It can be a daunting but exciting aspect, making the first steps to moving into your second year house. There’s just a few simple things you need to know and think about before making the jump into signing a contract.
1.Choose a Landlord you can trust.
This is a big one, you need to make sure you are signing with a responsive and helpful landlord. Talk to people you know in older years to get their opinions on different landlords, or simply ask in one of the student groups who people recommend. The uni you attend can also help with this.
2.Don’t rush it!
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The same statement is said to every first year ‘you have to sign a house before Christmas or all the good ones are gone’. This is simply not true, yes the earlier you look the more selection you have BUT this is not a reason to rush into signing with people you may not want to live with in a few months. It isn’t just about how nice your house is but also about living with people you feel comfortable with. So, if by Christmas you haven’t found those people yet, do not stress, you will find them and get a good house at the same time.
3.Make a list of things you’re looking for in a house with your potential housemates before looking.
If you have a list of everything you’re looking for as a group then that means your decisions will most likely be a much smoother process. If you all go into the house search with different ideas of what you want and you don’t discuss them the decision will be much more challenging.
4.Look into all your surrounding areas and pinpoint which area you want to live in.
In Leeds there are three main areas where students live in their second year; Woodhouse, Hyde Park, and Headingley. For those of you that attend Leeds Beckett you may base your decision on which campus you are on. Although, most students base it off which area has the best pubs (I’d say Headingley, but I’m biassed). Choose the area you and your group think they will live the most comfortably in.
5.Decide how you are going to pick rooms before going on tours.
The picking of which rooms people want can cause some tension within the group; especially when the sizes of rooms differ. Most students decide to go down the route of a random name generator, giving a fair way for people to be assigned rooms. If there is one or two rooms that are smaller than the rest, most landlords give students the option to allow the ones with the small rooms to pay less and the rest pay a little more a month to cover the costs.
We hope this helped you with your second year house decisions.
P.S we have some great student housing options all over Leeds, take a look at our website to see more.