Do you struggle to understand property descriptions? Do you find that you’re left baffled while flat hunting? Of course letting agents are just normal people but something seems to happen when they put on that suit, jump into that branded mini and start showing people around properties. If you – like us – have trouble decoding your letting agent then here are a few tips on how to communicate in letting agent chat.

“In our opinion” – when you hear this then you know you’re being served with a letting agent disclaimer. This means that whatever is coming next isn’t going to be a statement of fact that you can rely on. So, for example, you might be told “in our opinion the area is fantastically up and coming” while the reality might be that you walk outside the door and you can’t think straight for police sirens and rubbish.

“On the bright side” – although letting agents might not actually speak these words, this is the approach that they take to the property you’re being convinced to rent. You’ll rarely hear a letting agent admitting to any negatives about the house or flat you’re wandering round, whether the flooring is half ripped up or one of the walls is covered in mould. To understand the reality of what an agent is saying always bear in mind that they’ve dialed the positivity up about three notches.

“Wherefore, wherein, therefore.” You’ve probably heard this for yourself, that moment when a letting agent suddenly wheels out what seems like completely inappropriately formal word in the middle of a casual conversation about grouting. You’ll see this from the advert wording right through to the email communications and if they’re trying to stamp authority on a situation then this tends to increase significantly.

“AST…DoC…GSR.” Jargon, one of the most often-used tools in the letting agent’s armoury as many believe that this is the fastest way to get tenants, and potential tenants, to do what they want. If you find your communications littered with acronyms or phrases or words you’re just not getting the hang of then take a step back, Google it, or just simply ask. A good agent will give you a simple and straightforward explanation. Watch out for those who seem as puzzled as you are when you ask the question…

“At the end of the day.” Another skill that letting agents seem to apply with abandon is the kind of horrible business phrases that most of us, other than middle aged men who have just purchased red Porsches, have long ago moved on from. ‘Blue sky thinking,’ ‘touching base’ and ‘getting your ducks in a row’ are apparently all still acceptable in the rentals world – David Brent eat your heart out.

We all know that there are some great letting agents out there – you’ll find many of them in our vetted agents section – but, given that the rentals market is sometimes a depressing place to be, we like to find the humour where we can.

If you rented out a house or an apartment with pre-installed blinds, it’s a reduced cost on your end. However, if your window has a unique size, your pre-installed blinds might not be the perfect fit for your room.

When your blinds are too massive or small for your home, it can make the room smaller and awkward. Ideally, you should have custom-fit blinds like the Perfect Fit Blinds, as they’ll be able to fit perfectly to your unique window sizes, providing you with everything that you need.

Do you remember how many times you’ve walked through your home, looked out the window and seen your neighbour doing something that should be kept private? It can be an awkward and uncomfortable scenario, especially if the scene calls for it. When you frequently experience this, it’s time to buy new blinds.

To help eliminate uncomfortable moments in your home, you should go for top-down/bottom-up blinds. These help to provide your family with natural light without extending your view.

Top-down/bottom-up shades use a reverse mechanism that brings down the shades from top to bottom rather than the usual bottom to top. In this way, you’ll be able to let natural light come into the room from above, leaving the bottom part secured and safe from your eyesight.

Turning the page over; how many times has your neighbour seen you up to something that you’d have preferred to keep secret? If you frequently spot your neighbours looking into your home, you should consider changing your blinds. Not only does it save you from embarrassing moments, but it also helps you to protect your home and family from prying eyes.

The term “first thing in the morning” usually means by the time you’ve arrived at work. However, it can be quite different with kids around.

When the sun rises and shines into your kid’s rooms, even if it’s way before their wake-up time, they could easily run straight into your rooms and wake you up; they want breakfast and conversation. While that can be fun, it can also be frustrating, especially if it’s at the crack of dawn.

To help your children to stay asleep for longer hours, you should consider getting your kids blackout blinds so that no light can get through their windows until you want it to. This should keep your kids asleep for as long as possible.

Paying rent can be expensive, especially when you have to spend a lot on other things in your homes such as energy, water and your internet bill, as well as your weekly groceries. You may not notice it, but your blinds contribute to how you spend your energy at home.

During the summer season, the afternoons get extra hot, and you need to boost your AC to its maximum capacity to feel comfortable and relaxed. However, it can’t trap the temperature with the wrong blinds. This will make your ACs work extra hard just to cool you down, elevating your electricity bills.

You could go for high-quality blinds that have excellent insulating properties, as these help to maintain either a cool or warm temperature inside the room, depending on which season it is.

One of the most obvious reasons why you might want to change your blinds is because they’re broken. It could be that your pre-installed blinds have been sitting on the window for decades, or that your pet has broken them by pushing their head between the slats of the blinds to see what’s happening outside, or that your children are playing with the control cord causing the mechanism to stick.

If you’ve just moved in and the pre-installed blinds are out of style or your preference, you should change them.

Changing your blinds into something better-looking and updated will allow your room a fresher feel, making your stay at the place a lot homier.

If your current blinds don’t fit your needs anymore, you should consider changing them.

You can update your blinds if you want a blackout experience, proper insulation, increased security or even just for style preference. Just make sure that when choosing your new blinds, you get the perfect fit to give a great look to your window.

There are many factors as to why a tenant would want to change their blinds, but before purchasing a new one, you should check with your lease contract to see if it’s allowed or whether there’s a particular process to follow for repair or replacement. If there is, contact your landlord immediately to get the job done quickly.

Above all, make sure that you purchase the perfect fit, style and purpose according to your preference; good blinds will last you for years after replacement, so make sure that you really like them.