backagen

Just wondering how you go with getting somewhere to live at first when you arrive in UK.

Normally in my experience when you try to rent a place they always want you to be employed, but obviously intially I won't be so how do you think I'll go with getting a house?

Any tips or experience that might help here?

cherry6

We are going to rent holiday accommodation for a month or so until my OH finds work, then we will apply for a rental with his wage slip as proof of income. Some holiday accomm is reasonable, ours is 250 pounds a week for a detached 3 bed house.

Reading fan

We are self employed therefore didn't have a job to go as such, we found a rental but had to pay 6 mths in advance then direct debit thereafter even though we had maintained a bank acct here for the time we were away and could provide proof of funds.

whereamifrom

Funny you mentioned that. I just got a call from an advert I had, requesting a room, gave some information about myself. This was last week. Updating it daily. Got a call today via skype. I called him back and we agreed on terms, etc.

One big load off my back. Got tired of looking at ads daily, worrying about where I would live once I land in London.

Anyway, try gumtree.com. Found a job and now a place via that site.

gotoronto

It is not easy. We are struggling, as flats advertised through agencies do require 6 months rent up front if you are not employed. In London, that can be really steep.

I heard it is easier if you find a private landlord - they may take past landlord reference and a little less money than the estate agents - perhaps 3 months up front.

Otherwise - there is the option of holiday accommodation and short term lets. You take a bit of a risk as you do not know what you are getting yourself into. Also be careful that they are legitimate. I made an enquiry with one place, then discovered that the same company also specialises in toy girls and toy boys, so I quickly deleted that email.

gotoronto

Not wanting to hijack this thread - but I do wonder: Does a person's credit rating have an impact on whether you would get a lease more easily? I have always had a superb credit rating and we have only been away for about 5 months now - so I wonder if that might help? We kept all our accounts open.

FlyergirlUK

I'm sure it would help.

We got ourselves a place with neither of us having a job lined up though we had to stump up 6 months' rent. I had no credit rating and Hubs is American.

gotoronto

The 6 months rent is a killer, isn't it? I think even when you have the money, it hurts quite a bit as you could so be making interest on it in a high interest savings account! I guess on the other hand, you have no more rent to worry about for 6 months... and once you start working again your bank account will look absolutely amazing.

FlyergirlUK

The bad part!

The good part!

And still waiting for this part!

On the whole though I was happy to a) have found a decent house in a decent neighbourhood filled with lovely people and b) not have to worry about the rent for a while.

On the other hand, gourd only knows what the landlord did with the readies cos he sure as heck wasn't paying the mortgage with it - a letter from the mortgage company's legal team let us know that!

gotoronto

For the right place, we are willing to fork it out, too. But not for something that we just kind of like.

That is scary, though! Did you go privately or through an estate agent?

FlyergirlUK

That was through an estate agent - the next place was private though, the landlord was a family acquaintance.

This latest place, however, was through a leasing agent, (also known to my family) and has been owned by the landlord's family for a very long time so we feel confident that we'll encounter few problems this time around!

cherry6

My mum went back to the UK after 2 years here, and found a rental through an estate agent without having to pay 6 months up front. She spoke to several different agents and they were all quite happy to accept her. I think it does depend on the area (cities might be more tricky) and the individual agent. The only difficulty she has had was that she applied for an Argos card, and although her credit history was perfect they refused her as she had not been on an electoral roll for 2 years. So getting on the roll asap even if its at a relatives address can be a help.

Donna Allan

We rented holiday accommodation for 2 weeks before our arrival as we needed to show proof for OH's visa that we had somewhere to stay and I did not want to ask any of the family to put us up. We found a house to rent through an estate agent and paid two months deposit and four months up front. It was quite hectic having to lay out so much money but as one of the other comments said, it does give you some peace of mind knowing that you don't have to worry about finding money to pay rent for a while.

northernbird

It isn't about the accounts you have it is about your presence on the electoral roll. If you are not on that then you will find it nigh on impossible to get credit. I couldn't even get a 15 quid a month phone contract. Make sure it is the first thing you do on your return.

Emma M

I was lucky because my mum's friend is a landlord who had a place for me to come back to. If I hadn't had that opportunity, then I would have ended up staying with family until I could get a job, and then got a place after that.