Best sites to locate rental properties in uk

[icuraqt70]

Hi all,

Can anyone advise me of the best sites to look at rental properties in the Uk? Looking around anywhere from Reading/Marlow - London and between.

Also, if I have no rental history and no credit history in the Uk, will I have trouble getting a rental property? My partner is on a work visa with a secured job and immediate start and I am a Uk citizen but I've never lived there and will be looking for work straight away.

Also, what are the standard upfront costs/money outlay we can expect for a rental property (bond, rent in advance etc).

Your help is appreciated!

Regards,

Rebecca

[DPK]

Hi Rebecca,

That is an enormous area to cover for rental property!

Not in square miles maybe, but in price its from heaven to earth!

Where is your partner working?

It looks a bit like you want to be near the M4 corridor (Reading /London) and Marlow drops off of it slighly to the M40, but only by a few minutes.

Is your partner being transfered by his company? Will they take the lease in the company name if so?

Just very briefly, if we look M4 corridor

Reading furthest out, cheapest generally for rental, some very rough areas, and some perfectly nice family areas.
Small part is on the river. Big sprawling town centre. Good for commuting.

Closer in you have Maidenhead.
Large areas on the river, town not great, nice surrounding countryside, quite mixed on price and types of property.
Both Maidenhaed and Reading are in Berkshire.

Further up M4 you come to Slough?? Would not be my choice to live in Slough. Good transport links. Berkshire also

Drop back a bit to Marlow which is in Bucks.

Probably the most expensive of all of these areas. Two reasons.

Bucks still has Grammar school system, so v.popular with families.
On the river, and very pretty. Mix of traditional and some modern stlyle architecture.



Fantastic Rowing Club!

Beautiful Church on the river, very popular for weddings!

Can help futher travelling up M4 or M40 corridor, know whole area extremely well, but think you need to pin down what you really want from the area, where your partner is working, and sort of work you are looking for.

Hope that helps a little!

[Hepa]

Try Right Move

[nyclon]

Originally Posted by icuraqt70

Hi all,

Can anyone advise me of the best sites to look at rental properties in the Uk? Looking around anywhere from Reading/Marlow - London and between.

Also, if I have no rental history and no credit history in the Uk, will I have trouble getting a rental property? My partner is on a work visa with a secured job and immediate start and I am a Uk citizen but I've never lived there and will be looking for work straight away.

Also, what are the standard upfront costs/money outlay we can expect for a rental property (bond, rent in advance etc).

Your help is appreciated!

Regards,

Rebecca

To get a feel for what's available in different areas try:

UK's number one property website for properties for sale and to rent
Find Property for Sale, Properties to Rent & House Prices
Primelocation: Homes & Houses For Sale, Estate Agents, Property Search
Search Property for Sale, To Buy, Rent, House Prices, Estate Agents

As I said, these sites are good for getting a feel for what's available but once you decide where to look, you need to contact estate agents in that area and bear in mind that they are very neighborhood specific.

With no credit history, be prepared to put up 6 months rent in advance as well as 6 weeks for a security deposit. Your partner might want to check if his employer can help him out with that. You'll also probably have to pay for a credit check even though you have none.

[icuraqt70]

Originally Posted by DPK

Hi Rebecca,

That is an enormous area to cover for rental property!

Not in square miles maybe, but in price its from heaven to earth!

Where is your partner working?

It looks a bit like you want to be near the M4 corridor (Reading /London) and Marlow drops off of it slighly to the M40, but only by a few minutes.

Is your partner being transfered by his company? Will they take the lease in the company name if so?

Just very briefly, if we look M4 corridor

Reading furthest out, cheapest generally for rental, some very rough areas, and some perfectly nice family areas.
Small part is on the river. Big sprawling town centre. Good for commuting.

Closer in you have Maidenhead.
Large areas on the river, town not great, nice surrounding countryside, quite mixed on price and types of property.
Both Maidenhaed and Reading are in Berkshire.

Further up M4 you come to Slough?? Would not be my choice to live in Slough. Good transport links. Berkshire also

Drop back a bit to Marlow which is in Bucks.

Probably the most expensive of all of these areas. Two reasons.

Bucks still has Grammar school system, so v.popular with families.
On the river, and very pretty. Mix of traditional and some modern stlyle architecture.

Fantastic Rowing Club!

Beautiful Church on the river, very popular for weddings!

Can help futher travelling up M4 or M40 corridor, know whole area extremely well, but think you need to pin down what you really want from the area, where your partner is working, and sort of work you are looking for.

Hope that helps a little!

Wow thanks so much for all the info. My partner is working in marlow but we really want to live I'm a more 'city' style area as we are both from country Australia. In Australia we pretty much have one website with all the rentals in australia. I'm struggling to find something similar in the Uk!

I haven't asked about whether the company would be on the lease. Is that common? He's doing an intra company transfer. Although they've only supplied £1000 for relocation, which is a lot less than we were hoping for!

He's also not getting as much money as what we thought, so we may have to live in reading rather than London. Can you tell me much about reading? Appreciate your help!

[icuraqt70]

Originally Posted by Hepa

Try Right Move

Will do! Thanks!

