IMPORTANT info required b4 landing in UK

I would like some help on below questions ASAP, urgent basis:

1.HOW do i calculate council tax and is it included in tax? what is the min and max amount? do we have to pay monthly?
2. IS it possible to get studio rental in 15 days?
3.Can we contact landlord directly or is it important to go thru an agent?
4.If we go thru agent then how much will agent charge?
5.for 600pcm studio rental approx how much deposit will be required?
6.can someone give me good references to search for studio?
7.what is cheapest way to commute inside central london? il be going from one place to another to look for studio
8. which area in london is safe and affordable and not too far from central london?

i really need someone to help me out with all this as i a arrangin budget for above so have to know b4 i leave in 2weeks

1. Amount of council tax is decided by local authority and different for every area. It depends on the property - each one has a "band" (valuation) from A (cheapest) to H (most expensive) based on the price of the property. It is not included in any "tax" and have to be paid separately - either in one lump sum or in 10 instalments (per year).

2. It's possible, but fairly unusual.

3. Either way is fine, but agents impose additional fees.

4. It varies widely, but usually at least 1 week of rent.

5. It varies widely, but common thing would be £600-800.

6. findaproperty.com

7. There are no cheap ways, but basically tube is cheaper than rail, and bus is cheaper than tube. Use Oyster Pay-as-you-go to get the lowest price (and it has a daily cap, so you won't be charged after some amount was paid).
Then again, if you are looking for a cheap place to stay - you won't be travelling in central London...

8. Unfortunately there is no such area. In London only two out of "cheap", "safe", and "accessible" can be true for the same area.

Oops! I did not notice this thread was so old

wunder wrote:8. Unfortunately there is no such area. In London only two out of "cheap", "safe", and "accessible" can be true for the same area.

I love that !!!

Haha yeah. I've never heard the word "cheap" in the same sentence that includes "central London."

I am wondering how much people in central London earn then ?? In another thread, it was advised that 800 pounds a month are not enough to find a place in central London even though its a lot of money !

How do people live in central London then ? after all its not possible that all of them are rich ( blood sucking ) bankers or directors and executives etc !!

Just curious....

Pakhtoon wrote:I am wondering how much people in central London earn then ?? In another thread, it was advised that 800 pounds a month are not enough to find a place in central London even though its a lot of money !

How do people live in central London then ? after all its not possible that all of them are rich ( blood sucking ) bankers or directors and executives etc !!

Just curious....

From what I heard, the minimum wage there is different to the rest of the uk (someone correct me if I'm talking crap). I think it's over £7. Also, someone on a petty theft documentary said that he gets £80+/fortnight for job seeking.

A year ago, I've seen a flat in central london being advertised for £800. I thought that was resonable? I think it was a studio though.

I hate and love central london

Rents in London are quite steep and salaries in London dont correspond or match the rents.
Sample data as we have lived in a few cities and now huntin for a place down south

Suburb rents for 2BR houses not more than 30mins from the centre of that place
Reading - £550 to £625
Bristol - £625 - £750 - must say these are newer places in 'decent' places
Leeds - £425 - £525 - North always seems cheaper
London - jeez - £1200 to £1700 for decent, safe and cheap places

City Centre for flats
Reading - £650 - £1000
Bristol - around £800 but this was 4 yrs back
Leeds - £650 - £750
London - forget it!!!

So while there may be a 30%-50% difference renting in London and elsewhere, if you do get a job thats based in Central London, no company gives you that much of a raise even if were living outside of London and relocating for that job. Of course, if you are a genius then you can get a 100% raise

KP

I've seen nice Leeds city centre flats for £350. I think £650 is steep. It's up North after all!

ElenaW wrote:I've seen nice Leeds city centre flats for £350. I think £650 is steep. It's up North after all!

£350 for a 2BR flat in the city centre??? Either you are joking or someone's pulling a fast one - I have been here for over 2 years with a lot of colleagues coming and going and the cheapest 1BR flat in the city centre in half a decent place and proper facilities is not below £500
And I'm not talkin of those places where you aint sure what happens after 8pm or can't stay safely over the weekend.....

Do let me know where you had seen this and I can confirm if it's the right quote you got!

KP

kenfrapin wrote:

ElenaW wrote:I've seen nice Leeds city centre flats for £350. I think £650 is steep. It's up North after all!

£350 for a 2BR flat in the city centre??? Either you are joking or someone's pulling a fast one - I have been here for over 2 years with a lot of colleagues coming and going and the cheapest 1BR flat in the city centre in half a decent place and proper facilities is not below £500
And I'm not talkin of those places where you aint sure what happens after 8pm or can't stay safely over the weekend.....

Do let me know where you had seen this and I can confirm if it's the right quote you got!

KP

Oh sorry it wasn't a two bedroom. It was a 1 bedroom. I believe it was on rightmove and the area looked okay when we checked it out. But I'm not a fan of leeds city centre honestly so I didn't go for it. Oh and you're right, I'm not sure what happens there after 8pm haha. We went at about 4pm

kenfrapin wrote:Rents in London are quite steep and salaries in London dont correspond or match the rents.
Sample data as we have lived in a few cities and now huntin for a place down south

Suburb rents for 2BR houses not more than 30mins from the centre of that place
Reading - £550 to £625
Bristol - £625 - £750 - must say these are newer places in 'decent' places
Leeds - £425 - £525 - North always seems cheaper
London - jeez - £1200 to £1700 for decent, safe and cheap places

City Centre for flats
Reading - £650 - £1000
Bristol - around £800 but this was 4 yrs back
Leeds - £650 - £750
London - forget it!!!

