Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

Original poster

Accommodation, is this standard? (Unite company)

65 replies

skyblue11 · 14/11/2013 21:03

As this is all new to us seeking advice, we are looking at Unite for DD they are private landlords and the accommodation is brand new in Huddersfield. They need a £250 deposit (which I don't think I'll ever see again according to friends!) and then after signing the contract and returning after a 2 week cooling period you are the liable for the whole year unless they don't get the grade then there are other T & C's.
Also they need £500 rent upfront in August before she moves in and before the student loan kicks in, scary stuff is this the norm?

OP posts:
Original poster
skyblue11 · 15/11/2013 17:58

Unite contacted us.....obviously they're keen and you can already see which rooms have been booked out. The comment was worried me about the police I obviously want her to be safe.

OP posts:
Original poster
skyblue11 · 15/11/2013 17:59
  • has worried me!
OP posts:
chemenger · 15/11/2013 18:24

What would worry me is how Unite got the contact details of applicants to the university - had you made an enquiry to them?

Original poster
skyblue11 · 15/11/2013 20:09

Think DD left details....
mumblechum, I feel a bit better now after reading your posting. This is what appealed to her, the fact it's central, loads of supermarkets/shops/nightlife and a very short walk to uni and the SU.
Yes it's 5K but they all seem around that, I just want her to be safe and happy, there's a facebook page for the students on the site and apart from noise of each others music it seems like they're all having a ball!

OP posts:
mumblechum1 · 15/11/2013 20:32

Just asked DS (he's home for the first time in 10 weeks, yay!) if he'd had any probs and he said one lad's shower wasn't working and it was fixed the same day, they also asked for more stools in the kitchen and they came within a 10 mins.

I guess it may depend on the individual team in that accomm, but certainly from my experience it's been absolutely fine. Smile

Original poster
skyblue11 · 15/11/2013 20:38

thanks mumblechum breathes huge sigh of relief.....

OP posts:
Original poster
skyblue11 · 15/11/2013 20:39

mumblechum 10 weeks, Oh my, how am I going to cope, I will be bereft!

OP posts:
MrsBright · 15/11/2013 22:01

This sounds like a scam - be VERY careful.

No Uni would release names/phone numbers to a 3rd party without your permission - and your child hasnt even got a definite place yet.

Do not part with any money - and phone the Uni to alert them ASAP.

CrazySexyCool123 · 15/11/2013 22:08

I lived in unite accommodation 2004-5. £3k for the year and full deposit back. I do tend to leave things better than I find them though.

Original poster
skyblue11 · 15/11/2013 22:35

It's not a scam, I mentioned earlier that my DD left her details!

OP posts:
Original poster
skyblue11 · 15/11/2013 22:36

crazy did you have any problems with crime, no one on reception, heating, hot water, noise etc?

OP posts:
sashh · 16/11/2013 04:41

Recommended provider is 20 minutes away out in the sticks and an old mental asylum gave me the creeps.

You should have tried getting a taxi to collect from there in the 1970s when it was still in use as a psychiatric hospital.

I was in Opal accommodation for one course, similar set up and although it was expensive it was worth it.

The staff were great, got me to hospital when I needed, and stayed with me until I was admitted. I hope no one on here's dds and dss needs that kind of thing and it is not their job, but they were/are really nice people.

Original poster
skyblue11 · 16/11/2013 09:31

sashh what are you talking about!
What is Opal?
What has hospital got yo do with anything? I wouldn't expect staff from accommodation to accompany DD to hsopital should she need it!!
I just what her to be where she would be happy and that's not 5 miles away from campus...

OP posts:
WestmorlandSausage · 16/11/2013 09:57

skyblue your daughter will be an adult when she goes to university (and may be already) Part of going to University is sometimes living in rubbish accommodation and having to look after yourself e.g. to get buses if there is a 5 mile trek to the university. I understand that this generation of parents are often the ones paying and therefore feel they have more say and just want to make sure their 'children' are safe warm and cosy but it is turning the current generation of young people into people that have never had to think for themselves or experience any kind of discomfort. Believe it or not it is good for people not to have everything easy all of the time no matter how much as parents you want to make everything all right for them all the time. Part of that is having to 'problem solve' for themselves.

Her generation are going to be the first generation that have a lower standard of living than their parents. There is every chance she is going to come out of university at the other end with a degree but no graduate job prospects.