[icuraqt70]

Originally Posted by nyclon

To get a feel for what's available in different areas try:

UK's number one property website for properties for sale and to rent
Find Property for Sale, Properties to Rent & House Prices
Primelocation: Homes & Houses For Sale, Estate Agents, Property Search
Search Property for Sale, To Buy, Rent, House Prices, Estate Agents

As I said, these sites are good for getting a feel for what's available but once you decide where to look, you need to contact estate agents in that area and bear in mind that they are very neighborhood specific.

With no credit history, be prepared to put up 6 months rent in advance as well as 6 weeks for a security deposit. Your partner might want to check if his employer can help him out with that. You'll also probably have to pay for a credit check even though you have none.

Six months upfront! I nearly collapsed when I read that. Wow!!! I'm so glad I asked. Thanks heaps for the heads up. We'll have to speak to the company about that!

Sites will help too. Many thanks!

[DPK]

Hi Rebecca,

It used to be very common that the very large companies would take on the lease if they were transfering an employee from one country to another, this was especially so with the American companies.

When the recession came, rental packages changed, but big organisations still understand the difficulties that employees face with no credit history, and will often act as "guarantors", ie promise to pay the rent if you default. This way you just take on the rental and pay the rent and deposit normally. Human Resources should be forthcoming in that area.

Reading is very mixed. Some years ago it had the dubious distinction of having the worst record in the UK for crime!

My niece looked at going to Uni there and was very put off by that statistic! That is some years ago, and there have been loads of improvements.

It it a uni town, so lots of student accom around and depending on your budget you may find you are competing with students for accom at the top end of their budget, although they tend to take the bigger older house to split/share.

There is lots going on in the centre, busy bars and restaurants, it can still be a bit "rough" at the weekends. Lots of shops. There are some very pretty villages that sit on the outskirts of Reading on the river.

There is a lot of council property in Reading as well, and these are large estates, often older and not so well kept. Area will be very important within Reading.

Its about 2O minutes to Marlow, except in rush hour, then you can double that!

Very good rail links to central London.

Marlow is very "pretty". Always crowded at the weekends, has two big supermarkets, busy high street with lots of bars/restaurants, mostly smaller shops.
Very nice feel to it.

Maidenhead.

For some reason the town centre is dying. Shops open and close rapidly, so most people would go either to Reading for big shops, (it has big supermakets in Maidenhead) or Windsor.

Housing will be on the whole slightly more than Reading (closer to London as well)
slightly less than Marlow. It can be a very pleasant area to live in, have had a number of friends that have lived there over the years.

Windsor could be an option as well? You are right in the flight path in Windsor, but this does not deter many people! Very touristy in summer. Again easy access to London and Marlow, few mins to M4 Jct 6, and you would come off M4 at 7/8 for Marlow, in the direction of reading.
Windsor has a huge mix of housing, so prices also vary greatly. It is also located on the Thames. Good bars and restaurants

If you wanted to be in London, outskirts, but not suburbs, you could look at Chiswick or Ealing.

If your partner has to commute on the train from London to Marlow, you will need to think about 1700 to 2000 pounds per annum in train fares.

Which area will you be looking to work in? Because you need to factor in your transport costs as well.

All of these areas are full of Estate Agents, that will help with rentals.

If the company is very large, do they use relocation agents at all?

Is the plan to go straight into your rental home or have time in a hotel or company house first?

I know the area so well, because I lived in Chiswick for many years, then moved out to Cookham Dean, which sits on the hill above Marlow, my son initially went to school in Old Windsor, and then Ascot, and then Wokingham.

He also helped out at Longridge for a while in Marlow, which is a water sports centre on the river, running courses for schoolchildren and adults, kayaks, sail boats, rowing dragon boats etc, and they now have a fencing club as well!

The rowing club is on the bridge in Marlow.

Think Sir Steve Redgrave! He went to the local school, and trained on the river. A great inspiration for may Marlow kids.

His wfe was a GP there and retrained as an Osteo, and had her clinic in Bourne End, which is where we were before France.

One of my other nieces went to school in Marlow.

Little Marlow is much quieter, more rural.

You are also very close to Henley on Thames slower transport back to Marlow because of smaller roads

You do have a very good selection of areas to choose from, its pining down what you want, and how much you want to pay for it! and also want you want to do in your leisure time.

[icuraqt70]

Originally Posted by DPK

Hi Rebecca,

It used to be very common that the very large companies would take on the lease if they were transfering an employee from one country to another, this was especially so with the American companies.

When the recession came, rental packages changed, but big organisations still understand the difficulties that employees face with no credit history, and will often act as "guarantors", ie promise to pay the rent if you default. This way you just take on the rental and pay the rent and deposit normally. Human Resources should be forthcoming in that area.

Reading is very mixed. Some years ago it had the dubious distinction of having the worst record in the UK for crime!

My niece looked at going to Uni there and was very put off by that statistic! That is some years ago, and there have been loads of improvements.

It it a uni town, so lots of student accom around and depending on your budget you may find you are competing with students for accom at the top end of their budget, although they tend to take the bigger older house to split/share.

