Truth, exaggeration or underselling? Nightmare stories about arriving...?

Hi all -

Had dinner tonight with an old friend of mine, also a US Expat to London.  She's well aware that I have no intention of getting a company transfer to London only have a flat or house share.  Not being 22 anymore, and not having lived in my own space for the better part of 2 years now, I want my own flat.  But then she started with her experience and I'm wondering how much of it is accurate or relevant today:  (note, my office location is in the heart of Central London and at most, I want to live no further than Zone 3 - can't afford Zone 1)

Her premise and argument is that I could easily lay out $20,000 just to walk in the door and own nothing if I don't find a flat share for at least 6 months first owing to lack of a UK credit history.

* Landlords will ask for extra deposits or multiple months of rent up front on top of deposits
* Each utility will also ask for an additional deposit to turn on the service up front
* My renting options will be extremely limited in the first place because I'm an international mover with no history in UK and also because I have a dog
* Even cell phone and internet carriers will ask me for substantial deposits up front owing to lack of UK credit history
* I will, for lack of a better word, be destitute for my first year in the UK while I recover from the costs and start getting my own things no matter where I go - but having a flat share is the least costly way to experience it and permits me to get a credit card or two to charge up and pay off for a year.
* That I have 4 years tenure with my existing company and can provide decades worth of landlord references will mean nothing in UK to any utility, landlord or agent.

So - bluntly - how much of this is genuine and how much is valley of the brides horror story?  Are the steps to ensure I'm not spending tens of thousands just to physically move myself and my dog and walk in to a flat with nothing that I actually 'own'?

Her premise and argument is that I could easily lay out $20,000 just to walk in the door and own nothing if I don't find a flat share for at least 6 months first owing to lack of a UK credit history.

* Landlords will ask for extra deposits or multiple months of rent up front on top of deposits

It's usually the case that with no UK credit history, you are likely to have to put down 6 months' rent upfront... so the amount you have to pay depends on the rent. $20,000 sounds extremely excessive though.

Where I live (East Midlands), 6 months rent on a flat would be about £3,000. In London though, the average one-bed flat rents for between £700 and £1,000 per month, so you'd be looking at maybe £4,500-6,000 upfront, or in a flat share, maybe £2,000-3,000 upfront.

* Each utility will also ask for an additional deposit to turn on the service up front

Not heard that before... normally, when you move into a rented flat/house, the utilities will already have been set up for the previous tenant and will already be switched on, so you just have to call the utility company and open a new account in your name, providing the current meter readings.

Things like internet/landline/cable or satellite TV can take longer to set up (2-4 weeks) and if any installations are needed (satellite dish, cables etc.) you may have to pay a one-off set-up/installation fee, but that shouldn't be more than £50-100.

* My renting options will be extremely limited in the first place because I'm an international mover with no history in UK and also because I have a dog

I don't think being international with no UK history will limit your options, but having a dog likely will.

* Even cell phone and internet carriers will ask me for substantial deposits up front owing to lack of UK credit history

Nope - you can just unlock your current US phone and then get a 'pay as you go' SIM for a while until you have built up enough UK credit to get a full contract.

Doesn't have to cost much at all. UK mobile company Three charges £10 per month for 1GB data, 3000 minutes and 3000 texts, or their most expensive pay as you go SIM is £35 per month for Unlimited Data, 3000 minutes and 3000 texts.

* I will, for lack of a better word, be destitute for my first year in the UK while I recover from the costs and start getting my own things no matter where I go - but having a flat share is the least costly way to experience it and permits me to get a credit card or two to charge up and pay off for a year.

I think you will struggle to get a UK credit card with no credit history in the UK, even in a flat share... I'd give it a couple of years of building UK credit before you will qualify for a credit card.

* That I have 4 years tenure with my existing company and can provide decades worth of landlord references will mean nothing in UK to any utility, landlord or agent.

Utility companies won't care less about references - anyone can be added to a utility bill... you just call them and open an account.

Not sure if landlords/agents will consider previous landlord references, since you normally just pay 6 months rent upfront to negate that... but you can ask them - they may consider your references.

So - bluntly - how much of this is genuine and how much is valley of the brides horror story?  Are the steps to ensure I'm not spending tens of thousands just to physically move myself and my dog and walk in to a flat with nothing that I actually 'own'?

Most of it sounds incorrect.

You'll probably have to pay a few thousand, but tens of thousands is a gross exaggeration. Your biggest expenditures will likely be 6 months rent for a flat and moving your dog.

I think ksand's estimate of rent on a 1 bedroom is low.  8 years ago a friend had a studio near Paddington for £1,000 a month.  I'd budget £1,500 to £1,800 a month depending on location.  A pet usually means a security deposit equal to two months rent.  Yes, you will have limited options with a pet.  But you will have options.  Chances are they won't be the nicest of places, as often with a flat or house that's been refitted, they won't entertain a pet.  But not always.

