You must be digital

A Renter Nomad must have some of his or her life in digital form, as cold and intangible as that can make that life and those memories seem. Yet who wants an external memory? Who wants his or her belongings out of reach, because there was no space to store them in a new rented house? Who trusts Amazon not to hoik books off the virtual bookshelf of a Kindle? Who wants all the old photos archived in a memory stick with a corporate logo, or in a memory drive as opaque as the 2001 monolith?

So why do I say a Renter Nomad “must” be digital?

• online billing can be cheaper;
• a Renter Nomad cannot afford to carry the sort of paper archives needed to reclaim PPI, or claim compensation for utility company abuses, years later (and why should that sort of financial protection belong only to settled “homeowners” and tenants in the settled public sector?);
• we have, objectively, more and more memory-records; storing and classifying those (especially pictures, “home videos” and music) is a hard task even if the physical volume of these records isn’t daunting;

• and digital records help protect Renter Nomads’ rights and interests, in a life in which those can conflict with others’ interests, notably on the question of inventory and property condition.

This last point is possibly the most important of all. No matter what memories are stripped away by circumstances (fires, floods, loss in transit, decluttering before downsizing), we still have our “human backups”, that is, real memories. However, when money, credit rating and ego are stripped, there is no human backup, so you will need:

• a digital camera, to record the condition of both the property you are moving out of and the one you are moving into. Absolutely do not skimp on photographing defects in the former case. The video function might be helpful.
• an e-mail account and internet service provider ISP). This requires some thought, as you will need to be able to file your e-mails in such a way that correspondence can be found (an important part of asserting your rights, not to mention keeping in touch with your friends). If you use your ISP’s e-mail address, you could end up with a headache if you ever want to change ISP. I have a gmail account, which I have set up on my computer, with an e-mail client, Thunderbird (though you could use Windows Mail or something similar) so I can file, archive, access e-mails without being connected to the internet, and so on. Another potential problem with ISPs is that they all want contracts of at least 12 months, if not 18. If you have to move house before the end of that contract, they will move the internet access with you… if you sign up for another contract period. This, means that a Renter Nomad might never be “out of contract” and thus free to switch provider. However, we tested this recently, moving into a house which we expect to be in for as little as six months: our new provider, Plusnet, offers no-contract access, for an extra £2.50 a month, which is considerably less than paying the monthly fees for months when you are not receiving any service.
• a Pay As You Go internet dongle. This sounds very techie, but is basically an antenna you plug into your computer’s USB port, to “catch the internet out of the sky”, as I explain it to my five-year-old. You can buy them from all the major mobile providers. This is essential kit for a Renter Nomad, as it takes 10+ days to connect a new property to telephone, let alone switching on the broadband internet as well. Many Renter Nomads know the frustration and fear of not knowing until the last week that a move will. My family lost a rental in Christmas 2008, when the landlord, having strung things out, finally refused to sign the contract, just five days before our planned move date (admittedly, this was after the 2008 banking crisis, which threw many accidental and unwilling landlords onto the market, but the threat was underlined in June 2010, when a letting agent snarkily told me there was nothing we could do if a landlord refused to sign, whereas if we did, we would lose our deposit). With your dongle, you will continue to have internet access at home, like a “normal person,” and you will be able to administer in a timely way all inventory- and deposit-related queries, as well as setting up your new utilities, getting onto the electoral roll, etc.
• a computer, ideally a laptop (and probably not a netbook), to run all of the “tech” I have just listed. The reason I suggest a laptop is that it does not take up the space of a desktop computer, and is portable (sounds stupidly obvious, but if you think of what you can do through a computer, doesn’t it make sense to have something you can take up to bed, to watch television with earphones in, without disturbing a partner or a baby?). I must admit we have a tablet, and also a little netbook which I really like (it’s very cute!), but neither of those is powerful enough to be the kind of all-purpose machine which will be useful, rather than being a paperweight… or millstone!

There. Please note that I am not encouraging you to digitise your library, you music collection or all your pictures, although I have done the latter two myself. It really is none of my business how you keep your memories. There are enough constraints on your life as it is, enough people inspecting you and your lifestyle.

At the end of the day, these digital solutions should be here to help us. “Digital” refers to the fingers, and fingers and hands help us, but they are not the same as head and mind.

Inventaria inventariorum, inventariorum, inventariorum….