I think what i'm saying is that it doesn't really matter where your daughter lives and 'easy' isn't always best, particularly if most of the other freshers will be elsewhere having a right good time. From my own experiences you shouldn't even be considering university accommodation at this point, and people I knew who went into private non-university preferred halls had a miserable time because it was full of non-english speaking international post grad students.

WestmorlandSausage · 16/11/2013 10:01

I lived in student accom 4 miles away from the university I went to and getting buses was annoying but EVERYONE had to do it. It isn't unusual for students to get buses.... and as for nights out generally everyone was going back to the same place and so shared a large taxi.

marsybum · 16/11/2013 10:11

my DS is in storthes halls a loves it, his room is bigger than his own at home, yes it is out in the sticks but ours the recommended place for 1st years and they all seem to love the "own village" feel. he's not a party person so doesn't go out to clubs and things but has got taxis back late at night with other people from the same halls, they all seem to look after each other? yes the shop is overpriced but no more than any other corner shop - after all do you do your main shopping in your nearest little shop? the bus pass is only £15 for the whole year so not exactly excessive.
we did have to pay a £200 deposit and £300 rent to begin the contract but they were also very reasonable when his loan was delayed and he was late paying his first rent instalment.

honestly I would recommend it

KatyMac · 16/11/2013 10:18

skyblue - can I hold you hand next September; DD is going away too, but to London and at 16......I am alternately gibbering and saying 'it'll be fine' in a jolly voice

Halls for a 16yo seem to be around £6-£9K (catered) but loads of halls won't take younger children.

mumblechum1 · 16/11/2013 11:07

What has hospital got yo do with anything? I wouldn't expect staff from accommodation to accompany DD to hsopital should she need it!!
I just what her to be where she would be happy and that's not 5 miles away from campus...

Yup. DS fell down the stairs coming home from a club and badly twisted his ankle. His mates phoned for an ambulance and one of them went with him. He wouldn't have expected a member of staff to go with him, he's 19 not 9!

(btw he didn't tell me any of this till a week later Hmm)

Original poster
skyblue11 · 16/11/2013 16:14

westmoreland I agree with all you say...
katymac I am dreading it mainly because she's an only child and the house will be silent....
marysbum thanks you it's good to hear of the good experiences at storthes

OP posts:
KatyMac · 16/11/2013 16:18

Me too! (although I borrow other peoples!)

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 16/11/2013 16:33

Ds2 is in Unite accommodation in Edinburgh, and has had no problems whatsoever - he is very happy there. The flat is very well equipped - the kitchen has two big fridge freezers between 5 of them, and everything worked when he moved in (dh checked it all - fridges, oven, hob, heating in ds2's room, shower) when we moved him in.

On a practical note - when she moves in, do all the above checks and chase up any problems in person, there and then. If there are any marks/stains etc, make a note, and being them to someone's attention straight away. You could even take photos of the condition of her room and any communal area in the flat, if you think there is going to be any problem with getting her deposit back.

Ds1 has just finished his first year at university, and got his full deposit back on his flat. I will ask ds2 to ask around to see if anyone has had problems getting their deposits back from Unite.

Original poster
skyblue11 · 16/11/2013 19:11

SDT thank you that's very reassuring. She would be the first of the students in the accommodation as it is brand new but there could of course be teething problems with the build.
Others have said about the international students, has anyone any experience of this? Looking at the facebook site there seems to be lots of social stuff going on...

OP posts:
Original poster
skyblue11 · 16/11/2013 19:14

katy I have no ones to steal I might take up fostering but my DH wouldn't want to. I realise we will also be very short on cash, she does get a big grant but it won't be enough so that will be a double blow.

OP posts:
WestmorlandSausage · 16/11/2013 19:34

excellent!

Honestly the scummier the better. I shared 2 kitchens 4 toilets and 6 showers with 51 other people at university, paid by myself and living off about £20 a week. I don't half fricking appreciate the value of cleanliness and keeping my own clean tidy personal space now! Or the value of money or cooking on a budget. University is a crash course in learning valuable life skills .... don't get in the way of that Grin

mumblechum1 · 16/11/2013 19:55

Amen to that! DS just went back tonight after 2 nights at home. He reckons he spends £14 a week on food from Aldi. The rest of it must go on vodka Grin, though his dad slipped him £5k cheque as he left in September so he doesn't really have to budget too tightly.

He cleaned the bathroom after his shower this morning Shock and put the towels tidily back on the heater rather than in a damp pile on the floor Grin