Food, clothes, housing and transportation are all our most basic activities. And among them, “housing” is the most important one. If you don’t get a good and inexpensive dormitory assigned by your school, congratulations, you’ve joined the hoards of international students renting student accommodation in London.
Everyone wants to save money on renting an apartment. But every year in September, the rent price and agency fee go up to the highest. So once you are sure you need to rent an apartment, try looking for an apartment in July or early August. Also, it would help if you appointed someone to look at the apartment or look at it in person. Or, you can wait until after October when the prices come down and you become familiar with the neighbourhood.
Searching for Apartments
You can’t have it both ways. It’s almost impossible to save money and be in a good location simultaneously. Finding the best value for money requires a lot of searching. One of the best websites is uhomes. Uhomes, for example, allows you to search for properties centred on a specific address (e.g., a school) and within a certain distance radius.
On these sites, it is also possible to qualify conditions such as the type of house (e.g. House, Flat, Bungalow), the number of bedrooms, and the rent to narrow the search more precisely. Here’s a tip: you can also get a lot of basic information about the rental property’s location from the London zip code number. According to my senior, the best areas in London for security are those beginning with SW or W. But, be careful that some areas south of the Thames start with SW, where the security is relatively poor. Still, of course, the prices are also much lower.
I’m studying urban design at UCL, and I’m doing a lot of classes and staying up late. That’s why I chose to look for a house closer to my school, within about 1 mile and 10-20 minutes walking distance. It costs 150-200 pounds per person per week for four people to share four bedrooms and two bathrooms. Of course, the closer the distance, the higher the price. Closer to the school, there is a greater concentration of amenities and a relative ease of living. Although it is £30-40 per week more expensive than non-school housing for the same housing conditions, it also saves a significant portion of monthly pass fees for subway and bus.
Screening
Searching online is just the beginning of renting. There may be dozens of eligible houses with the screening criteria set and a mouse click. You can use Google Maps to calculate the distance between the home and the school or workplace. You can also judge whether the area where you are renting is safe based on the drawings of the relevant GIS-based studies, such as the London Crime Rate Map.
Click on the link to the house of your choice for more detailed information, focusing on the number of bedrooms, bathrooms and furnishings, whether it has been redecorated, and, in the case of professional agents, the floor plan and energy consumption diagram. Pay particular attention to whether the price includes a monthly bill. But monthly bills are usually less than £10 per week, regardless of location. And students do not have to pay Council Tax.
Making an appointment
Finding a good apartment takes luck and hard work. It would help if you list the properties you are interested in. You can also write down important information such as the primary conditions of the property, the price, the agent’s contact details, etc. This will make it easier for you to compare the properties, contact the landlord, and make notes.
Contacting agents is a multi-threaded process because there is more than one suitable property. You can email and call several agents simultaneously. Then, you can make an appointment and go to the site to see the house separately.
Viewing
First, examine the general external environment. Consider whether it is conveniently located, has all the amenities, and is well-policed. Of course, it’s only sometimes good to have all the amenities. If there are a lot of bars downstairs, the security situation at night will not be optimistic. If the external environment is pleasing, the next step is to look at the house’s facilities.
It is essential to pay special attention to whether the kitchen equipment (cooktop, stove, oven, microwave oven, refrigerator) is complete and working correctly. Stoves are categorized as either open-flame or electrically heated, and the pots and pans used with them have different requirements. Electric stoves have a lower power, making stir-frying Chinese dishes problematic. So, students who like to cook should be careful about choosing open-flame stoves. Make sure that the washing machine, microwave oven, vacuum cleaner, toilet, shower, and heater are in working order.
The landlord will usually provide basic furniture for the apartment. For example, in the bedroom, overhead light, bed frame, mattress, desk, chair and closet are indispensable.
If you are lucky, you can rent a new house that is newly renovated. But more often than not, you can rent a mostly old house. The most important things to look for when inspecting an old house are whether the bathroom is well-ventilated, whether the sink is clean, whether the commode is clean and in working order, whether the shower curtain has been replaced, and, ideally, whether the hot and cold water temperatures are appropriate and the changeover operation is smooth.
In the kitchen, see if there is enough storage space for dishes, drawers, cupboards, and worktops are clean. Look out for grease residue on kitchen furniture and check for stickiness by touching it with your fingers.
Signing the Contract
After viewing and comparing several properties, decide on one and sign a contract with an agent. Generally, the contract the agent provides is very formal and consists of 2-3 pages, with one page on the payment terms and 1-2 pages on the rights and responsibilities of both parties. Formal contracts are reported to the local government. International students do not need to pay Council Tax as long as they provide a certificate issued by the university. All the property articles must be read carefully. If there is anything you don’t understand or are not satisfied with, you can bring it up with the agent.
At the same time, many schools, such as UCL, have specialized organizations to help international students identify whether the contract is fair, just and standardized. They can be obliged to help to review the contract. If time permits, it is recommended that you take the contract to the appropriate organization at your school for assistance. The agency will need to charge an agency fee. According to experienced seniors, the agency fee can be bargained. It can be cut to less than half the opening price or even lower. After haggling, an average agency fee of less than £100 per person is reasonable.
Going abroad is a systematic project and the application’s success is only the beginning. Every step is an unprecedented exercise living independently in a foreign country. But these twists and turns of the tangled exercise can also accelerate our growth and promote social integration.
