Hi guys, I've just finished Uni and I'm starting work in Birmingham in September. I don't know anyone in the area, so I was looking at renting somewhere (just on my own). At the moment I'm looking at renting rooms (with other "professionals") vs. flats (£300/m bills included to £550/m with bills). I'm going to be travelling over the summer, so I'd like to get the accomodation sorted now, but a lot of the ads on GumTree.com seem to want people to move in almost immediately. Does anybody have any experience of this? In particular, I'd like to know what sort of accomodation I should be looking at (for a salary of around £25k and a student loan to pay off) and whether I can leave finding a flat until late August/Early September. Help!?! Thanks EDIT: And while I'm at it, which areas in Birmingham should I avoid? There seem to be quite a few places available in Edgbaston...
The expensive parts of Edgbaston are some of the most expensive in Birmingham... but somehow I doubt you would be going for those bits! Anyway, good luck, Birmingham is a great place
Proper Edgbaston is very nice. But Edgbaston is so big it spreads out into some rough areas. I live on the bleeding edge of Edgbaston and it's practically in Ladywood (which isn't that good to be honest). If you're looking at getting an apartment within say a 1 to 3 mile radius of the city centre I think you could quite comfortably leave it late August as there's always a lot of stuff readily available. If I were you I'd take a look at the Jewelry Quarter (which is never quite as expensive as you expect) and maybe Digbeth. I suppose it also depends on what kinda lifestyle you're into as well...
I'd imagine that the chances of finding a landlord willing to hold a flat open for you for a couple of months are extremely slim, unless you pay for those months while you're travelling. Most rental agreements are 1 month's notice, and a landlord will want to get new tenants into a flat as soon as possible - remember, the landlords most likely have mortgages to pay on the flat so it's in their best interests to keep occupancy as high as possible. I'd think, given a city the size of Brum, that you'd have no problems finding a flat at a couple of weeks' notice.
