6 Steps to Finding the Perfect Student Home
01 February 2019 • 4 min read
Is it your first time looking a student home? Got no clue where to start? We’ve pulled together this handy guide to help you find your next all-inclusive student home in just 6 easy steps.
Find the perfect housemates
There’s nothing worse than thinking you have the perfect housemates, only to find out about ALL their irritating habits. Not to mention the fact they never pay their rent on time. There’s a big difference between good mates and good housemates, so pick wisely now and save yourself a lot of hassle in the long run.
If you’re not 100% about the people you’ll be living with, there could be arguments later down the line. You could find yourself in a situation where you’re forced to look for replacement housemates. Better to decide early on who you can really put up with for next year.
Agree what you’re looking for
As there’s so many student homes on the market, it’s easy to panic and sign for the first place you come across. However, you first need to make a checklist of what you’re looking for, so you can narrow down your search.
It might be that some of your group want to be close to your university, or chosen campus. For others, having a good sized bedroom with a double bed and space to study might be more essential. You may not find a property that ticks everyone’s boxes, so decide now what’s important and if there are any areas you’re willing to compromise on. This will save you wasting time viewing the flat above the kebab shop, which leaves your clothes (and you) stinking of donna meat, just because it’s cheap rent. Not ideal.
Search on UniHomes
UniHomes has a huge range of flats, apartments and shared houses in your city. It’s never been easier to filter by your university, desired area, number of bedrooms, or amount your looking to pay per week.
All of the properties on UniHomes are priced with bills included. This way, when you’re searching and comparing a number of homes, you know exactly how much each one will cost you every week. Bear in mind whether a property has a deposit and admin fee that you need to budget for. You can see these fees listed under the price breakdown of each property.
Compare the price, amenities and location of multiple houses
When you see a property you like the look of, just click the small heart to add the property to your shortlist. You can see your shortlist at any time by clicking the heart in the top right of the screen.
By registering on our site, you're able to then share this shortlist with your housemates via a number of social media and messaging options. If you decide that a property isn’t up to your standards, simply uncheck the ‘added’ button to remove a property from your shortlist.
Book viewings for your favourites
Agree on the houses that you and your new housemates would like to view, and figure out the best days for a viewing. Once you’ve done this, you can book your viewings in one easy click.
Send multiple booking requests to all the letting agents of your favourite properties by clicking the ‘Book a viewing with all’ button. At this stage, it's good for you to mention the dates that would be best for you and your housemates. Each landlord or agent will then be in touch with you to book a viewing at your convenience.
Try and make sure that as many of you are there for the viewing as possible. With the agents permission, take pictures, make notes and speak with the current housemates to help decide which of the properties is the house for you.
Sign up
Don’t feel pressured to sign for the house there and then. It’s natural to want to go away and think about the location and property. A contract is a legally binding document, so a good landlord should never put pressure on you.
When you're sure that you've picked the right house, you can secure it on an all inclusive basis. This way you know your water, electricity, gas, TV licence and internet are all up and running when you move in.
