Accommodation for second years.

onetreehillgrrl

Hello
I was wondering if anyone would be able to advise me on seeking accommodation for my second year at University. Thus far I have been living in University residence, but as a second year, I cannot live on campus and therefore need to find a place to rent.
I am getting increasingly worried as more and more people seem to be securing places to live in the area whilst I have no idea what to do and I don't want to end up with nowhere to live.
My future flatmates do not seem to be anywhere near as worried as I am about this, which causes me even more concern.
I was wondering if someone could perhaps advise me on what routes to take and how to find somewhere to live that is safe, pleasant and not ridiculously expensive.
I am studying at Essex University in Colchester.
Thank you.
xxx

Char_pdc

Hey

Have you tried explaining your concerns to your future flatmates or speaking to people you may know in older years? Sometimes its the norm to have found a flat by now, sometimes its not and hopefully that will clear the issue up.

My experience of student housing is that safe and cheap are not necessarily compatible. For example I study in London and to find somewhere we can afford as a student, we do not necessarily live in the stereotypically safest areas. However, by making sure all the doors and windows lock and you look after your self e.g. make sure the routes home from uni are well-lit and you have a rape alarm you maximise the safety of cheap housing.

There should be a housing association at your university somewhere you can speak to. They may organise talks to give you information about renting in the private sector and they may also have a list of approved landlords/agents who they know to to be reuptable.

hope this helps?

Oldernotwiser

onetreehillgrrl wrote: »

Hello
I was wondering if anyone would be able to advise me on seeking accommodation for my second year at University. Thus far I have been living in University residence, but as a second year, I cannot live on campus and therefore need to find a place to rent.
I am getting increasingly worried as more and more people seem to be securing places to live in the area whilst I have no idea what to do and I don't want to end up with nowhere to live.
My future flatmates do not seem to be anywhere near as worried as I am about this, which causes me even more concern.
I was wondering if someone could perhaps advise me on what routes to take and how to find somewhere to live that is safe, pleasant and not ridiculously expensive.
I am studying at Essex University in Colchester.
Thank you.
xxx

I was at Essex, many years ago! We got our house through the university accommodation service - don't they still do that? They used to do a scheme where they rented from the LL and sublet it to student groups; that works well. How many of you are you and how near do you want to live?

onetreehillgrrl

Firstly, thank you to both Oldernotwiser and Char_pdc.
The university plans to release a list this Friday on which landlords etc are reputable and where to find housing and my 'future flatmates' want to wait for this list. However, I am extremely anxious that many of the properties on the list will already be taken, as it seems as though the general consensus on campus is that many first years have already found and secured places to live for their second year. When I respond that I have not yet found somewhere to live, the reply: "[gasp] YOU HAVEN'T?! [prolonged silence]" is not reassuring, as you can imagine.
I am quite stressed out by all of this and it is even more irritating to me that my future flatmates do not seem care.
Thank you for your advice and I will most likely go and see the university accomodation people once again, although they seemed reluctant to offer practical advice until Friday.
Thank you once again.
xxx

Char_pdc

Hey,

I'm sure its not something to get stressed about. If the university is releasing their list on Friday, then maybe wait until then and a plan a strategy with your future housemates - dividing the list into groups and then ringing around to see what is going on.

You could also contact a few private estate agents and ask them what they have on their books and what prices the properties go for, to get a rough idea of what you can get for your money? Again its up to you and obviously renting from the private sector has added problems - such as a 12 month rather than 9 month contract.

Also next time you chat to someone about housing, ask them how they found their house and where it is and how much it is, so you have some experience of this when you start to view other properties in the next few weeks. This way you will know whether you have a good deal or not

Oldernotwiser

I don't think that you should worry but I'd be ready to go on Friday, having discussed what you're looking for and how much you can afford. You can then spend the weekend viewing and be ready to sign a contract when you find something suitable.

(When I was there lots of people lived in the Clacton and Jaywick Sands area. I bet people aren't prepared to travel that far nowadays!)

GrammarGirl

I went to uni in Leeds and found second year accommodation via Unipol - not sure if you have something similar in Colchester? Basically, the unis in Leeds set guidelines and rules for LLs who are part of Unipol, so you know your property will be of a certain standard and will have things like a desk in your room - things that are useful to students but not necessarily to normal renters.

Also, everyone in Leeds goes mental in Dec/Jan sorting out houses for the following Sept. It's crazy! In my second year I didn't sort anything til May and it was fine, still got a great house in a good location. Don't worry too much, just try to be organised and keep an eye out!

blue_ashleigh

I found my accomodation trhough studentpad.com - it basically had all the names and numbers of student landlords around my university who are normally on the uni accomodation list... but you get to see it before the list comes out!

I didn't go to uni in Essex, but it seems there is a studentpad site for Essex which may be helpful to you...

http://www.essexstudentpad.co.uk/

Oh, and I found this...

http://www.colchesterstudenthousing.co.uk/

panpipe

onetreehillgrrl wrote: »

...
The university plans to release a list this Friday on which landlords etc are reputable and where to find housing and my 'future flatmates' want to wait for this list. However, I am extremely anxious that many of the properties on the list will already be taken, as it seems as though the general consensus on campus is that many first years have already found and secured places to live for their second year. When I respond that I have not yet found somewhere to live, the reply: "[gasp] YOU HAVEN'T?! [prolonged silence]" is not reassuring, as you can imagine.

...

Don't worry! We were in the same position in first year - everyone seemed to be rushing out to get places in January for the coming September. Having finished uni now and looking back at the whole process, I really wouldn't worry that you may have lost your chance to find a place. Getting this list on Friday is still sooner that my uni (Cardiff) did - they did nothing until their Student Housing Fair in April!

It's understandable that you're anxious about this, as I guess this is the first time you'll have had to make such a big decision (sorry if that came across as a bit patronising). As others have said, use these few days to work out what you and your future flatmates can afford, then wait for the list. Happy hunting!

welf_man

Definitely wait for the University list!

I work in student advice, and we are continually telling people not to sign up so early. Groups get together after knowing each other for 4 months, sign a joint contract because "everyone's doing it" and then find the landlord's a shark / the house is falling down / they can't stand their housemates / someone drops out to become a nun and leaves them needing to find a replacement.

Hang on, keep your nerve, get any information available from the Students' Union and Accommodation Office and find a plae that feels like it's going to be "home" for a year.

Good luck!

Mel.

Touring

Hey

I wouldnt worry too much. I am currently a second year and remember being in a similar position when i was a first year. There was one of the local landlords who had quite a few houses who put business cards under all the halls rooms so everyone who was in their first year paniced and went with him before the lists and websites and stuff was updated and his houses werent that great.

anyway... I would try talking to your future housemates as much as you can, make sure you all can agree on rough things that you want like number of bedrooms, close to campus, close to town, close to bus route, price per week/month etc. Then once you have that agreed you can always look around on the net to see if you can find stuff and just set up viewings. Ask at your university accommodation information centre because they should be able to get you advice as well as any other advice units you might have at uni. You can always try going into estate agents close by and even if they dont offer anything like that they might be able to at least point you in the right direction. But most of all dont panic, there is always student places out there. Me and my friends were one of the last groups that we knew that got a house and we got ours two weeks after we came back from easter last year so its never too late!
If you get really stuck ask around all your friends and see who they have as their landlord because they may have other houses and friends who are in ther years can always help too
hope that adds to what other people have put! (I havent read through everyones comments on here btw, sorry!)