Friday, 14 March 2014

A few tips for student accommodation newbs

So you have chosen your student accommodation – you have agreed with 5 friends that you will be house sharing a lovely 4 bedroom detached house a ten minute walk from campus, you will be using the dining room as a bedroom but keeping the living room so have a communal area and the kitchen is big enough to have 2 washing machines which come with the property. Bonus; there is even a barbeque in the garden and a shed so you have somewhere to keep your bike. The rent is a big higher than you had hoped – with your ticketing job at the local stadium, but Mum and Dad have agreed to support you providing you show that you are working to support yourself. So they will be arranging a food shop each month to keep you fed and alive with reasonably nutritious foods! Your housemates are legends, your Landlord is a dude and has let to students before so knows the ropes – he has banned smoking in the house and asked you not to cause any major damage but is quite happy for you to party till the early hours as long as you don’t get endless complaints from neighbours.

Now what do you do? You are moving to a new home, responsible you – with a job and a university place and your very own house where you can come and go as you please and bring ‘friends’ home without Mum and Dad discussing condoms with them at breakfast – yikes!
Mum and Dad have drilled into you the importance of arranging bills and direct debits and splitting costs with your housemates. One of you has to bite the bullet and agree to pay from your bank account; obviously you don’t want to be stumped with a huge bill so you agree to have a meeting. Sat with a bottle of wine you discuss how you will organise the payments that need to go out to electricity, gas and water. You all agree that there should be one account which everyone pays into so that the bills can be paid directly. You agree to use one of your bank accounts (panic) and ask them each to set up a standing order for their portion of the payments to arrive in good time so you don’t get any bank charges for unpaid direct debits.

So what do you do when Jack doesn’t pay his portion in time, claims he didn’t get paid from work or something but you have seem him knocking back beers at the campus bar and buying a rather nifty Ben Sherman shirt this week. Because you thought this could happen you had a small buffer in the account – not much, but enough to protect your credit rating if a problem should occur. But now that buffer is gone, Jack has not paid for his portion of the bills and you need to chase him for it. So where do you go from here?
Jack needs to understand the importance of paying his portion. Perhaps you could suggest to Jack that if he missed the payment again you will renege on your agreement to allow the direct debits to come from your account and instead point the companies directly toward him so that he can manage the payments instead. Ultimately you are doing your housemates a kindness by organising the bills for them and putting your neck on the line. If you are living with people who do not respect this then perhaps it’s time to find new housemates who do! Jack reluctantly returns his shirt and pays you the money he owes so for now, all is dandy. Hopefully Jack has learnt his lesson!

For more useful advice why not visit http://readingstudentaccommodation.com/its not just about readings student accommodation but also has tips that apply to every city in the country.

Friday, 7 February 2014

Student lodgings and accommodation

Get hostel lodging.


One can find an abundance of lodging for students in the UK. As a student, you are going to want a spot for rest and recreation. Students usually look for cheaper rooms. Cheap accommodations for students are in excellent demand within the UK. It's expensive to live within the United Kingdom and therefore you should look for less costly lodgings. The majority of us want lodgings which might be cheap. If you do not have capital, you can't afford expensive private lodgings. Students can't afford to commit a good deal on lodgings. Revenue will not be uncomplicated to get for students. If you are seeking for rooms for rent, you could have a number of solutions to select from within the United kingdom. You could share lodging and this really is less expensive. Youth hostels are an awesome option to live. You will find special dormitories in the event you want to share accommodation. You'll find unique hostels that happen to be specifically designed for students only. There is certainly a wide range of accommodation to suit each pocket. You will discover costly live-in rooms for all those who can afford it. This notion of residing with households could be extremely handy and simple. You get board and lodgings if you choose to stay with a family. The ideal and least expensive lodging are within the countryside. Big cities such as Liverpool are just too high-priced for students. Students who take up courses within the UK favor to reside within the big cities. Students could find that more affordable accommodations are quite usually fantastic. High-priced lodgings are certainly not continually the very best. One can find all types of places to stay for students inside the United Kingdom. Due to the fact there is certainly rush for admission, students should try and reserve places to stay in advance. Considering the fact that the student population is around the rise you might want to make certain, you go in early. Students come from around the globe. Students from distinctive components from the globe flock to educational institutions in the United Kingdom. Studying within the United Kingdom is easier as English is spoken by folks all over the world. Studying within the United Kingdom may be quite pricey in the event you don't have the sources. You'll need a place to stay as soon as you land within the United Kingdom as a student. A lot of people have realized that cities for example London provide you with fantastic education but that they're highly-priced at the same time. With no appropriate support, you could locate it arduous to get lodging. You cannot study as a foreign student with no a student visa. You will want an further work permit to perform in the UK. It can be quite a lot of entertaining in the event you reside and operate inside the United Kingdom. Most foreign students dream of studying in countries which include the United Kingdom. You can find some UK universities that are recognized internationally as fantastic places of larger education. You are sure to locate great employment after completing one from the professional courses inside the UK. You could get admission in any one of these reputed colleges. If you get a degree from these reputed universities, your future is assured. It is not unusual to see students flocking to colleges and colleges in the United Kingdom. Young women and men who study inside the United Kingdom understand that they have an enormous opportunity to perform properly in life. You may need exceptional rooms and lodging to enjoy your remain within the United Kingdom. One can find educational institutions that offer low-priced student places to stay.

Tuesday, 7 January 2014

Task 1 - find accommodation

I will keep this post brief, it is simply a quick guide to point you in the right direction for finding student accommodation.


I am very sure you no which university you will be attending. Maybe Cambridge or Oxford if you bare a genius. Or perhaps the University Of Nottingham to study medicine and become a life saver, mine well that was Reading University. So the first thing to do is get on Google and search for the local letting agents. there will be many and some will be better than others. Once you have a list of preferred agents you now want to check that on there website it says things like UNIPOL accredited properties - click here to find out why. In short they make sure properties are fit for use. You will also want to be sure the agent uses the Deposit Protection Scheme set up by the government, click here for more details.

Now you should have a fairly accurate list. Get on Facebook and fine tune your list by looking at university group pages in your area and see who says what a the agents. Do not be afraid to ask questions. A contract is a long time so you want to be sure you have done enough research to be happy with your choice of student accommodation letting agent. Now all you need to do is get viewing those properties.

I am sure you will see most of them on line. Get your list down to 3-5 and then book your viewings. Earlier the better because these properties are on a first come first serve basis and you will not be the only student looking for accommodation. Get your house-mates to be to come to the viewings, to often you hear of one not being there and so the rest of the group do  not sign until the missing student agrees and of course it is to late the house is gone!

I will, add further guides to this blog about the key points you should look for i n choosing student accommodation but the main ting is that you shop efficiently and reliably by choosing the best agents and starting early to avoid disappointment.