BenStimpson

This was a nice thread to come across. I'm in Canada, came here when I was 8 and I'm in a similar position... want to move back next year. I'm wondering what peoples thoughts are for the following:

- How much should someone have saved before they move back?
- How much will landlords expect upfront before renting to you, especially if you have no credit history?
- Does self employed work count in terms of renting, especially if you don't have a credit score over there?

ShelleyR75

I arrived in the UK in Aug on a UK passport after over 50 years in NZ. We offered 6 months rent in advance as we had no credit rating or guarantor and secured the second flat we viewed. We did add a few paragraphs about ourselves on the flat application which I think helped.
Good luck

Pulaski

Given the very high cost of housing in the UIK, if you're single and with limited income/ resources, and especially (though not necessarily) if you're young, you may find that living in a house share might make more sense than trying to pay for a flat entirely by yourself. A house share might mena renting a room from the homeowner, of it might mean being one of two or more people jointly renting a home. I did both of these things myself when starting out on my career as it was considerably cheaper and enabled me to save money to buy my own place after living in shared accomodation for seven years. Eveything I hear is that is considerably more expensive these days than when I was sharing a house and trying to save money for a deposit on my own home.

durham_lad

6 months rent is what we were ready for as well but the letting agent and owner were happy with proof of income from my US pension.

I have no idea how much to suggest to have in savings but would think at least 6 to 12 months worth of expenses to cover while finding a job etc.