Tips for viewings and choosing those all important housemates!
Who you live with is as an important part of your student living experience as the house you live in- everyone should be happy and comfortable in their Uni home!
At Living, we are here to deal with all things housing, as Lancaster’s biggest off-campus student housing provider, based right in the centre of campus. With over 250 flats and homes available for undergraduate students right up to postgraduates, families and staff, we have something to suit everyone, leaving you stress and hassle free! All of our homes also come with added bonuses such as NO deposit or admins fees, all bills included, fibre broadband and even assisted cleaning so you don’t have to worry about who’s turn it is to scrub the toilet!
With your house search that easy, all that’s left for you to do is pick your housemates. Sadly, we can’t tell you who takes out the bins least or leaves dirty plates in the sink all the time, but we can give you some ideas on how to decide who you want to move forward in your student living experience with.
Here are our handy tips for picking your housemates and booking viewings for your next dream home:
Honestly is the best policy: choosing your housemates for next year is your chance to pick who you really want to live with, and it is always better to be honest from the beginning than to mess up plans later on. Although it can be awkward at first, it’s important to remember that even though you may want to live with a specific few people next year, you still have to live with everyone until then, so don’t let them have a reason to hold a grudge! Be honest about your opinions and wishes when talking about finding a home.
Separation can be simple: if you need to divide your current house into new groups for next year, but this is proving difficult, do it systematically. One method is that everyone writes down 3 people they want to live with, including their own name randomly in the list. Once everyone has done so, spread the lists on the table and match the similarities up until you get your groups. Ask an external person to do this to make it easier and less awkward.
Plan before you search: sit down with your housemate groups and have a meeting about budgets and places you want to live before you start looking. Agreeing these will make your search a lot easier and faster. This also means you can secure houses before they go! If you are unsure of budgets, shop around for what is available out there.
Make a day of it: find a day when your whole group is free and try to book your house viewings in one go to save time and bus money! Make sure you do this in advance as houses can get booked up quickly.
Search and examine: make sure to look around at different properties in different areas, price ranges within your budget and property types, as you may be surprised at what you find. If renting from a private landlord, check their reputation first (or come to Living where all our landlords are LU Homes accredited!)
Save photos: take pictures of the houses you view as it can become confusing!
Find out more at https://lancastersu.co.uk/living.
To start looking for your student home, visit https://housesearch.lancastersu.co.uk/ where you can book viewings for all of our lovely properties.