There is lots going on in the centre, busy bars and restaurants, it can still be a bit "rough" at the weekends. Lots of shops. There are some very pretty villages that sit on the outskirts of Reading on the river.

There is a lot of council property in Reading as well, and these are large estates, often older and not so well kept. Area will be very important within Reading.

Its about 2O minutes to Marlow, except in rush hour, then you can double that!

Very good rail links to central London.

Marlow is very "pretty". Always crowded at the weekends, has two big supermarkets, busy high street with lots of bars/restaurants, mostly smaller shops.
Very nice feel to it.

Maidenhead.

For some reason the town centre is dying. Shops open and close rapidly, so most people would go either to Reading for big shops, (it has big supermakets in Maidenhead) or Windsor.

Housing will be on the whole slightly more than Reading (closer to London as well)
slightly less than Marlow. It can be a very pleasant area to live in, have had a number of friends that have lived there over the years.

Windsor could be an option as well? You are right in the flight path in Windsor, but this does not deter many people! Very touristy in summer. Again easy access to London and Marlow, few mins to M4 Jct 6, and you would come off M4 at 7/8 for Marlow, in the direction of reading.
Windsor has a huge mix of housing, so prices also vary greatly. It is also located on the Thames. Good bars and restaurants

If you wanted to be in London, outskirts, but not suburbs, you could look at Chiswick or Ealing.

If your partner has to commute on the train from London to Marlow, you will need to think about 1700 to 2000 pounds per annum in train fares.

Which area will you be looking to work in? Because you need to factor in your transport costs as well.

All of these areas are full of Estate Agents, that will help with rentals.

If the company is very large, do they use relocation agents at all?

Is the plan to go straight into your rental home or have time in a hotel or company house first?

I know the area so well, because I lived in Chiswick for many years, then moved out to Cookham Dean, which sits on the hill above Marlow, my son initially went to school in Old Windsor, and then Ascot, and then Wokingham.

He also helped out at Longridge for a while in Marlow, which is a water sports centre on the river, running courses for schoolchildren and adults, kayaks, sail boats, rowing dragon boats etc, and they now have a fencing club as well!

The rowing club is on the bridge in Marlow.

Think Sir Steve Redgrave! He went to the local school, and trained on the river. A great inspiration for may Marlow kids.

His wfe was a GP there and retrained as an Osteo, and had her clinic in Bourne End, which is where we were before France.

One of my other nieces went to school in Marlow.

Little Marlow is much quieter, more rural.

You are also very close to Henley on Thames slower transport back to Marlow because of smaller roads

You do have a very good selection of areas to choose from, its pining down what you want, and how much you want to pay for it! and also want you want to do in your leisure time.

Wow! You have been an enormous help! I really appreciate the time you took to write all of this, it has been so helpful!

I was actually looking at Ealing too, it was one of the places on my list. Is it impossible to have a car there? I'm looking for work in the HR/banking industry and the closer I am the better but it's too hard to start looking until I get there! But just in case, I try to factor in a potential commute to London central.

We haven't asked about what they intend to do until we find somewhere to live. They have merely provided us with £1000 for relocation (and the cost of both of our flights). It is a big American company however my partner is being transferred from the Australian office, but I'm definitely going to have my partner ask before the contracts are signed this week.

Until I find work, our budget for accommodation will be very low because of the two mortgages and bills we will have to pay back in Australia (around £600 a month). After I find work, that will change completely as my whole salary will be our extra spending money.

In our spare time we love things like cafes, dinners, trash and treasure markets, the movies, shopping centres etc. We don't really go to bars or clubs. I think most likely we will be exploring what he Uk has to offer (thats if my partner doesn't decide to spend all his time rescuing Julian assange from the ecuadorian embassy (jokes of course)).

Ideally we would like an apartment rather than a house.

I'll have to sit down with him and go through your post and see what we can come up with! Reading sounds interesting. A little worried about the crime! I'm excited to start looking at the other places you mentioned too.

Thanks a bunch!

[DPK]

Hi Rebecca.

Pleasure to help.

Reading is much much better than it was! Please do not let me put you off!
Thousands of people live there very happily.

Just be a bit "street smart" in the evenings in centre of town, and chose the area of Reading to live carefully.

The niece that was looking at Uni there was from a very small community, and it would have been her first venture from home.

Quite a few big employers in banking/finance in the area.

You may struggle to find much choice at £600 per month, for a place of your own. Its possible. But then, you will be locked into a six month contract, in a property that may well be a compromise.

£700 would give you more choice of one bed flats.

Two possible options, which might help short term, would you consider a house share?
That would give you more for your money, and also not tie you to a lease, so you would have the flexibilty to move into the property you want, when you find your job.

There are lots of house shares in very nice properties for young professionals. Also gives you instant friends and first hand info from them about the area.
You would have to be in the UK to do that.
Once here, if you are highly organised you could be into a house share within a couple of weeks.


The other is a serviced apartment. Expensive., but you could book it from Aus, know where you were going when you arrived, no huge initial outlay, and use it for say two weeks, to find your feet and your home.

I will give you some links to local reputable estate agents, and you can get a good idea of exactly what your money buys you in each area.