relocation agents to recommend?

If you have used a relocation agent pls post here and let me know who they were and whether or not you would recommend them. Also, if you don't mind posting the cost you paid and what you got for it (regardless of if you liked them) I would reeealllyy appreciate it. I think we will have to hire one to find a place to be ready upon arrival.

We are looking for agents in the London area. I will be working in Central London but we'll probably be looking for a place in zones 4-6 (I would love to have a 30 min commute but will take a 45 min commute but not more.)

I used Medics on the Move (you don't have to be in the medical field to use them, though -- we weren't). My agent was Louise Thompson, and she operates out of the Newbury/Reading area about 35 miles out of London. Which means that she may do London too, I just don't know. And if she doesn't, probably someone else in her organization does. We paid 450 pounds (about $1,000).

She was such a help! She drove us all over the place to view properties. We never would've been able to find all of these places being new to the area, and not to mention being confused by British driving. She also helped negotiate the lease and came with us when we moved into the flat to make sure we knew how to use all the appliances and such. We didn't need the service of having her check out local schools, but she does that, too. She also helped us flee a horrible B&B a "friend" recommended to us and found us a lovely, quiet, low-cost place when we first arrived. And she drove us there, she set up a meeting at a bank and drove us there so we could set up an account. It was costly, but she earned her money!

Oh, and I forgot to mention, some agents either charge by the day for viewings or give you a flat rate, but it's just good for two days of taking you to viewings (my agent didn't do that). Then if you didn't find anything else they will charge like another $500 a day. While odds are good that you will find something you like the first day of viewings if the agent is worth his salt and listened to what you said you were looking for, the cutoff time is something I wouldn't care for.

My agent said that if we didn't find anything we liked right away, she'd keep looking at no additional charge. She never needed more than a day with clients to find a place they liked, but she said if it were needed, she'd do it, no problem. We actually found a place the first day, but it was a Saturday and we had to wait until Monday to get more details. And on Monday our agent called and said she'd heard of another place that was larger (which we wanted very much), so we looked at that. We took the place we'd seen on the second day of viewing, but we could have easily taken the place we saw the first day.

Thanks! I'll check them out! I know that the cheapest quote I have found that includes searching, 2 days viewing, and negotiating the lease is 1500 pounds. The going daily rate for accompanied viewing is 600 pounds and up. I haven't hired anyone yet. I am trying to nail down stuff with work this week so it should be coming shortly.

I did however get tons of responses from estate agents when I spammed them through findaproperty.co.uk. It made me rethink using a relocation agent. I'm scared to go without one though.

Maybe my work will surprise me and offer to foot some of the costs but I doubt it since I requested the transfer.

I used Medics on the Move (you don't have to be in the medical field to use them, though -- we weren't). My agent was Louise Thompson, and she operates out of the Newbury/Reading area about 35 miles out of London. Which means that she may do London too, I just don't know. And if she doesn't, probably someone else in her organization does. We paid 450 pounds (about $1,000).

She was such a help! She drove us all over the place to view properties. We never would've been able to find all of these places being new to the area, and not to mention being confused by British driving. She also helped negotiate the lease and came with us when we moved into the flat to make sure we knew how to use all the appliances and such. We didn't need the service of having her check out local schools, but she does that, too. She also helped us flee a horrible B&B a "friend" recommended to us and found us a lovely, quiet, low-cost place when we first arrived. And she drove us there, she set up a meeting at a bank and drove us there so we could set up an account. It was costly, but she earned her money!

I've sent an email inquiry to them. I'll post when I get information one way or another. Thanks!

There are lots of estate agents and of course you could find something on your own just going to the agents. You can't count on them to be up front about everything with you, though -- they are in it to move properties and can be a bit like used car salesmen. But a relocation agent doesn't care which property you take and will tell you the straight story. The problem of shifty estate agents doesn't have to be too bad though if you investigate everything properly. I think if you can get here and rent a serviced flat for a week or two and just search like crazy, you'll find something. If you're willing to drive a car all over right away, and you don't get lost easily, searching yourself will save you money. But trying to view houses and flats using public transport and taxis is just crazy, exhausting and something to be avoided. That's one of the very nice perks of a relocation agent -- you get a personal driver!