Tenants: Acing A Summer Property Search

In London, the months of late July- end of September are the busiest of the year for rentals. With students coming and going particularly in these months, the market seems to have naturally ebbed and flowed this way. This is a great time of year for tenants as you will have a wider variety of properties to choose from. However, this does also mean that there is a bigger demand for properties, thus, they tend to go faster. Let’s take a look at some of our top tips for property searching during the summer season. 

 

Beginning a property search can be a really exciting task, regardless of whether you will be moving alone or with others. In order to ensure your searches are most effective, it is always best to work out what your criteria is. This means you will always find properties that are best suited to your requirements. Some key points to consider are- 

1. Budget- Each area of London is priced slightly differently than the next, so it is recommended to establish the most you would be willing to pay for your perfect home. This way, you can set the filters accordingly on portals and only see results for properties that are in your budget range.

 

2. Area-  Do a little research into what transport links you or your flat mates will need in order to get to work/university with ease. You will then be able to look at the areas that you would be able to consider, based on these transport links. If you find that properties close to your work or university are too expensive, try branching out a little further away from the centre of London. A good rule of thumb is, the closer to the city you are, the more expensive the area is.

 

3. Move date- The best way to establish an ideal move in date is to note down the earliest date you could move into a property and the very latest. This will also be helpful to you when searching on portals to establish if a move date is going to work for you.

 

4. Length of tenancy- Most agents will offer an initial 12 month tenancy agreement or longer i.e. 24 months. If you require a tenancy shorter than 6 months, you will need to talk to agents who specialise in short term lets.

 

5. Furnishings- Properties are mostly offered as furnished, unfurnished or part furnished. Some tenants prefer to bring their own furniture and some prefer to have furniture already in the property, this will just come down to your personal taste and preferences. 

 

When you register interest in a property or call to book a viewing, agents will ask you for this information in order to make sure a property is right for you. Try to offer up as much insight into your property search as possible. 

 

During the summer, there are so many people searching for properties that viewing slots tend to fill up quite quickly. To maximise your chances of securing a booking before a property has gone, try to be as flexible as possible with timings. If you have seen an ideal property it is worth asking the agent when their next available viewing is for this property so that you can view at your earliest opportunity. 

 

If you will be flat/house sharing, trying to get everyone along to one viewing can be tricky. Whilst it is ideal for you all to try and attend, don’t worry if you can’t- more often than not an agent can offer a second viewing to interested parties. At base, we also offer Virtual Tours on our listings which your flat mates could utilise. 

 

You can find out current property listings here. Feel free to call us on 020 7033 1901 and speak to one of our friendly team to discuss your property requirements. Happy house hunting!