10 Mar 06 The Saga of Doing Laundry
I don’t know what it is about the combo washer/dryers used here, but each load can take up to four hours to get done! The barrel isn’t even large, sized big enough for what we’d call a ‘medium load’ in North America.
The Saga:
- Fill up the machine (not stuffed)
- Put in your ‘washing powder’ (two tablets that look like giant pills, placed in a net pouch)
- Pick your setting from a somewhat confusing chart (just worry about the temperature, really)
- Notice the machine doesn’t seem to fill with water, clothes get barely damp
- Ninety minutes later, check to see if spin has completed which it probably hasn’t
- When the spin has completed, remove washing powder net-bag thingy
- Set dryer temperature to high or low and time up to 120 minutes
- When drying on high, check clothes after two hours
- Remove clothes that are wrinkled beyond recognition and hang to completely dry
- Go out on the town dressed like a prune because you hate ironing
2 Feb 06 Moving in
I’m writing this in an internet cafe around the corner from our flat. We won’t have phone or internet access now until at least 14 Feb, as we’re having problems with BT. They’ve got a monopoly on phone service here, so there’s no way around the lengthy wait!
The flat is great though, very comfy, especially considering we have none of our personal stuff in it yet. There’s enough furniture included to make it an easy transition, but clothes are still in the suitcase! We have managed to set up a bank account at HSBC on only the second try, and we’ve got all the utility services happening too.
I had to go shopping yesterday for bedsheets, a duvet and some towels which turned into a saga since I had to drag it all back on the tube during rush hour! Add the fact I transferred at one point going the wrong direction and it was a total nightmare… at least we had a comfortable first night sleeping in the new flat. Most things work too! The water pressure is quite pathetic though, and we need some weather stripping around the front door.
Other than that, life won’t be too settled until mid-month. And I’ll be posting from down the street when I can.
12 Jan 06 Another offer
Last night we put in an offer on a brand spanking new apartment in Whitechapel, right around the corner from the Aldgate East tube station. It faces a high-traffic road and a fire station, is on the third floor with no lift… but it’s lovely and at the high-end of the budget we set - 300/week.
We should learn this morning whether the offer is accepted. This agent we’re dealing with is fantastic, and his agency has a policy not to accept bids higher than asking price (meaning no bidding wars), so we’re much more positive about getting it.
Here’s some pics, furnishings are included:
Behind some of those kitchen cupboards hides a good-sized fridge and freezer (on the far right), dishwasher and washer/dryer :O) It’s an eat-in kitchen, our table will fit. There’s also a storage closet off the hallway which is a bonus… and you can’t really tell from the pics but there are high ceilings. It’s in a gutted and restored period building.
10 Jan 06 Lettings Agents
It’s fairly impossible to view flats for rent and not have to deal with a lettings agent. One of the main rental listings sources here is Find a Property. You can search there for listings by area and price, then sort through the returns to find properties you like and want to view. One difficulty in sorting though is that many of the listings have notices beside them, such as:
LET - This means the flat has already been rented out.
UNDER OFFER - Meaning offers have been made on the property.
NEW INSTRUCTION - New listing.
All properties listed display contact information for different lettings agents. There are thousands of them, it seems, some more reputable than others, but I’ve discovered the volume of their listings has no bearing on quality of reputation.
The purpose of lettings agents is to list the properties, show them to prospective tenants and negotiate a rental price. Some of them also manage the properties throughout your rental term. All agents take a fee from the renter, which on average I think amounts to one week’s rent (so in our case about 300 pounds). For that amount of money I expect decent treatment, but I get the feeling most prospective renters are treated like hostile cattle.
Also, often when you call about a specific property they will tell you it has already been rented (or “let”), then ask for your requirements so they can pitch other available flats to you. In theory this would be fine, but at least two problems arise:
1) The agent will offer flats they have available, but are of no interest to you whatsoever. This very quickly becomes very tiring to deal with. For example they’ve got great, spacious modern flats for your budget but oh - they’re below-ground (basement).
2) When you reply that you are not interested in the alternatives offered, they attempt to convince you it will be impossible to find a flat that meets your requirements for your stated budget, and you will need to raise your budget - considerably - to find something suitable.
