Input and Opinion

We are looking for a furnished 1 bedroom (queen or king size bed) in the city center within walking distance of shopping, restaurants, pubs and public transportation. Our budget around $1000.00 U.S. pcm.

Just as a side note... we don't have anything called a queen-size bed here.  Our king-size is probably the size of a US queen bed.  For the rough equivalent of a US king-sized bed, you'll need to look for a Super King.

Good luck ... I'm sure you'll love Manchester if your plans work out.

I’ve tried to rent a flat for a defined term of 6 months and found it very difficult.  Since it’s different than what most people do, estate agents won’t have anything to do with it.  They will almost certainly ask for two months security deposit and some significant general rip off fees on top of that.

One alternative would be places that do corporate lets for executives, but those will come with executive prices.  Maybe air b nb?

Also as a heads up, be aware that if you come over as a visitor (whether you apply for your visa in advance, or rely on getting the six month stamp at the border), you cannot just decide to stay and adjust your status.  You will need to leave the UK at the end of those six months and apply for whatever longterm visa suits your situation from outside the UK.

Also as a heads up, be aware that if you come over as a visitor (whether you apply for your visa in advance, or rely on getting the six month stamp at the border), you cannot just decide to stay and adjust your status.  You will need to leave the UK at the end of those six months and apply for whatever longterm visa suits your situation from outside the UK.

Yes. Thank you, we are aware of that.

Just as a side note... we don't have anything called a queen-size bed here.  Our king-size is probably the size of a US queen bed.  For the rough equivalent of a US king-sized bed, you'll need to look for a Super King.

Good luck ... I'm sure you'll love Manchester if your plans work out.

Thank you.

I’ve tried to rent a flat for a defined term of 6 months and found it very difficult.  Since it’s different than what most people do, estate agents won’t have anything to do with it.  They will almost certainly ask for two months security deposit and some significant general rip off fees on top of that.

One alternative would be places that do corporate lets for executives, but those will come with executive prices.  Maybe air b nb?

Thank you. We are looking into it.

Sounds good, and best of luck with your planning.    Sounds exciting!

I was just making sure as no work means literally no work.  Even if you are lucky enough to be self-employed and be able to operate your business abroad/remotely, it is still considered as working in the UK and is not permitted without the proper visa.  It's another thing that has historically gotten some visitors in accidental trouble as it was thought that no work meant no work for a UK employer.  IMO, if you want to visit for a few months and have the ability to work remotely and keep yourself financially afloat, all power to you.  Unfortunately though, UKVI does not have similar feelings on the matter.

Yes definitely this. It seems that you are already aware of this, but just to reiterate no work means no work of any kind for your business (so somebody would need to be in charge of affairs there so something to think over if you haven't already).

RE the accommodations, have you tried using Airbnb?? Might be a better shout than the link you found.

If you were using this trip as a recon to find out what place you'd like to live if you want to stay longer term, you could look to book multiple Airbnbs in different areas to determine which you like best from a living point of view. Also, if you weren't granted 6 full months on arrival (though i can see you've decided to apply for the visitor visa in advance now), you will be in a better position to make cancellations to get money back. You can also see reviews from other guests about the location and accommodation so I would personally prefer to use Airbnb if I were in your situation.

Yes definitely this. It seems that you are already aware of this, but just to reiterate no work means no work of any kind for your business (so somebody would need to be in charge of affairs there so something to think over if you haven't already).

RE the accommodations, have you tried using Airbnb?? Might be a better shout than the link you found.

If you were using this trip as a recon to find out what place you'd like to live if you want to stay longer term, you could look to book multiple Airbnbs in different areas to determine which you like best from a living point of view. Also, if you weren't granted 6 full months on arrival (though i can see you've decided to apply for the visitor visa in advance now), you will be in a better position to make cancellations to get money back. You can also see reviews from other guests about the location and accommodation so I would personally prefer to use Airbnb if I were in your situation.

Thank you! This helps quite a bit!

We did a similar thing back in 2011, rented an unfurnished house for a 6 month period. As mentioned above it did limit our choices as most agents were looking for a 1 year lease. However, we did succeed and paid the 6 month lease in advance, plus one month rent as security deposit. We used rightmove.com to search for places.

Good luck.

We did a similar thing back in 2011, rented an unfurnished house for a 6 month period. As mentioned above it did limit our choices as most agents were looking for a 1 year lease. However, we did succeed and paid the 6 month lease in advance, plus one month rent as security deposit. We used rightmove.com to search for places.

Good luck.

Thanks! We have been looking at rightmove.com as well.

As mentioned above it did limit our choices as most agents were looking for a 1 year lease.

Just make sure the 1 year tenancy agreement has break a clause, and then use it. Many of the 1 year tenancies have a break clause of  6 months. 6 months is the minimum term for any Assured Shorthold Tenancy agreement in England. Don't do an EU and forget to put a break clause in a long term tenancy agreement because , as they just found out in court,  the landlord wins if you move out and you will still owe all the rent, even if you are the EU and plead poverty to the judge.

The ironic thing is that although a private landlord is not allowed to have a person residing in their property that doesn't have permission to reside in the UK, these people are allowed to buy a property. Owning a property in the UK does not mean you can live in the UK.

As you have been told about the Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) visa by larrabee in your other thread, you might want to learn more about work visas on forums where the work visa holders are..
https://www.immigrationboards.com/uk-tier-1-entrepreneur-visas/

Just so you know, in Manchester it rains, a lot.

Thank you! This helps quite a bit!

No worries!

From my experience of talking to my mom (and other friends/family members back in the US), Airbnb doesn't seem to be as popular or thought about for stuff like this as it is over here. We Airbnb on almost all our holidays and have Airbnb'd for even just weekends away within the UK. Many of the spots will allow you to cancel withing 24 or 48 hours of booking so if you book spots for 6 months out and they only grant you entry for 3 months (for example), you should have plenty of time to cancel the bookings from the 4th month onward (so maybe look to book a different place for every month you intend to be there?)

Have a look at Airbnb during holiday time, at the plush private student digs for the children of the rich. They are  high spec.

Just make sure the 1 year tenancy agreement has break a clause, and then use it. Many of the 1 year tenancies have a break clause of  6 months. 6 months is the minimum term for any Assured Shorthold Tenancy agreement in England. Don't do an EU and forget to put a break clause in a long term tenancy agreement because , as they just found out in court,  the landlord wins if you move out and you will still owe all the rent, even if you are the EU and plead poverty to the judge.

The ironic thing is that although a private landlord is not allowed to have a person residing in their property that doesn't have permission to reside in the UK, these people are allowed to buy a property. Owning a property in the UK does not mean you can live in the UK.

As you have been told about the Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) visa by larrabee in your other thread, you might want to learn more about work visas on forums where the work visa holders are..
https://www.immigrationboards.com/uk-tier-1-entrepreneur-visas/

Just so you know, in Manchester it rains, a lot.

Thank you very much!

Yes definitely this. It seems that you are already aware of this, but just to reiterate no work means no work of any kind for your business (so somebody would need to be in charge of affairs there so something to think over if you haven't already).

RE the accommodations, have you tried using Airbnb?? Might be a better shout than the link you found.

If you were using this trip as a recon to find out what place you'd like to live if you want to stay longer term, you could look to book multiple Airbnbs in different areas to determine which you like best from a living point of view. Also, if you weren't granted 6 full months on arrival (though i can see you've decided to apply for the visitor visa in advance now), you will be in a better position to make cancellations to get money back. You can also see reviews from other guests about the location and accommodation so I would personally prefer to use Airbnb if I were in your situation.

Thank you.