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Original poster

Furnished Rentals

28 replies

Mommyto4 · 16/10/2012 02:53

Hi This is my first message here, so I am hoping this is the right place for this question.
My family and I are planning on moving to England (we are in the US now) and I've been searching for some sort of site that would list 'vacation rental' type places but without the immense price that all vacation rental places I keep coming across have. Maybe that did not make sense, what we are trying to do is rent a home short term (a month or so) that is furnished so we have a base to call home while we search for more permanent places. Does anyone have any ideas? We are currently looking at Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, Cornwall, etc. But generally anywhere in the south half of England.

OP posts:

Graciescotland · 16/10/2012 03:09

I'd try gumtree.com, they're a free listing site and I've rented someone's family home whilst they've been away for six weeks before/ rented out my place during the Edinburgh festival. It's done geographically so you can go through the listings for the areas you're interested in/ place a few free ads yourself and see what you get offered. A quick look turned up this a lot of people who rent out short term self catering will advertise lower rates on gumtree to boost occupancy.

Do be a bit wary though, there are con people out there and you need to be careful.

CwtchesAndCuddles · 16/10/2012 10:21

Try these - out of season you may be able to do a deal for a month.

www.holidaylettings.co.uk/

www.ownersdirect.co.uk/

mummymeister · 16/10/2012 13:59

agree with gracie gumtree is a good place to start. but you need to make sure it is all in - electricity, heating, gas etc and use your own phone as phones will be on hotel rates. Mummyto4 what do you consider to be a huge amount for a months rental? what month are you looking for?

Corriewatcher · 16/10/2012 14:50

I agree with CwtchesAndCuddles - I'm sure a holiday home owner would do you a deal in the quiet winter months. Doubt they would do much peak summer season though.

Original poster

Mommyto4 · 16/10/2012 19:23

Thanks for the replies. Idealistically we are looking for something around £1,200/mo. That seems kind of unrealistic from the research I've done, though.
I keep seeing places that are like £550, £600, £700/week. And another problem is we are doing this in the summer time- worst possible time to do it it seems, on the expense side. But that's the only time we can do it since we have kids in school and we want to keep them in school here until the end of the school year in late June.
Graciescotland- that place looks really nice, but once again way out of our price range.
What I would love to find is someone who does not rent out homes as a business but instead someone who is going on holiday and is looking to rent out their home, or even a house swap type of deal would be fantastic. I've looked into that a little and it seems most house swap sites charge, which is understandable but I'd like it if something just fell into our laps, haha!

OP posts:

girlgonemild · 16/10/2012 19:31

Try using rightmove and using short term let as a filter option. There are some on there although mostly for the next few months.

Ponders · 16/10/2012 19:32

what dates are you looking for?

Original poster

Mommyto4 · 16/10/2012 19:46

We don't have exact dates Ponders, my kids get out of school June 19th. So I'm thinking the next week or the week after and for a month-ish. I'd like to be moved into a more permanent (rental) home before UK school starts up.
girlgonemild- I'm loving rightmove, only problem is most things on there are available now or shortly from now and I'd really like to try to plan things a bit further in advance. I wonder if some self renters might be willing to work with me on planning something for next summer.

OP posts:

girlgonemild · 16/10/2012 20:15

Ah yes I think you might just have to wait then. I've done short term rental in the opposite direction UK-US and couldn't get something firmed up until around 6 weeks before we moved although I kept an eye on rentals lists for months in advance!

Original poster

Mommyto4 · 16/10/2012 20:56

I'm just so impatient! Have you ever done a house swap? Where in the US do you visit?

OP posts:

Ponders · 16/10/2012 22:35

A holiday let in July is going to be very expensive - I was assuming you were after a winter let

mummymeister · 17/10/2012 09:43

Ponders is right. peak season for short term rentals ie longer holiday lets is from may half term to end of september. you will not find anything for a family of 4 for your budget of under £400 per week. around £600 and you might do it. think you need to explore other options like house swaps or perhaps find someone who is just starting in the lettings business and has a soft opening of their cottages. could also offer a house sit but then you would need to be really flexible on location. Sorry to be the merchant of doom but i also think only allowing a month to find a permenant let is also a bit optomistic. why not go for a 3 month short term let in an area that you thnk you are going to want to live in and take your time. also check out what you need to do about long term rentals re deposits securities etc as if you havent done this in the UK for a while then you may be in for a shock with regards to how much money people want up front. good luck

girlgonemild · 17/10/2012 09:45

I haven't done a house swap. I have US family but went to DC for a few months on a work project. DC is actually really easy to find short term lets but still can't book them far in advance unless they are the super expensive business ones.

Have you thought of just organising a 6 month let straight off? You should also look into schools before you move really and will need to live in the catchment area most likely. State schools have legal limits on class numbers so leaving it until September to decide where you are going to live permanently might limit school choices.

homebythesea · 18/10/2012 13:45

I would second mummymeister's comments about the time it takes to organise a rental property - there are references to take up, including financial which for you could take longer than usual, and it is fairly unusual to fond a place alrready empty ready to just move into (ie without having to wait tilll current tenants move out). You will have to pay 2 months up front (one month deposit returnable at the end of the lease and one month in advance. Assuming your move is work related can't your employer help with finding temp accomodation? Otherwise the best bet may be for you to enter a 6 month tenancy on a home where you want to live (near the school!) and give yourself some breathing space before finding your "forever" home

forevergreek · 18/10/2012 14:00

Yes I agree with finding a 6 month rental near the school

A) July/ August is most expensive time of the year for holiday let's
B) when you find a long term place they will need to do credit checks/ references etc which can take a few weeks min ( maybe more are sept is busy moving time for students etc..