I feel a bit like a meta-index at the moment, with at least four inventories active at the moment.

There is the schedule of condition for our old rental house, which the agents “think” will cost over £700 to put right.

There is the schedule of condition for our new rental house, which I have tried to add some items to, but which is proving difficult, thanks to having no broadband through which to send a film of the kitchen floor. If I hadn’t managed to get an unlimited data package for my phone, this moving period could potentially cost hundreds (if I had to leave extra photos off the inventory).

There is the set of belongings which we are using in the living areas of our new house.

Finally, there are all of the appliances, furnishings, books, clothes, pictures, toys, items to go to the charity shop, items to go onto eBay, et ceteris, in storage. Although it is the fourth I’ve listed here, in a way, it’s the one that most represents me and my family, as it physically represents our background and memories.

End-of-tenancy countdown: tips aggregated from @RenterNomads on twitter

January 16, 2013: Still running down stores b4 move: pasta with sauce of tinned tomatoes, chickpeas, frozen chopped spinach. Seasoning: black pepper, garlic.

January 16, 2013: Storecupboard meal for lunch: sardines in tomato sauce w/chick peas, on pasta. Calcium & protein from the fish; chick peas towards 5-a-day.

January 14, 2013: In lease countdown, remember to run down your store cupboard supplies. Tonight, we’re rediscovering bulgur wheat – perfect for this weather!

January 14, 2013: For those end-of-tenancy repairs, be sure to check local hardware shops: I spent £1.50 for a basin plug chain, not £2.98 at B&Q!

January 10, 2013: Less time between rubbish collections this week, so space in the bin for a declutter throwout!

January 9, 2013:  Today’s tasks, to stop living in clutter: return unwanted online shopping, make eBay pile, admit what sewing repairs I’m not going to do.

Flooring: Tread Softly

Flooring is a big source of stress for the renter nomad: that carpet can stain so easily; that laminate is slippery, cold and vulnerable to scratching/chipping; those bare wooden boards, though they look so “vintage” or “country” or “homely”, are draughty and vulnerable to marking.

Renter nomads really ought to carry their rugs with them, from place to place, like the furnishings of a yurt. It’s lovely to “nest” with a cosy or familiar rug underfoot, cover up something hideous, prevent staining, insulate a bit better. Yet not everyone wants carpeted floors. There are those with dust mite allergies and those who simply prefer a hard floor underfoot. Moreover, rented accommodation comes in all shapes and sizes, so it is more than likely that at some point you will end up with floor coverings which don’t fit, and that will be added to the temporarily-useless detritus of a Renter Nomad (and where will you store it? In the landlord’s locked loft?).

Here, therefore, are some considerations for flooring if you do need to buy something:

You will never regret:

• a carpet protector, like the ones used in offices. This protects carpet and hard flooring alike, and when you are in a carpeted house, it isn’t too thick to cause doors to stick (unlike adding a rug on top of carpet). They are thin, and will stand up to store behind furniture, if you are ever in a position not to need them.
• Plastic-backed runners and mats, like these from Lakeland. We have three of these: two runners and one mat. They are currently down in the front hall, which is covered in pale carpet (why do landlords do this?! There is no benefit and quite a lot of downside). It’s worth mentioning that, in our current rented house, there is no hard-floor exit from the kitchen, meaning the bins have to be brought out via the pale-carpeted hallway. Plastic-backed mats are essential.

You will probably regret:

• Large area rugs. Are you sure you’re always going to have such a big space? Where will you store it if you can’t use it in your next place?
• Anything in bold colours. Remember, not all landlords cleave to the magnolia colour scheme, particularly accidental landlords, who are renting out their home due to a job move, inability to sell even though they needed to upsize, or other personal circumstances. Accidental landlords in particular are unlikely to have budgeted for redecoration, as they are already aware of the costs which drove them to let out their house/flat, and letting agents will take considerable up-front payments off them. You don’t want to clash with the colour scheme: it will just make you feel less at home.
• Shaggy carpet/rug. This is not just prejudice on my part. A shaggy rug is cosy underfoot, and can give a look of luxe, but is very high-maintenance and and can look a mess very early in its life. It is bulky to store and, on the subject of storage, remember that it will need cleaning before being put away for six months or more (or should that read “six moths”?): a shaggy rug takes longer to dry, and adds to the time pressure of a rental move.

