Calling all London Members - Student Accomodation?

[Mul]

Hi there,

Thought I'd ask away over here as I'd imagine there's a fair few members on here that have at least experienced renting in and around Zone 1 and Zone 2

I'm currently a first year student at KCL, staying in Intercollegiate Accomodation. As great as the area is, it's not something I'm willing to do for another year and so I'm looking to rent next year with one friend. While it goes without saying that I can forget about WCx postcodes, I've been looking at everything up to mid zone 2 for places that are no more than 45mins commuting distance to the Strand Campus.

I've been using the University of London Housing Services site as well as estate agents, tfl.gov.uk for approximate travel distances and I've also been using the Met Police crime map (http://maps.met.police.uk/) to get an idea of the quality of the area.

So, I've been wondering, whereabouts have you London students been staying and about how much have you been paying per week per person? I get the impression that anywhere in a respectable location is going to be around £110-125 per head per week at the very minimum but my friend reckons that it can be done for nearer the £90-100 mark. I'm concerned that we're not looking in the right places and missing out on good deals. Would you say my estimate is about right or too high? On a non income assessed basis I get £4985 in Maintenence next year, which comes to roughly £96 a week so anything above comes out of jobs, which I'd be willing to do if it means staying somewhere safer.

Also, I find it a bit of a nuisance that due to 52 week leases, I'm burning money on housing that I'll only use for 12 weeks in the first semester, 14 weeks in the second and around 6 in the third semester. Is it ever possible to at least arrange a break of rent for the long summer holiday?

Finally, I'm finding it hard to time this rental process right. Will I stand to lose out on the good properties if I don't at least put a holding deposit down on something in the next month or can we expect more properties to come later on? Will negotiation power be better at this time of the year?

Looking forward to existing students' rental experiences and thoughts

Many Thanks.

 

[Moonpie]

Sorry not really sure where the KCL is?
I'd highly recommend our area, ie just by Clapham Junction railway station (SW11), as great transport links to anywhere in London, trains run every 5 mins to Waterloo and Victoria. Then there's 2 commons (Wandsworth and Clapham), loads of bars, restaurants etc along the Northcote Road. The crime isn't too bad in the area (dare I say it? I'll probably go and get mugged tomorrow now!!). When I rented some years ago it was about £400 a month and yet when someone recently told me how much they pay on rent it seemed to be a very similar figure. Plus, what with the credit crunch etc people are renting out spare rooms.

It's a great area and I'd highly recommend it.

 

[XiS111]

im live in a private rented room in zone 2 new cross, reason i chose it was 5mins away from my Goldsmiths College london, 100 pounds per week for a double bedroom including all bills and internet.

being close to university means saving on the extortionate fares i'd have to pay for travel.

About the contract thing, i got my landlord to give me a 6 month contract instead of the 12 month, so i can leave whenever now, just give him a month in advance notice.

 

[Alex_L]

Look around bermondsey, there are quite a few council estates that are cheap and cheerful for student accommodation, and its a pretty safe area as there is absolutely nothing to do so no trouble really. Also well served by night buses from central london.

If you end up paying for 52 weeks, get a london based summer internship and that will cover the rental costs and probably leave you with a nice cushion for next year. That or sub let to someone doing a summer internship from another uni.

In london I've left flat hunting until the last possible minute and always been ok, though its probably best to look as soon as you can so you don't end up paying over the odds to avoid being homeless.

 

[daz]

You're probably going to have to look South of the river. Borough, Kennington, North Lambeth, Waterloo, Vauxhall are all very good for getting in to the Strand campus, and should easily be within your budget.

We just did a normal 12 month let and stayed in London over the holidays.... finding student leases in London is difficult because the rental market isn't dominated by students like in some university cities. Just look on the normal estate agent sites, kfh, ludlow thompson, find a property etc. You've also got gumtree but that tends to be better for finding housemates.

 

[Mul]

Many thanks for the responses.

We've just got ourselves a third person and it's actually opened up a few options north of the bank as well.

Excellent idea with the summer internship as well Bush and thanks Daz, for the estate agent and gumtree suggestions.