Preparing for flat hunting: budgeting, wardobe planning, and references.

  

Just over a week from now I’ll be heading over to England to find a flat. It’s all very exciting, and I don’t quite know what to expect, so I’ll not say much till after it’s all sorted, but I thought I’d write a bit about how I’m preparing for the trip.

First up, I’ve written up a slightly vague but reasonable budget for my living costs for when I move. As I’m lucky enough to be eligible for some student benefits from Finland, and indeed the usual student loan from both countries, I’ve got a good base for my monthly budget. I can also rely on help from family if worst comes to worst. Using an online student budget calculator (there are plenty to choose from!), I quickly figured out what things like food, dog supplies, transport and other important things would roughly cost. There are bound to be surprises, but it does help to know what you can and should be spending on these things, and what you could have left over. Anyway, the point of writing up a budget like this is to figure out how much I can use on rent each month. With that done, I’ve spent quite a bit of time since Christmas perusing the websites of local estate agents in Bath, and of course rightmove, to get some sort of picture of the going rates for the type of flat I’m looking for. Bath isn’t the cheapest place to live, but since my main requirements are that it's pet-friendly and has a washing machine, it's doable – the average price per month is around the £750 mark (at the time of writing, that is!), and I can stretch to that if need be.

Second on my list has been a bit of wardrobe planning. I wont go overboard with this and plan it all meticulously, but my rule of thumb for flat hunting is to look smart and presentable, even if you’re a bit of a artsy type like me. I’m a great believer in making good first impressions, especially when something as important as where you live is at stake. So no dog-walk trainers, no scruffy old t-shirts, no just-rolled-out-of-bed hair. For me, it's essential that I look responsible and... well, like a mature student, since that's the ace up my sleeve. Lots of landlords seem to be a bit worried about accepting undergrad students, and for good reason, so I've got to show that since I'm a little bit older, I'm fit to look after the place, myself and my dog.

These are my new flat-hunting shoes. Freija approves!

Lastly, references. What I’ve done is written up one in English for my dog trainer to approve and sign for Freija, as I’m more likely to actually get it done that way than if I asked them to write it up themselves – they’re very busy people, and not too keen on writing in English themselves! I don't know how common it is for people to provide references for their pets, but having discovered Lets with Pets, I decided I needed to get one for girly girl, especially since we're moving from abroad and the potential landlord wont be able to see her in person.
 I’ve also asked a friend of mine if I could jot down a character reference for myself for them to look over and sign, and they’ve very kindly agreed to do that. So although getting that paperwork sorted can feel like a bit of a drag, I’ve managed to sort it out reasonably well. My parents will be acting as guarantors for the rent, and they’ll be writing their own little references too.

So that’s what I’ve sorted out so far! We’ll see how my flat-hunting goes soon enough… :)