Just a few basic housing questions

Hoping someone can answer just a few basic questions I have.  I'm wondering how far is too far in advance to begin looking for housing. I have already been looking just to get an idea of pricing from area to area and the types of properties available, even though we are not moving until September of 2011. Also, I feel confident that I can find housing myself online, but I am wondering if it would be easier to use a letting agent to find us a place. 

I've looked online at flats and rental houses all over Merseyside, and there doesn't seem to be any shortage of housing, but I keep on seeing on these boards that people have trouble finding housing.  Can anyone speak specifically to difficulty in the Liverpool area?

I really appreciate any help or information!

We'll be moving to Liverpool next month and looking for housing in April.  I'll definitely let you know how it goes.   

I can't tell you anything specific about the area, but what I did find very helpful was setting up a rightmove.co.uk property alert for areas we were interested in and receiving regular listings that gave me an idea of the prices and amenities available so we'd have a good idea what we would be paying when we actually started the hunt for a place. I highly recommend also taking some time to look at the map portion of some of the listed properties so you can see what the access to things like bus routes, train stations, grocery stores etc will be like. It's helpful if you don't already know the area super well.

From my experience, letting agents are not really interested in helping you until you're physically in the country. I looked online and called agents/landlords when I was still in the US and they did not really want to help. I even had friends living locally who could go look at places and they still weren't too willing to help.

Also, do NOT rent a place sight unseen! The pictures may look great, but the pictures might not even be of the place they're actually renting! Also, you can't smell mold and cat pee in a picture.  

It might be worth staying in a B&B for a week or so, giving you a chance to explore the city and decide what area you would like to live in. When I moved to the UK I was on my own. I had used a flatshare website before moving over and was in contact with a guy who had a room to let in his house. We planned on meeting up once I arrived and it ended up being a great situation. He was really helpful with getting me oriented with Bath. He introduced me to some friends. Most importantly, it gave me a home base while I looked for my own flat. I only stayed with him for a couple of months.

Moved to Plymouth England last Feb (2010).  We looked online for couple of months before moving over to get an idea of what was available, etc, just as your doing.

Once arriving, we called letting agents, but quickly learned it was better to get on RIGHTMOVE and FINDAPROPERTY websites to find a place.  We searched both sites several times a day, when we would find a place of interest, we then called the agent and made appt to view.  There were one or two other agents that we found online who did not use RightMove or Findaproperty to list their rentals, so you might want to do lots of different searches and see who isn't on the 2 main big sites.

We also found the just riding the areas we were interested in was another great way to find rentals.

We found it to be SO TRUE, PICS DO NOT TELL THE REAL STORY about a place, the rooms, etc.  We looked at many that looked awesome/great online, but when we were actually there viewing we were shocked at how different it really looked.

There are plenty rentals everywhere I believe, just keep doing what your doing, then after you arrive, take it one day at a time until you find the one you really want.  It took us about 2 and half months to find the 'right place for us', the one we really really liked, and we have been happy living here since then.

Nemie

We were told by every letting agent that they cannot rent unless you look at it in person first. We had a relative that was willing to go and look but they had to make a special exception for us. Also they all wanted six months' rent in advance and a cosigner who was already in the UK.

In the end we found that letting agents in small, rural towns were more flexible than ones in cities.

Andy

The above poster is so right on some of the rental issues.  I didn't even think to mention about the actual renting of a flat/house.  All agents will take an application (with a Fee of course), run your credit check (which is probably nothing over here, ours was blank/nothing), and all agents told us the same that we would have to have a Co-signer/Guarantor in order to rent us a place.  We had a friend who had a full time job and happen to make enough to be able to so sign.  I think the requirement for renting was around Rent Amt X 30 (annual income had to be at least that). 

We also had to put up 3 months advance rent even with a co signer b/c we had no job/income at the time.  Hubby had to find a job, but we wanted to get a place to live first, then he looked and found something pretty much right away. (We both moved from USA to UK, Hubby/brit had been in USA with me for 5 yrs).

Finding a place to rent - easy enough to do
Actually Renting - Not quite as easy to do as it is in USA

It might be worth staying in a B&B for a week or so, giving you a chance to explore the city and decide what area you would like to live in.

This is a very good suggestion.  I would try to set up some sort of temporary housing in the area you are interested in for a couple of weeks.  I wouldn't get my heart set on any property I saw online - only use them for general knowledge about rents, neighborhoods, etc.  When we moved here in September 2010, most of the properties I liked online were already under contract  (because housing is scarce in Bath).  I also agree with above posters - the letting agents wouldn't even return my emails until I was physically here. 

One thing you might think about is how you will pay your deposit.  It was trickier than I thought, opening up a bank account and getting my money from my US account into my new UK account (even though both accounts were at HSBC - the two do not talk to each other).  It is a very intricate dance.  I ended up putting it on my US credit card and having to pay a 3% foreign transaction fee - ouch!

Three pieces of unsolicited advice-
Get a letter from your employer that states that you are employed and are guaranteed to be here at least a year.  Most landlords asked for that first thing.

As soon as you get your rental contract, take it to a local bank and open an account to get things rolling.

As soon as you have your move in date, call your internet provider of choice and book a date to have it installed.  That was by far my biggest hassle with my move and took, all told, 6 weeks to get internet.

Good luck!

Rightmove was a good way to get a sense of neighborhoods, types of properties available and price ranges. However, I couldn't say it was a reliable way of finding a place to live. In our specific experience, most of the properties were *long* gone by the time they were listed on Rightmove. If they were still available, then they were places you probably wouldn't want in the first place. Even the house we're renting right now lingered on Rightmove at least 2 weeks *after* we moved in.

We ended up registering our details with a local letting company who set us up on tours of several properties. We put a deposit on the 3rd property we saw that very day as we were sure it wouldn't last long.

What helped is moving into a short-term furnished accommodation upon arrival which allowed for us to have an address with which to establish a bank account and gain landlord "references" while searching for a permanent home. It was pricey, but I think in the end it cut out a lot of the hassle of trying to find housing in a new country.