endeavour to ensure that the renting process runs as smoothly as possible and will keep you fully informed and updated throughout, although please feel free to contact one of our experienced and dedicated team at any time who will be more than happy to help and answer any questions that you might have along the way.
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