Looking to rent a flat in London - please help and join the hunt if you want :)

czerniacha

Hi,
I hope some of you will be able to give me some advice as I still can't get my maths right and put it all into reality...
Me and my boyfried made a big decision to move to London in September because I can earn much more money then I do now and get rid of my car because it costs me a fortune as I have to commute and do about 35-40 miles each day...
So please could someone confirm that my plan is ok or am I dreaming?
We're looking for a 1 bed flat or a big studio with separate living and sleeping areas(furnished and preferably nice and clean) somewhere in Shepherd's Bush or nearly(Kilburn, Acton, Ealing)... I was thinking a 1000GBP a month should cover rent+bills(no tv, not sure if we'll need a landline)? Do I have to take more into account? I know we will probably need 4-6 weeks deposit too and it should be ok. Is it doable?
Also can someone give any advice on applying for council housing in London? Is there a long wait?(probably a silly question:o) How does the whole thing look like?
Sorry to be a pain but so far we were living in shared households and didn't have to worry or do any of it...
I'll be very very grateful for your time to reply... :A Thanks

Edit: thanks everyone for the help re the scam ad, I knew it was dodgy, but I always just HOPE it might be true LOL never mind...

So there we go... I now started to seriously look for the flat and anything nice I'll be going to view...(things are going quite ok with my job search and I hope to have something nice secured in August...) Move in date would be beginning/middle September...

Everyone who has some time and is bored or just a good soul and happy to help is more then welcome to post links to nice finds :A

The requirements here are:
-1 bedroom flat(not a studio and not a flatshare) good size
-as close as possible to Shepherd's Bush(Acton, closer Ealing considered as are surrounding areas quite close to A40/M40)
-nice, modern and furnished(or part furnished/unfurnished would be considered too if really nice and good location-we'd be then looking for some second hand furniture like freecycle/gumtree/ebay bargains)
-price we are willing to pay is up to 1100GPB with all bills(1200 if it will be REALLY nice and good location)

I think that's it really... I'll post some examples of what I liked later in my posts so if anyone fancy to join me in my search it would be really nice :T

devotee

Sorry don't know much about council housing except you would probably wait forever!

Your budget would need to increase for rental, you'd be looking at £1000 in rent only, plus bills. Most agents need 6 weeks deposit for rental.
If you move further out then you could find a cheaper place, but it all depends in which area of London you'd work as commuting is very expensive too.

tanith

I wouldn't even both applying for council housing in London you would be at the bottom of a very very long queue which you would never get to the top of... My son rented a large studio in Harrow which cost £850 per month with bills on top but Harrow is further out than where you want so maybe you should budget £1000 for the accommadation ...

czerniacha

I'm planning to get a bicycle
I't important to us to live somewhere with an easy access to m40 as my bf will still have to commute for a bit until we find a job in London for him(mine is more important as I earn more ) but we don't want to live too far out... I had a bit of a look at the offers and I thought 850pcm plus bills should be doable? I think it's still a little early to look seriously yet as they are usually to let asap and we can't do earlier then September as this is when I'll finish my current job...

devotee

Don't forget to budget for council tax which would be about £100 per month.

I'm sure you can find something in those areas, but could be above a shop or on a council estate - White city estate in Sheperds Bush maybe, but not sure if that's gone up in price as Westfiled opened? Askew Road in Sheperds bush is cheaper to live on too.
Going west on a40 East Acton (near tube) is grim, but yes it could be cheaper. Acton Vale estate is not too bad, not sure on rents. North Acton is cheaper too so might be worth a look as it's having loads of money spent on it. Then you go to Park Royal/Hanger Lane, nicer parts are below a40 and grim industrial estates start in Alperton (north of a40) and that would be a cheaper non-desirable area. The we go on to Hanwell which is further west, but if you're young it would be very boring.

Hope that helps, I'm a west London gal, so will happy to answer any questions

czerniacha

yeah, I thought council tax would be around the 100GBP mark...
to be honest I don't know those areas very well, it's just west london will be the best point between a40/m40 and central london where I'll probably work(still looking for the new job so this and the flat hunt make me really stressed out atm...)
I guess at some point in august I'll just be looking through ads and go and have a look at flats I will find suitable and conviniently located...
Is online search best option or newspaper ads should be considered too? any good agencies?
and thanks for all replies...

devotee

Check online, gumtree as well, but once you know the areas reasonably well! Would not bother with newspapers tbh. Had a look at some agent's websites and it's depressing how little choice there is. This is a new and nice development and just in your budget, but I imagine it's tiny and not sure if it has parking as that would be an extra expense http://lettings.dexters.co.uk/details.dtx?propertyid=8A5FCB7E-69A6-4B78-9627-D426AB51BF75

Research all the areas, best go visit them, check streetview, google map, bing map and area info on findaproperty too. And ask advice here of course! Good luck!

czerniacha

thanks, you're a star... That's the kind of thing I was looking for... Seen something similar on ebay couple of weeks ago, was also a complex of studios, but one was really nice with a kind of living area separated with a kitchen bit from a sleeping area and it was lovely and also in my price range was in kilburn I think...
I guess those go very quicky though... so I'll be lucky if I can find something like this just when I need it...
We will need one parking space too as my bf has a car he will never ever want to get rid of... Mine costs me a fortune(ca. 300GBP/month) and I have to have it to get to and back from work atm... But once we move I'll try to cycle everywhere I can...

devotee

No, it's a big complex and lots of new builds around, but they are tiny!

neverdespairgirl

Try primelocation.com for London rentals, as well as rightmove.

As for council housing - if there is just you and your BF, no chance, sorry.

westlondonbuyer

Shepherd's Bush has brilliant transport links, but is simultaneously extremely expensive and really scuzzy in parts. For your budget, you'd only be able to afford a flat in the very worst streets.

You probably don't want to do this, but would you consider a flatshare? Plenty of couples live this way in the centre of London, though I accept it's not the lifestyle you'd ideally want. Flatsharing brings your costs down very substantially, both rent and bills. You can rent a 4 bed house in a leafy street for around £2000, whereas a 1 bed flat in the same street would rent for around £1200 ex bills. Hammersmith & Fulham's council tax is hideous; between four flatmates, it seems almost reasonable.

I live in neighbouring Hammersmith and know both areas very well so feel free to run specific streets by me if you wish.