moving back to UK

[lilacmamacat]

I posted this on the Gloucestershire MumsNet Local site but haven't had any responses - it doesn't seem to get much traffic - and was hoping you lovely people might be able to help.

We're moving back to the UK for my new job in Stroud - probably around Xmas the way things are going - and I need to start looking for houses to rent and a school for my 4.5yo DS.

My main concern at the moment is finding somewhere to live; as I understand it, I can't start applying to schools until I have a UK address. I would prefer to avoid using an agency because they seem to charge horrendous (and frequently ridiculous) fees but can anyone recommend anyone who does - for want of a better term - private house hunting? I think I saw a thread a while back about this but I can't find it now. And is it still possible to find somewhere privately through the local paper, which is what I used to do when I last lived in the UK 10 years ago.

Judging by what I've seen so far (in terms of the number of properties available), it looks like Gloucester and Cheltenham will be our best bet, which is fine by me. Not sure yet what DP will be doing so G and C might also be best if he needs to commute to Bristol.

Any advice welcome!

[Sunnyshores]

Assume you're applying for DS to start in reception. Have you spoken to the Education Authority? I thought you could put your name down if the school had a space, they wont hold it forever though and if someone did physically move into the area before you they would have priority.

It is possible in theory to house hunt via Gumtree or newspapers. How would you view? Personally I wouldnt as this is an easy was for dodgy lls with crappy houses to find tenants and also you'd have to pay over deposit and rent to a stranger.

If you could identify a more specific area, then you could see if theres an online website, village hall, parish council and ask them to advertise your requirement or if they know of any local lls.

[Sunnyshores]

PS if you have a job in Stroud, could you really live in Gloucester or Cheltenham, drop DS at school (who'd collect?) and get into work for a reasonable hour?

[specialsubject]

get informed about property rental:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-to-rent

many landlords will probably want you to pay the first six months up front as you have no credit history and can't be referenced.

yes, properties for rent are in the paper, and on gumtree and so on.

get tenant's contents insurance. Be prepared for a BIG shock regarding the increase in cost of living, especially utilities.

[lilacmamacat]

Thanks for your comments - sorry to take so long to get back here.

Sunny it seems that you can only apply for a place once you have an address, so house needs to happen first. I've looked at the Education authority website and will be phoning them next week.

I will have flexible hours so if DS is not at a local-to-my-work school, DP and I will sort it out between us.

We'll be in Gloucestershire in a few weeks time and plan to talk to letting agencies and possibly even look at some places, and if I have to fly over for a day or two later in the year to look at/finalise a rent, then I'll do that.

Regarding Bristol, it is possible that there would be work for my DP there, but trains from Stroud don't go via Bristol, and we want to try to avoid commuting by car.

Special thanks for the link, and warnings about credit history. I'll ask agencies about that. Do you know if they would take foreign credit histories and references?

I also found a site called //www.openrent.co.uk - has anyone had experience of that? It seems to have some nice properties but I think it's quite new so not many people advertise on it.

We're relatively close to the UK but what I wonder about though is how families moving from very far away places like Australia do it...?