Completely agree with everything else ksand said.

Moving is expensive, but you've said you'll be moving on a Tier 2.  Be sure to negotiate in a decent disruption bonus for your move, as well as some other perks.  A few extra days holiday per year and a return flight are standard, etc.

It's all the little things that catch you out when you move, expense wise.  But nothing you can get past.

It will be Tier 2, but self-financed.  US is a good place to expat from at the moment and the opportunity to leave while staying modestly employed is the key driver.  If the company had come to me, the negotiation strategy would've been very different.

I think ksand's estimate of rent on a 1 bedroom is low.  8 years ago a friend had a studio near Paddington for £1,000 a month.  I'd budget £1,500 to £1,800 a month depending on location.

Paddington is in Zone 1 though and the OP has already said they can't afford to live in Zone 1. Outside zone 1, I imagine rent is cheaper.

When I replied, I just looked up average rent rates in London and one result had a table showing shared vs. one-bed rent costs in various parts of London. The highest amount in the table for a one-bed was £1,000, so I gave that amount.

Well, I guess the OP can pretty easily look on zopla or right move and find out for himself.  I agree £1000 sounds cheap but I don’t rent much. 

I’m confused about you talking about “owning” a house.  If you are thinking of buying a house in central London immediately on arrival, I don’t think that’s realistic unless you are mega rich.  Is the question rent vs buy or share vs not share?

I live in zone 2 in East and our rent for a 2 bedroom was £1,800 last time we rented.  A friend is currently renting out a room in their flat-share in the same area and it's £732 / month + utilities.  They are replacing a flatmate and asking for a £1,500 deposit and 1 month's rent in advance.  I think anything from £800 - £1,500 for a one-bedroom, depending on area would be reasonable.

It's been years ago, but I had to have a co-signer for most major things we did in the UK - opening a bank account was reliant on my husband and us getting a flat meant using his father as a guarantor.  This was due to his limited credit (he was young) and my complete lack of credit in the UK.

Even after we'd built up about 5 years of credit, when husband became self-employed (I was employed in a full-time permanent job), our next flat required 6 month's rent in advance plus 6 weeks of deposit.  That ended up being around £12,000 for us at the time.

I think you're going to have problems with the dog.  We struggled (and lied) about having an indoor cat.  A lot of blocks also won't allow dogs at all.

I think you will struggle to get a UK credit card with no credit history in the UK, even in a flat share... I'd give it a couple of years of building UK credit before you will qualify for a credit card.

What I will say is that I did manage to get a UK credit card relatively easily (from what I remember) but I had been living and working in the UK for like a year minimum before I applied for it so that probably made the difference (and I'm not sure if the fact I was with American Express made a difference). I would say factor in at least a year of credit history to get a decent card offering.

When we were in West Hampstead (Zone 2) we paid 1800 for a two bed flat on the high street. Now we are just a hair outside Zone 1 and pay £2100 for a two bed maisonette not near anything but our travel costs are half. I would go £1000 to £1500 for a one bed, although be aware that rents may go down but your travel costs will increase the further out you go. Zone 2 is a pretty good compromise in that respect.

Young folks at work fed up with roommates are paying between £1000 and £1200 a month for studios in the Waterloo area, but again they can walk to work.

We have two cats and found two landlords in a row who were open about allowing pets. Try Open Rent or Gumtree (be aware of scams) or even SpareRoom you can search for one beds now I think. Contacting the landlords can be a bit easier that way. One thing to be concerned about for the dog is letting it out during the day - the days can get long here (although perhaps you are working from home?) and all of a sudden if the commuting goes tits up you can be gone a lot longer than expected. Will you need to factor in a dog walker or anything?

Re: a credit card, what MAY help is if you get an annual travel card loan through Commuter Club, could be a good way to start building credit. Essentially you get one month free and its a good deal, low risk, and its easy to sign up online. Shortly after we signed up my other half I think applied for an airline co-brand credit card (BA Amex) and that was easy to get.

We moved with no jobs and nothing but two suitcases and a box - left the cats with family. Slept on a friends floor for 9 months, moved into an ensuite room with psycho landlady woman for 4 months, then moved into the two-bed flat above the burger shop and are now in the maisonette (which is ok but kinda dull). It took three years to get the cats back, almost 15 months to get our lives back in some semblance of normalcy, and 9 months to get jobs. And that was back in 2014 before all this Brexit craziness.

Come on Bertine, you can't just drop "pyscho landlady" and not tell us about it.  Enquiring minds want to know!