You and your friends are ready to start flat hunting.  You’ve done a basic workout of your finances and you know roughly what you can afford to spend on rent.  Great! But what now, what does your ideal flat look like?  We had a chat to Claire from A1 Property Managers about student flats and she shared some great tips:

1)      Location, location, location!  It may be the perfect student house but do you really want to travel 20km to campus every day?

2)      Is there enough communal space?  Spending endless days and nights stuck in your bedroom is not ideal.
         Remember the days of self isolation with Covid?  Best not go there again.

3)      Does it have what you need and is it well maintained?  Think kitchen appliances, wardrobes, bathrooms, heating, ventilation

4)      Maintenance issues – who will fix the hot water cylinder, unblock the shower, replace the lightbulbs, clean the chimney?

5)      Incentives– don’t be swayed by short term incentives like free power.  They will run out way before your lease does

6)      Just because the flat passes a healthy homes test doesn’t mean it won’t get draughty, cold and damp.  So if you can’t leave your windows open for a good part of           the day then you probably aren’t getting enough ventilation for your health.

7)      Off-street/on street parking, access to transport, supermarkets and the local.  How many cars will be parked onsite and is there enough space for this.

Great tips Claire thanks! Next week we will look at average market rents in different cities, and the different types of rental arrangements on offer

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