Renting our first flat / making the initial payment for rent + deposit

Hi all,

I'm curious what others have done in this situation? We're planning on arriving in London in September and will be looking for a flat before we have jobs in the UK or a bank account. I'm anticipating that we may be stuck making a large initial deposit, perhaps up to even six months worth of rent. How would we logistically tender such a payment to a new landlord, since all funds would be drawn from a US account? I'm guessing it'd be impractical (and probably unsafe) to just carry that much money over in raw currency. Would I have my bank just cut a large cashier's check and convert it to pounds at some high street bank (seems like the conversion rate would be horrid)? I'm assuming the amount could be in excess of $10k.

Any suggestions on practical ways of doing this, without getting too abused in the process by fees or bad conversion rates, are greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
Aaron

We wired the money across direct from our US bank to the estate agent's account to cover the six months of rent we were required to pay up front. We had to do this in person at a branch in the US though.

I just went through this process.  I am not living in Central London, but the estate agent I used required 1.5 months rent plus first month's rent (basically 2.5 months rent down) to secure a flat.

The agent I used allowed me to use a credit card, which was a big help for me.  I used my US credit card as I do not have anything set up in the UK.  I think they charged a 3% Fee (their cost for using the credit card), but it was worth it to me to not have to deal with wiring funds or worrying about how I would pay.

I just went through this process.  I am not living in Central London, but the estate agent I used required 1.5 months rent plus first month's rent (basically 2.5 months rent down) to secure a flat.

The agent I used allowed me to use a credit card, which was a big help for me.  I used my US credit card as I do not have anything set up in the UK.  I think they charged a 3% Fee (their cost for using the credit card), but it was worth it to me to not have to deal with wiring funds or worrying about how I would pay.

Wow, that'd be great if I could find an agent that'd do that.

Thanks to both of you for your suggestions. Both methods sound better than having to stuff my suitcase with pound notes. =)