British Expats - Medium-term rental in UK

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steerpike (Post 12574604)

My mum's health continues to deteriorate, and I'm just wrapping up my fourth visit to UK in 12 months to spend time with her. It occurred to me today as I prepare to leave that it may make sense to get a furnished rental next time for, say, a month or 2 or 3. I could even do a 'house swap' maybe as I would be leaving my US place unoccupied. What are the best tools (services, websites, etc) to find such a thing? Is AirBnB good for more than a few weeks? Estate Agents? I would want a furnished place, and I would have various requirements like wheelchair access (for my mum to visit), easy parking, etc. This would be in the North West, FWIW.

Sorry to hear about your mum.

We had several longish stays in Liverpool prior to moving over there, we usually opted for an Airbnb and we use it for holidays too. All holiday type accommodation is fully furnished and equipped. We found it impossible to get a short term furnished rental from an estate agent, the vast majority are offered as ASTs of 6 months, and even if they're willing to consider a shorter term they're not usually furnished and equipped (ie everything included such as crockery, cutlery, right down to the tea towels).

There are other sites as well for 'holiday' type accommodation, such as Home Away and Holiday Lettings, but most of the properties seemed to be run by professional companies rather than the owner. If you use Airbnb disregard the nightly price, nearly all properties will offer a discount of between 10 and 50% for stays of 1 month or longer. You can ask lots of questions re wheelchair accessibility and parking.