6 questions you must ask on viewings
Finding the right student accommodation:
It’s just a matter of asking the right questions
House viewings are a really exciting time when you and your buds are all choosing your student home for next year. However, in the excitement it’s easy to forget to ask questions. That excitement can quickly fade the more and more houses you see. It’s also tempting to just go for the first house you see.
But don’t do that. Taking the time to ask a few very simple (but very easily forgotten) questions can save your entire student year and make sure you have the student house of your dreams.
“How much is the rent?”
This is a massive priority, because you can’t live somewhere you can’t afford. Weird, right?
So, yeah you need to make sure you pick somewhere affordable.
Think about what’s important to you: is it being close to uni? Maybe living near shops and nightlife, or having an ensuite room? But bear in mind that you have to balance getting everything you desire with having money for food and books, too.
“How much is the deposit and how do I get it back?”
Getting your deposit back is super important too and you want to ensure you feel confident that at the end of the year that you’ll be able to get your deposit back easily.
Ask the agent/landlord who shows you round about the deposit process.
“What if something goes wrong?”
Who will fix stuff? Hopefully someone this handy, man.
This might sound a little creepy, so you’re going to have to bear with me here:
“Can I call the landlord at home?” Told you, creepy right?
But the reason why is genius.
Imagine to yourself that it’s 3 months along. You’re having an amazing time in your new house, until suddenly the oven decides not to cooperate. You can’t spend the rest of the year stuck with no hot food. (Even if that’s a nice excuse for more takeaways!)
But seriously, you want to know that the landlord has someone nearby, so they can easily pop round and sort anything out whenever you need them. Some landlords will sort maintenance problems themselves. Others will use managing agents, like Purple Frog.
“Am I going to die?”
Obviously don’t phrase it exactly like that, perhaps inquire instead about “What’s the security like?”; “Are there burglar and fire alarms?”; “Are there locks on the bedroom doors?”.
Feeling safe in your student house is a huge must. You want to be comfortable in your own home, knowing there’s appropriate security means you can sleep easy. This will also mean you can worry less knowing your house is safe and secure.
“Is there damp?”
This is a massive question, because damp can be persistent and can become mould. It’s also not very nice to look at.
You should ask about ventilation in the rooms, especially bathrooms and kitchen. This will help you avoid having musty clothes and all feeling ill all winter. If you do see damp, ask when it is being treated.
Another useful question to ask is to check the heating situation, as if there’s central heating to help keep the whole house warm. Which leads to…
“What happens with bills?”
Lots of student houses have bills included in rent. None of them will have a little light bulb man racing around stealing electricity.
Asking this early on will avoid all the confusion and panic later. Sometimes the rent will include bills. This is perfect because it makes life for you so much easier.
However, sometimes you need to sort it yourself. Therefore, knowing this early on gives you all plenty of time to figure out this adult thing called ‘bills’ and how you all are going to split them.
It also gives you time to find the best deals, because let’s face it, who doesn’t love a bargain! And more to the point, who doesn’t love not arguing with housemates about who is actually going to sort out bills because you are due to move in to your new house in a couple of days and currently you don’t have any water, gas, electricity (and more importantly) WiFi accounts set up.
So next time you’re at a house viewing be sure to ask these questions because they’ll hopefully guarantee you a safe, affordable and pleasant house for your next year!
What more could you ask for?
By Charlotte Booth
Purple Frog’s viewings teams will happily answer all of these questions and any others that you have. So you’re not having to fall out over WiFi bills, loads of our student accommodation has bills included in the rent, which takes the stress out of budgeting for the year. Plus, there’s free contents insurance for your stuff. Find your new student home, here: https://www.purplefrogproperty.com/student-accommodation/.