So I would look at both regular short term furnished rents or a holiday place for 6 months ( they may choose you over others as would have 6 months guaranteed, and oct onwards is usually harder to find tenants. So offering July-jan will be in your favor)

You then can look at places at a more relaxed pace ( as school holidays can make getting to places hectic)

I would look at holiday lettings ( we once did a 9 month let in Switzerland jan-sept, and although jan-march is ski season and high we got a good deal as had it over the quiet summer months, and they just averaged it out to a reasonable monthly rent)

Ponders · 18/10/2012 14:53

you have to get in way in advance for a long let in a holiday property though - if there's just 1 week already booked over the period you want you can't do it (unless the owner is prepared to dump the original booker, & I'm not sure you'd want to rent from someone who would do that...)

Original poster

Mommyto4 · 18/10/2012 18:34

Hmm, thanks for all of the replies. Much appreciated. We are pretty confused on how to go about all of this. If we can't find anything a good amount of time in advance (things just are not listed that much in advance) then how are we supposed to plan in advance?
The reason we wanted some summer time to find places was because I'm already moving my kids out of schools here, I don't want to necessarily have to move then again from schools there. I'd like to be sure about areas before placing them in school. And it's very hard (impossible?) from afar to be sure about areas when we can't even visit them.
Does anyone have any advice on areas? I realize good schools are going to mean they are probably full and we'd have to be on a wait list- but does anyone have any thoughts on areas we could begin researching? I don't think we could get on wait lists until we are already living in the area and we can't get there until school is out here, so it's all sort of a conundrum.
And the credit history for rental places could be a problem- we have zero UK credit history- how does that work for people like us?

OP posts:

Ponders · 18/10/2012 18:49

how many of you are there? I have just found one in Whitchurch near Ross-on-Wye that sleeps 4 & is max £400pw in high season \link{http://www.cottageguide.co.uk/theapplestore/\here - it appears to have availability all next year}

Herefordshire is probably a better bet than Gloucestershire (= Cotswolds) both for availability & for price although it's more MIdlands than S really

Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Hampshire, Sussex & Kent (along S coast from W to E) are all popular summer holiday destinations. You might have more luck with Wiltshire, Berkshire (but then they don't tend to have so much holiday accommodation)

Credit history not an issue for a holiday let - you can pay the deposit, & then the balance (before you arrive) with a credit card.

Do you have any connections over here who could act as guarantor for you in financial commitments?

Ponders · 18/10/2012 18:50

oh good lord, have just registered that you are called Mommyto4 sorry - there are 4 kids then? how old are they?

homebythesea · 18/10/2012 18:54

You will have to have an address before you can assess the school availability which is why it does not make sense for you to move twice in short order once you get here. Is the move work related- you are considering such a wide variety of places. Only you can assess where you need to be near and then take it from there. Could a relocation agent help you / answer questions about credit history etc? I can't imagine making such a huge move without having all these details sorted out- you are very brave!!

Ponders · 18/10/2012 19:00

it would be a lot easier to help you find houses, schools etc if you could pin down where you want to be

Ponders · 18/10/2012 19:01

also, are you planning to rent or to buy in the long term, & what will your budget be for that? because (of course) that also varies hugely depending on location.

Original poster

Mommyto4 · 19/10/2012 02:52

Hi and thanks again for the replies! Yes, there are 4 kids- but it seems only 3 of the kids will be coming. My oldest is 19 and will probably stay behind. My others are 15, 12 and 9.
We're trying to not do the move without having all details sorted- which is why I am spending so much time researching and we are still 8 months out from the move.
We don't have any connections at all to England, so we really are starting from square one.
My question about credit history was more aimed toward a longer term rental house. But I have since been informed that it should not be a problem.
As for pinning down where we want to be, eventhough we have been to England we are still pretty unsure of areas- so I was wondering if anyone had any ideas of places for us to add to our list of places to research? I know (or think?) we should veer away from most of the home counties- and Cornwall is pretty high on our list. But that's about all we know right now.
Not much to work with, eh? Let's put it this way, if you could live anywhere in the south half of England, where would it be and why?

OP posts:

BlameItOnTheBogey · 19/10/2012 06:08

Try here

VintageRainBoots · 19/10/2012 06:57

Mommyto4, our family is in a similar boat. We're currently in Los Angeles and are planning to move to Surrey (most likely Guildford) soon. We're also in the market for a furnished rental, perhaps one near a good school. The process isn't easy.

Right now, Hubby and I have set up new checking accounts that can be transferred to the UK, and will transfer our AmEx credit card over to the British version in the hopes of establishing a strong credit history in the UK as soon as possible (we'd like to buy a house soon). We're also trying to find a savings vehicle for our deposit (downpayment) for a home.

Also, £1200 per month for rent isn't a lot in England, as far as we can tell. Hubby and I have already decided that we're going to have to budget at least that amount to find a place in our desired area.

Finally, will you be visiting England anytime soon? That is, before you actually move?

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