You will definitely regret:

• Anything shaped to the space, unless it’s a conservatively-sized rectangle. It may be very beautiful, and will make you feel at home, but for how long? Consider this question seriously, since many is the tenant who is caught off guard by being given notice. I’ve been moved out of three, possibly four, places, for the landlord to sell, and the two-month notice period – although short for arranging another place to live – is long enough to regret money spent on something like a good wool carpet, whipped round at the edges and indented to accommodate a fireplace, for instance.

Repairing the Damage

No matter how careful you have been (unless you’re like my incredibly houseproud friend Charlotte), you’re going to have to do a clean at the end of your tenancy. Wooden floors can have a good mop, even if only to deal with that faint stickiness which agglomerates in corners. Do not go any further than this, because renting a floor sander is not your responsibility, and things will go badly for you with the hire shop if an exposed nail damages the sander (o, those Victorian wooden floors!).

With carpets, I have no better recommendation than hiring a carpet cleaner (NB – it should shampoo, rather than steam. Steam cleaners just kill dust mites; they don’t do much about dirt) and doing it yourself, which means spending £25+ rather than £200+ (and the latter was a quote from about 2009, in outer London). The Rug Doctor is widely available, but I can’t make any personal recommendation as I have always used HSS Hire, which has a choice of machine sizes, and has upholstery attachments, so you can clean your things as well, for a change. Take photos afterwards, and include then with pre-tenancy photos and a copy of the carpet cleaner hire receipt, when handing the property back, and that will look good for you in case of any nit-picking.

Transient People, Settled Surroundings

An alternative is, of course to buy or inherit items from previous tenants. We have acquired a dishwasher, curtains, a stairgate and all manner of items from previous tenants. You save on the purchase of the items, and the items fit and suit because they have been bought for the space. Equally, you could try to do the opposite at the end of a tenancy, for your bought- or made-to-measure furnishings or appliances: you might make some money back, and save on transportation and storage of something which is not going to suit your next place. This method is not a sustainable guarantee, though, what with:

• tenancy voids (particularly relevant if you are reading this as a student)
• not meeting successive tenants
• successive tenants’ not being interested in a transaction, even an inheritance. For one thing, they may not like your taste: as Oscar Wilde had Lord Goring say, in An Ideal Husband: “Other people are quite dreadful.” I myself have been exasperated to “inherit” broken vacuum cleaners, dishes and pots, and twisted and moulting old “Christmas trees”. It’s also worth noting that some tenancy agreements include a clause about clearing all possessions at the end of a tenancy, lest the landlord/agent charge for removal: previous tenants may not trust that they will not be charged fined.
• no “next tenant”, if the house is being put up for sale. Your effects could end up on the “fixtures and fittings” list!

Charity shops and freecycle can help you acquire and/or dispose of rugs and any other effects which are not going to get on the “boat” with you, to your next stop. However, too much of that means you risk living in almost total flux, a transient person living amongst transient movables, and that is a very hard way to live, especially if you have children. As I write this, my son is not yet five, and has not lived anywhere for more than a year and a half. Our last move, to a different town, was the worst. Starting school, he got more clingy, rather than more confident. I really hate to think of what he would have been like if we had changed our furnishings, from floor to ceiling, at each move. As it is, he still goes to sleep under this Ikea leaf  and the first thing he sees when he comes home are our green mats in the front hallway. So please take care what you buy for your rental house or flat. Make sure it is as much a part of your household as a pet, and will make the next move with you.

Tension rods, or the Renter Nomad’s tent pole

Tension rods are the number one item I recommend for anyone in temporary accommodation.

They are a rod which can be re-sized using a spring, twisting, or screwing a bolt into place. They can be used in any aperture, for:

• curtains or blackout curtains (for blackout, use a black fleece blanket);

• wall hangings (use a throw, add loops to a pretty rug, or use a real felt or tapestried wall hanging). Wall Hangings are particularly good in winter, for poorly insulated walls; or

• a picture rail (we all know landlords like to forbid nails and BluTac);

• an external or internal door curtain (we all know, also, that draughts are officially Not a Landlords’ Problem).

These unassuming bits of hardware, which can be bought in local hardware shops, John Lewis (very upmarket), or even through Amazon, are the tent poles of a Renter Nomad’s portable household. They provide a framework, and using them, the familiar walls and curtains can always be with you.