Cass2023

Hello all,

My husband is currently in the UK looking for an apartment for us and is not having much luck. We are looking in the Tynemouth/Whitley Bay area but each agency seems to only have 1 or 2 listings maximum available and there are multiple people submitting applications. When he went to view a rental today, there were 4 or 5 other groups of people who showed up to view it at the same time. We are also considering the Jesmond Newcastle area, but rentals are scarce there as well. Does anyone have any suggestions on what we can do to secure a rental? None of the agencies will contact when they receive new listings and just suggest that you set up alerts on rightmove. We've been told by agencies "don't give up" but my husband is due to return to the US next week so we are a bit pressed to find a place.

Thanks for any advice.

durham_lad

I wish I could suggest something helpful but it sounds like your husband is doing all the right things. We are about 50 miles south of Tynemouth but the rental apartment market is very tight here as well. It took our daughter’s partner several weeks to find one earlier this year. He found it on Rightmove.

Good luck

Cass2023

Thanks for the information, though several weeks is a bit stressful to hear! Do you know if agencies in the UK will do virtual visits of rentals if you are not currently abroad? Or are there companies that help in acquiring a rental for you? Thanks again!

durham_lad

I’m afraid I don’t know. We were fortunate to have good friends in the town where we were looking to rent in 2016 while we were still in the USA. They were able to check out places for us that we found on Rightmove, and put in a good word for us when we found a place we wanted to rent.

We did something similar last year for our daughter when she was looking to buy a house. We could arrange visits to look at places she identified and once she decided on a place she was very interested in we were able to arrange a second visit and use FaceTime so she could see the house herself and talk with the seller.

Cass2023

Thank you so much for the added information.