Semester 2 - Week 1: Housing

Finding a house can be stressful. Before that, though, one thing that can put some people into more of a panic is deciding who to live with. I don't necessarily fit into specific 'friend groups', as such, so I was extremely unsure of who I was going to end up in a house with in second and third year. Luckily for me, I have a friend in Birmingham who goes to a different University and is desperate to move out so I asked if she'd want to live with me. This was the second choice because the first one was to live with 'The Boyf'. Many people tried to talk me out of this and, it seemed, succeeded. I have rebelled, however, because the arrangement of me living with my friend haven't worked out - communication and reliability were issues - so tomorrow I'm signing a contract to secure a two bedroom house for me and my boyfriend from July 1st.

Most contracts will start on July 1st in the same calendar year that the academic year begins and the previous one ends. This is convenient in terms of moving stuff from halls (if you do the norm and live in university accommodation in first year - do it!) to the new house. It is a bit of a cafuffle, though, with money. Student loans are paid at the end of September or beginning of October because that's when term begins. This means there's July, August and September where there is no income and the rent has to be paid somehow, plus any bills if you decide to actually live in the house over summer. The bills would probably be lower over summer due to central heating not being used as much but electricity may be higher due to plenty of spare time in which TVs, computers can be overused. That would require getting a job (unless you know someone who would like to be very nice to you and give you lots of cash).

There was a series of housing fairs around November at the Guild (I think) and the Hub at the Vale (for definite) but I missed them for various work-related reasons. Luckily, there was another one this Wednesday so I went to that one. It was situated at various points - I went to the one in the Deb Hall in the Guild. There was also one at the Hub at the Vale and one on the other side of campus in the University Centre (which isn't actually in the centre). They may also have been other hosting venues but those were the main ones. It was extremely busy, as expected, and I had to queue for about 20 minutes before I could get in. Walking round, there were various companies and letting agencies. SHAC was there. They are the university run company who list houses. They have contacts with landlords and you know that if you go through SHAC to sign a contract, it's most definitely safe. There were also other letting agencies, all trusted by the University, and various housing related stands such as safety, community wardens, insurance and private accommodation.

The majority of houses available are 3 - 6 bedroom. To have a double bed in every room is very common though not guaranteed. There are houses with one and two bedrooms as well as some with seven, eight and perhaps a handful with more. The safe bet is to find a group of three or four people because in that case it will be very easy to find a house. Even if there are a few instances where your group may find a house and like it then get back in touch three days later to see the house has been signed by another eager group, there are plenty to choose from that are of good quality. Landlords and agencies sometimes shout about how you must find a house quickly before all of them are taken but the truth is that there are more houses than students in Selly Oak (the main student house area) and there are other areas such as Harborne, Edgbaston, Selly Park, the centre and, I'm sure, other areas I haven't mentioned. Urgency is encouraged but panic is unnecessary.

I went house viewing on Saturday (16th January) and saw three houses in one day, each two bedroom with Broad Court. One was like the tardis: it was tiny on the outside but huge inside. One was a tip, clearly not looked after by the current tenants, and had a problem with damp which was apparently going to be sorted by Broad Court (the tenants wouldn't have to pay anything for this) in the very near future. There was also one that was perfect. It didn't look like a student house and was not in 'the grid'. I'm signing the contract for that tomorrow, as well as handing over a deposit.

Deposits are necessary for securing the house. The common price is a month's rent. Sometimes it's a month's rent plus a little more for fees. You get this money back in the last week of your contract (so, the end of June for a standard 12 month contract) but you don't get the money back that you pay for fees. For example, I have to pay £250 deposit plus £50 fees. I'll get £250 back but not the £50.

Things to check in a house are listed on the SHAC website and in the SHAC office in the Guild and were advertised during the housing fairs, so I won't go through them now. Every one has their own interests and needs, however, so do think about them before you view a house or even whilst you're looking at the listings. There are so many houses, you can't really just pick ones at random and hope that they might be up to your personal standard. My house, for example, has exposed brickwork done tastefully and an open plan kitchen/dining room/lounge which I love. Each bedrooms is huge and has a double bed. The wardrobe is massive and built in so it doesn't appear to take up room. The ceilings are high so natural light is abundant. There is a small concealed back garden so I can do BBQs in good weather. The neighbours are pleasant and friendly towards students. The house itself is close to the Selly Oak campus, where all the drama classes and lectures are. It is also close to the travel links (Selly Oak train station, 20/25 minute walk; bus stop, just outside the house; shuttle bus stop, 10 minute walk).

One thing that is mentioned that I didn't think about was the furniture and appliances. As there will be people living in the house when you view it (probably January, like most people), they may be available to talk to during the viewing. I asked the current tenant of my house about bills and local supermarkets as well as if the TV was their own. There should be check lists for 'things to buy before moving into a rented house' either on the SHAC website or easily found on a Google search. Having moved away from home into halls, I already have plenty of things for my house such as kitchen things (pots, pans, plates, cutlery etc), cleaning stuff and studying tools. No doubt I'll have to buy a few extra things but the cost definitely won't be as high as it was when I moved into halls. Also, if you're living in a house with one or more people, the other people would definitely have things to provide, too.

Well, I have work to do and half an hour before I go to Gatecrasher for a flatmate's birthday. As always, if there are any further questions or comments you'd like to make, my university email address is on this page on the right. I do my best to respond and help out anyone who contacts me. One more note on that, though: I have had emails from people asking for help on the finances side of University. Whilst I am a student so have contact with the people in those offices, the better thing to do in that situation would be to either phone the university or go on the website and look at the options available. I will still try to point whomever asks in the right direction if they can't find the right department, though. Go ahead, try me.