So while there may be a 30%-50% difference renting in London and elsewhere, if you do get a job thats based in Central London, no company gives you that much of a raise even if were living outside of London and relocating for that job. Of course, if you are a genius then you can get a 100% raise

KP

Thanks for your usual informative post kenfrapin but my question still remains...how do people living in central London manage to pay such high rents then ?? are they all so rich ?? is everyone there earning more than 50K ??

For the salaries that I have seen people earning in UK ( 16K to 25K ), looks like everyone will be literally earning for their landlord !!

Unfortunately I don't know anyone living in central London so sorry if my question sounds stupid

ElenaW wrote:

kenfrapin wrote:

ElenaW wrote:I've seen nice Leeds city centre flats for £350. I think £650 is steep. It's up North after all!

£350 for a 2BR flat in the city centre??? Either you are joking or someone's pulling a fast one - I have been here for over 2 years with a lot of colleagues coming and going and the cheapest 1BR flat in the city centre in half a decent place and proper facilities is not below £500
And I'm not talkin of those places where you aint sure what happens after 8pm or can't stay safely over the weekend.....

Do let me know where you had seen this and I can confirm if it's the right quote you got!

KP

Oh sorry it wasn't a two bedroom. It was a 1 bedroom. I believe it was on rightmove and the area looked okay when we checked it out. But I'm not a fan of leeds city centre honestly so I didn't go for it. Oh and you're right, I'm not sure what happens there after 8pm haha. We went at about 4pm

I don't know why would anyone live in the city center ?? unless its central London preferably in the neighbourhood of The Queen.

This is an area for the discussion of matters related to issues about moving from one country to another ....It is not a general non-immigration, free-for-all area.

How people living in central London manage to earn and afford to pay such high rents is out of scope of the intended purpose of this discussion forum.


regards

sushdmehta wrote:

This is an area for the discussion of matters related to issues about moving from one country to another ....It is not a general non-immigration, free-for-all area.

How people living in central London manage to earn and afford to pay such high rents is out of scope of the intended purpose of this discussion forum.


regards

My question has more to do with "Settling In" actually otherwise I couldn't care less about how people manage to pay their rents. Misunderstanding I would say...

thanks for your input anyway.

Just to close it off - when I stated these rents I took into account housing in decent suburbs and neighborhoods where one does not have to worry about burglaries, muggings, crime etc
If you take a look around, most stay in a tiny 1BR for about £600 and many share a small space with friends or just rent rooms for £200 a month - so anything is possible and available in London - question is, will you want to live in one in such strife? Renting nice rooms in a house share is so common these days and you get rooms in nice places as well.

I have only assumed that as a family man/woman with probably a child, one would not want to compromise on all this and stay in London. But there are always options to get cheaper places to rent in London.

Finally, those who can afford the rents are those who work in top/decent professional jobs not earning less than £60k - and hey, even with that much, you can afford rents of £1300 if you are single - or if a couple together earn almost £100k then even £2000 a month's affordable - you need to think about all these factors as well!!!

KP

Pakhtoon wrote:I don't know why would anyone live in the city center ??

It's convenient. I like that my job is only 2 tube stops away (and I can actually walk to it through a nice park) or that I don't have to worry about catching the last train after the concert.

well, i got studio with own Spam n bathroom for 800pcm including all bills and council tax on west kensington , hammersmith road. right in front of olympia. so wat do u guys think is it expensive deal?? i cldnt find any agent who wld give me studio without job first of all everyone wanted proof of address. the agent i got this studio from accepted my pp and other docs which i cld easily provide and i cldnt find anything in this price even in zoen 2-3. me n my husband don prefer liivin in east. anyway now in process of openin bank account. barclays said they will accept tenancy agreement with pp so thats good enough. is barlcays better or hsbc?? i don want any monthly charges?? can anyone refer good recruitment agencies in central london so i can forward my cv there. also can anyone plz help me how to apply for BT connection cuz they want 2 yr postal address which i dont have.
quick response will be appreciated.

This blog has good info on general questions about UK...

http://worklifeabroad.blogspot.com/

Pakhtoon wrote:I am wondering how much people in central London earn then ?? In another thread, it was advised that 800 pounds a month are not enough to find a place in central London even though its a lot of money !

How do people live in central London then ? after all its not possible that all of them are rich ( blood sucking ) bankers or directors and executives etc !!

Just curious....

Depends what you mean by cheap, I suppose. In the area where I live, you can get a room in a shared house or flat for under £800 a month - about £100 a week is the cheapest. that's a small bedsit with shared bathroom and / or shared Spam.

The cheapest studio flats (own Spam and bathroom, one room for living in and sleeping in) are about £240 a week.

I'm in central London.

Bromley, Beckenham, Chislehurst, Petts wood are all good areas. Not more than 20 mins by train to victoria. These areas are nice and affordable. You can comfortably get a 1 bed for about 750... most of the properties in these areas are unfurnished though...