Where to Look in London?

I'm looking for a flat in London for two people in the 400 pound per week price range. I could go up or down a little, but I cannot exceed more than 1,750 per month.

DH will be working at UCL, his office is at Gower Place. I am mainly looking at the Borough of Islington. We will not have a car- so must be easy travel distance by bus or tube.  Any suggestions? I have found many places I like in Islington and Angel. We are bringing our dog, so being close to a park or having access to a garden is a priority.

I would suggest talking to a few estate agents (but not Foxtons)...finding a place with a dog is going to be very difficult so you are going to need that help.  Give them your requirements.  It sounds as if you already have an area in mind...(you can go on rightmove.co.uk to look for places and just contact the agency that has the listing).

Information about private renting:

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/HomeAndCommunity/BuyingAndSellingYourHome/RentingAHome/index.htm

RE: housing

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/
http://www.zoopla.co.uk/
http://www.findaproperty.com/

About neighbourhoods:
http://www.upmystreet.com/

HTH. 

Should I wait to contact estate agents until I get to London? I will probably be able to stay in a hotel up to three weeks to find a flat. We won't be bring our dog until December- but we will be bring pictures, letters of recommendation, etc.

I think you might find it hard to engage with estate agents until you are physically here. You have to be persistent, IME. Especially in London. 

Hi, I live in London and know these areas pretty well. What exactly would you like to know? 400 a week seems like a very, very healthy amount of money to find what you want and have a garden for your dog. (I have something like that at just over half the price, though in a much worse neighborhood). Angel is lovely. If I had that kind of budget I'd look in Farringdon and Clerkenwell, I think that's EC1, although you do find more apartments and mansion blocks there. Also Highbury and Islington one stop further out on the Victoria line has some pretty buildings and good restaurants, and even a bit further out Finsbury Park, which is still in the borough of Islington, has a lively central street, Stroud Green, and is well connected by tube and a large park. By the way you wouldn't want a car in Islington anyway- parking there is terrible.

Molly, thank you very much. I really wasn't sure how far our budget would go- it is so hard to tell! I hoped at the 400 pound range we would be able to find something lovely. I've been searching on rightmove, gumtree, etc. I will definitely look into Farringdon and Clerkenwell.

DH will be in London in two weeks- but I don't think he will have time for any house hunting.
We are hoping to find a neighborhood that is friendlier (I know it won't be like the US), with good coffee shops and cafes. We like to eat out a lot- but we don't stay out super late or drink excessively.

I would suggest that you get map of London to familiarize yourself with where the bigger parks are located.  The Islington area around Angel has a lot to offer but I am hard pressed to think of any parks in the area.  The same with Clerkenwell and Farringdon.  Although, you are probably more likely to find a flat with some kind of garden space in the Islington area.  Also, be aware that garden squares and smaller parks might not allow dogs.

I also live in London pretty near UCL as a matter of fact.  Estate agents don't have the best reputation and as mapleleafgirl said they are unlikely to do much for you before you arrive.  I would however, suggest that you contact a few and set up appointments for when you do arrive.

Regent's Park and Primrose Hill are near where your husband will be working so you might want to think about Fitzrovia, Marylebone, Chalk Farm and Camden.  I would check the housing links that mapleleaf girl suggested to see if there is anything that you think might be suitable.  

And just a word if caution, the Northern Line is notorious for it's bad service so wherever you decided on make sure that there is adequate bus service as well.

Islington is a great choice. I live up near Highbury, right on the park, and it's probably one of the most pleasant places I've been in London, especially with the proximity to Upper Street. If you like being near a bunch of great restaurants, pubs, boutiques, and so forth, Upper Street can't be beat. Some neighbourhood names that you may see for the areas around here are Highbury, Canonbury, Angel, Clerkenwell, Barnsbury, and so forth.

Sadly, £400/week is probably about the average for flats around here. The overall inventory is limited and this is one of the most desirable boroughs in London; you won't necessarily end up with a luxurious flat for that price, but it should be entirely comfortable, with enough searching. The prices seem to get better the further from Upper Street you get, though. Having a dog, however, will be a *huge* negative. I've wanted to get one for awhile, but the estate agents have universally agreed that it makes flat hunting basically impossible, especially in areas where the owners/landlords can be picky (like Islington). Keep this in mind, when you're searching, as you may need to make significant compromises to find a place.

