Renting in London

melaniecheeks

Does anyone have any advice on renting in London?

My daughter is heading to uni there in September. She's looking at houses in the Lewisham/ Lee area. She'll be sharing with her boyfriend and one other fellow dance student.

many thanks!

SkyPixie

This always used to be the place to find rooms in London when I lived there

http://loot.com/property

Or you could try somewhere like this

http://www.spareroom.co.uk/

I have friends who have found rooms through that last web site though they weren't in London :-)

beccyleigh

Gumtree.com is good for that sort of thing or if they want to find a place together then contact some local estate agents. Pretty much any of them will have student digs to rent to sharers.

melaniecheeks

Thanks for teh suggestions!:flowerforyou:

deadbeatsummer

Hi there,

I live very close to that area. All I would say is be careful particularly with Lewisham. It's not considered a particularly nice area and theres always a higher risk of burglary there.
Check out London Met Crime Map - you can see how rough an area is on there.
Of course, being a student, you will have to rent in the rougher parts as it would cost way to much otherwise but I would just bear that in mind. Also South and South east london isn't on the tube map so getting around is a bit more difficult.
New cross is now on the new east london line which makes it a bit more easier but then again trains go into Lewisham so often that it may not be an issue. I would just say that home security is a must for that area.

Hannah

melaniecheeks

Thanks Hannah, that's the sort of local knowledge I'm really after!

nevertoolate2

Depending upon where your daughter is going to Uni you should also consider Bromley and Sidcup. renting will be cheaper, the areas better than Lewisham, but you will be restricted to bus and mainline train into London.

deadbeatsummer

Out of interest what university is she attending (or in what town) perhaps i can advise a good location?
Also to the above - Bromley and Sidcup will be higher rents as they are nicer areas even though they are a couple of zones further out.

melaniecheeks

She is going to London Contemporary Dance School (nearest stations Euston and Kings Cross)


but she is hoping to share with a student attending Doreen Bird, out in Sidcup. So she came up with that SE area as a location that would allow transport to both those.

nevertoolate2

If her friend is going to Sidcup you are tied to trains that link with London Bridge, Waterloo East and Charing Cross or her friend will have in excess of a 40min commute. Going further South than Sidcup is likely to leave your daughter with a fairly lengthy commute.

The big questions are how long either is prepared to commute and what rent is a practical

I don't know New Eltham (but had a friend that lived there and liked it), Mottingham or Hither Green but they are between Sidcup and Lewisham and might be a nice balance distance wise, although your daughter will have the longer commute.

Into town, London Bridge and Shad Thames but again they might be more expensive. I've never rented here so not sure about prices, only the areas.

Back out of town places like Dartford, Erith, Belvedere will have some reasonable areas with a train link for your daughter and possible bus link to Sidcup for her friend.

Don't relish your task, just narrowing it down will be harsh enough but if budgets are really tight that may dictate where they end up rather than having any real choice. rightmove is a good website for looking at rental values and you can narrow down searches.

Oh, and good luck!

melaniecheeks

Great suggestions, much appreciated.

I'm in Belfast, and there's only so much I can do on t'internet!