Worried about my son who can’t find anywhere to live.

[justacastle]

(nc for this)
DS finished university and has spent 18 months applying for jobs (450+). A few interviews who say they recruited internally or need someone with more experience (that old chestnut). Most just never reply. We live in London.

He finally gets a job but it’s in Oxfordshire. The company will let him stay at their accommodation (usually for customers) for a maximum of two weeks.

He cannot find any accommodation after this time. He has tried spare room app but when he gets a response people are asking for females only or more often there is no reply. He messages them a couple more times but nothing.

He doesn’t drive but willing to walk/cycle. He does have T1 diabetes so that is a consideration with distance.

He then put an ‘I’m looking for’ ad another site and a woman contacted him to say that, following throat surgery, she would be renting out her 2 bed house and moving in with family. It looked amazing and the woman said that the bills & council tax. A 25 minute walk to work. Paid the holding fee and arranged viewing for Sunday (he starts work on Monday).

DS was excited about job & house finally the months of angst were coming to an end.

So this morning he received an email from the lady saying that the rental company (?) wanted an extra £750 deposit before they would let him view the property. She said that she would pay £500 but he would need to pay another £250.

DS asked who this company was (not found on companies house) and their contact details so he could discuss it with them. She replied that they ’do not speak to prospective tenants’.

She also sent him her passport details by email as proof of her identity. Trouble was that the Passport had a spelling mistake in her name 🙄 🚩

Bank notified & they’re dealing with it.

Big problem is now DS is starting work on Monday but will have nowhere to live by the end of the month. As it’s quite a tourist area the Airbnbs and bed & breakfasts are thousands. He’s on the list at local estate agents but he has no salary history yet. They are really out of his price range but we’ll help him.

Just as an aside UC have paid him nothing for months, just the odd £15 here and there.

He’s desperately worried that he will lose his job.

Any ideas folks?
I’m so sorry for the long post.

I dont know anyone with a spare caravan or camper van I could just "borrow" until it suits me to give it back 😂

Mn is mental sometimes

Hi there. Just come across this. I live just north of Reading on the X40 bus route. It runs almost every 20 mins and even very 30 mins on a Sunday. It connects Reading to Oxford and it usually fairly reliable. I've enclosed the link to the Oxford bus company, there is also a very good app. He could maybe try Reading, Caversham or Woodcote south of Wallingford which maybe cheaper than those north of Wallingford. I wish him all the best. www.oxfordbus.co.uk/services/THTR/X40

Are you able to dm me somehow? Someone messaged me yesterday from an Oxford based charity group that I’m linked to in my home town saying they know of a room to rent. It might be that they only want a tenant linked to the charity but worth asking, even as a temporary measure.

What about Reading? Direct bus and it has Travelodge etc and isn’t a tourist destination

@smithsgjReading has a big student population but will have HMOs reflecting that. I think the op and DS need to look around Didcot and Reading.

Could he possibly commute for the time being I work for a train companies and they do season tickets between London and Oxford it's an option to enable him to keep the job!

@Juced He is not working in Oxford. He’s working in Wallingford. There’s trains from Paddington to Didcot (37 mins) and then the bus to Wallingford.

Sorry I though you said Oxford for some reason, I live in the North and was commuting to Sheffield it was a bus and a train took me about an hour and 20 to get to work it's not ideal but it could mean the difference of him keeping the job, fingers crossed he gets something sorted!

Some good tips here @justacastle, how is the search going?

Is cycling an option?

Renting (or hire purchasing) a Brompton bike might work -with one of those he could cycle part of the way and also could take it onto a bus/train easily for the rest (because they fold easily).
Hope a solution can be found soon. Very frustrating to have found a job…. But nowhere affordable and suitable to live.
Always be wary of scammers when renting - they prey on the desperate.

I used to live in Reading, that would be a great place for him to be as easy to access London too. There tons of house shares on Rightmove

can’t he stay in a hostel? Thats what most people in that situation would do

Well done to your son persevering and getting this job. I hope his first day went well and the week is a good week for him.

First off well done for spotting the error on the passport, many in your desperate situation might not have. Secondly well done to your ds for persevering with that long job hunt, that takes a lot of grit. I remember recently reading our PM Andy Burnham saying he absolutely couldn’t find a job after Cambridge despite a lengthy hunt and he was deeply concerned that he never would. I hope your ds finds this job to be rewarding and his accommodation is a little easier to find now the job has started.

Thanks again for all the good suggestions.

So to update on ds work & living arrangements. He started his job two weeks ago and is really enjoying it! People are friendly and the work is interesting.

As for the living situation; he has been living in the company house which is 10 minutes from work and very comfortable. Unfortunately they are selling it this week so no chance of staying any longer.

However he did find a room in a beautiful house with a lovely couple and their adorable dog. He moved in there Saturday. The only downside is that it’s very remote. The bus stop is a 45 minute walk away then just over an hour on the bus. He could cycle (although his bike is too small so needs a new one) but the lane is single track and pitch dark at night which is fine at the moment but not ideal when the clocks go back. He’s been getting up super early so will manage it somehow until he can find somewhere nearer.

Also we went to look at the ‘scam rental‘ just to satisfy him that it wasn’t real. We knocked and there’s a married couple living there, never heard of the people who messaged ds. We could see that the photos/videos were not from that house.

He had reported it to Report Fraud and to his bank. He hasn’t had the £250 back and his account has been frozen which is a real pain.

Not everyone is the same with diabetes, especially those with newer diagnoses and growing children/teens. I know people who manage it beautifully with very little issues; others are still struggling years in.

Did he look in Kidlington? I believe there is a very good bus service.

Kidlington bus service into Oxford is good, but it can take a long time in the morning traffic - and then he'd have to go on from there too.

Could he not find anywhere in Reading?

You must be very proud of him and his tenacity. I hope he gets something as nice but more convenient soon

@justacastle

OP, is this within his budget?

www.inhouseestateagents.co.uk/properties-to-let/property/2813-windsor-drive-wallingford

Thank you. Yes we are very proud of him. He’s had an awful couple of years, but he will not give up. ❤️

@TheSquareMile he actually went into the estate agent on Saturday and has a viewing for this next week. 🤞

So pleased all is going well. Your son sounds to be resourceful and hopefully now he is actually in Wallingford he will find somewhere to live closer to work or closer to a frequent bus route. Wallingford is a lovely town.

He sounds very well brought up @justacastle