Regarding how to look, it's a bit of a nightmare hunting for flats here. Whereas Craigslist is pretty ubiquitous in the US, at least in the major cities, there doesn't appear to be anything here with even remotely similar levels of penetration. The few aggregation sites that exist (Globrix, Zoopla, Findaproperty, Gumtree) are mostly fed by estate agents and each has only a partial view of availability. Basically, you have to browse each of these sites, as well as the websites of pretty much every estate agent you know, to see what's actually available. Around Angel, it's not uncommon for a flat to be let before the estate agent has even bothered posting it online, so it really helps to pop into each of their offices and let them know what you're looking for; they may tell you about properties before they're uploaded. 

As a point of reference, it took us about six weeks to find and settle on our current flat, and we already live in London. There isn't much available, a lot of what is available is garbage (our range was £350-£450), and it's a very cut-throat segment. We lost out on two offers because people were willing to pay MORE than the already-inflated asking price (a lot of City bankers live around here, given its proximity, and they seem to have no financial worries at all). With that said, it's still useful to negotiate; our current flat was listed for £475 and we ended up getting it for £425.

Although a lot of this sounds negative, once you actually do find a place, you'll fall in love with the area. It's truly a wonderful place to live.

P.S. As was already said, avoid Foxton's... they mark their properties up by at least £75 and can be pretty evil. If you're in love with one of their properties, try looking for it elsewhere; we've seen probably 20-30% of their inventory listed elsewhere, and often for far less.

Wow, now I am very worried. We are not looking for luxury, and don't have a preference as to whether the flat is furnished or not. My three biggest priorities are 2 bedrooms, garden, near a park. Living further out is fine with me and DH as long as we can have our dog. Unfortunately, the budget is not negotiable and cannot be tweaked.

Are there other boroughs/neighborhoods in London that are more dog friendly?

Don't want to make you feel bad, but 2 bedrooms, a garden, near a park and with a dog all for £400 is going to be a tough get.  However, the further you get away from Central London the more you will get for your money and the more likely you are to be able to fill your brief.  Get yourself a map of London and a tube map.  With what you want and your budget limitations you will probably need to look in Zone 3 or 4. 

Gretel- you are probably right. Something will have to go. The only reason I wanted the garden was because I was told by an Estate Agent we had to have a garden for our dog. We don't need the two bedrooms, either DH is convinced he must have it so he can hide away whilst working on his research. I maintain a one bedroom is sufficient and he should do his work at work!

Maybe this thread will convince him to loosen the restrictions a little bit- I hope! I'm the one doing all the searching, and it is getting more and more difficult everyday.

Don't get worried just of yet!

The flat that I live above is a nice 2 bedroom flat with a decent sized garden and its just went for £1600 per month (AND the previous tenants had two dogs), and its also near several large parks. (I can PM you the add when I get home later in the day, its now been sublet into a holiday let that charges extortionate prices, but the actual rent it went for is much lower).

You might just have to look in other areas. I live in Balham, which is south on the Northern Line. No, its not as exciting as Angel or Islington, but its still a nice area and its safe. We live very close to the tube in a nice converted Victorian house, and it takes 20 minutes to get to central London on the tube. I would check areas like Clapham South and Balham, as its less expensive to live down here, but also near Clapham Common, Tooting Common, and Wandsworth Common (also, if you live in Wandsworth borough like we do, its the cheapest council tax in London).

Kelly-

Thank you for the suggestions. Balham and Clapham sound lovely from the housing guides and other forums I have read. It sounds like there are a lot of parks and green space, which I really like.  I actually grew up in the forest, so a quieter existence might be nice for me. DH likes a little more hustle and bustle, but it sounds like there are plenty of cafes and shops- exactly what DH likes.  Southwest London seems to have good amenities for dogs, too- I have found three Doggie Daycare providers. Thank you, I feel more encouraged.
 

I live in Cricklewood...it's not fancy...but you might be able to rent a house with a garden for that and be near a few parks (especially if you rent in the Golders Green Estates).  You are close to the Northern & Jubilee lines, a ton of buses and the Thameslink.  One estate agent to work with that I love is Ellis and Co.