In effect this is a bait-and-switch tactic. The central London market is no doubt competitive for renters, but it is certainly MORE competitive for the agents. As a renter you need to do enough research to know what’s reasonable, and you need to have a solid backbone to deal with the negotiators - a word many agencies actually use to describe their reps (ie. “Oh, you’re interested in that property. Hold for a moment please while I put you through to one of our negotiators”). Any display of weakness will be capitalized upon.
So this has not been an easy go.
The biggest troubles I’ve had have been with the largest agency in the city - Foxton’s. Matt heard a nightmare story from a co-worker that dealt with them, so I tried to avoid contacting them at all - until yesterday. I called from the hotel about a specific listing and said so to the guy who answered the phone. While I was holding, waiting for a negotiator, I received two calls on my mobile from other Foxton’s agents pitching other properties. Later in the day I received another call, so in total they put four agents on my case. The last call I took resulted in an arguement when essentially the agent told me I had no idea what I was doing looking for a flat in London. I was able to end the call by telling him I did know what I was doing, and in fact had found a suitable flat which we had put in an offer for.
On that note, we are still waiting to hear a result for that offer, hopefully by the end of today. I just want the hell of dealing with lettings agents to end!
7 Jan 06 Replacing my luck
I’ve gone and bought a compass, which is absolutely necessary to maintain my mental well-being. (The brand is Suunto and their tagline is Replacing Luck, which explains the title of this post.)
I wandered lost after viewing a flat in Pimlico. I meant to make my way directly northeast toward the hotel, but walked in vast circles into Chelsea, around Victoria Station and through Knightsbridge. At one point I thought it would be useful to refer to a map, but on its own it was no help. With a compass though, I can ease this pain in the future :O)
The flat hunt is proceeding reasonably well. Since we are unfamiliar with neighbourhoods, I’ve been looking in many areas - primarily in the east and south (that’s E1 and SW1 for those hip to the postcodes). I’ve also looked in Islington and Shoreditch. Since Matt is working in Mayfair around St. James’s Park the only location preference we’ve had is to be near transport links for him to easily commute.
Today we actually made an offer on a place! It was listed for 295/week and others offered 315/week… yes, we are in a bidding war apparently which I’ve never encountered before when renting. We offered only 300/week and that’s it, but the agent we’re dealing with said we are the landlord’s preferred choice for tenants. We met with him today and hit it off well. We should know by tomorrow if he accepts ours or the higher offer. What would you do?
The flat is in a most ideal spot for Matt. He could walk to work in 10 minutes, straight across the park. This is a large one-bedroom in a 70s building near the Home Office (and Buckingham Castle), SW1, practically on top of St. James’s tube station and very near a Sainsbury’s (groceries). It’s got a really modern kitchen with a large fridge, dishwasher, washer/dryer. It’s fully furnished, down to replacement lightbulbs! Great condition, lots of storage, secure building, etc. We really like it, but won’t be heartbroken if the higher bidder wins. We’ve still got till the end of January to confirm a place, so there’s no great urgency. It was nice to have Matt along looking today and moreso since it’s been the best flat so far - by a long shot. Speaking of Matt, I’ll bug him to make a post to tell how his work is going :)
Let see, what else is going on? A few discoveries of Britishy things…
- We tried a cornish pastry (pasty) which, somewhat surprisingly, was a very tasty pasty!
- Discovered Roasted Chicken-flavoured crisps and had to give em a try and guess what.. they taste like roasted chicken. The texture of crisps is different enough from potato chips though that indeed they deserve a different name.
- Many thoughts in my head now have a British accent, and I’ve also practiced my accent out loud for Matt. His opinion: it’s horrific! :)
- Water closets are annoying! That’s WC for short. I curse evertime I open the door to go to the bathroom and see no toilet there.
- Perhaps I’ll get a job driving a bus, double-decker big & red. They are hiring…
- Nearly every corner has a Pret or an Eat shop for a quick pre-packaged lunch grab.
- Don’t just order “water, please” at a restaurant. It’s still water (bottled), sparkling water, or tap water.
- Canadians say eh at the end of a sentence, Londoners say yeh
Also, I had to get a mobile phone. Everybody (and I mean everybody) in this city has one. Not only that, but the voice messaging system in our hotel room failed, and I needed to be reached by lettings agents. You can get a pay-as-you-go mobile here by walking into Carphone Warehouse and handing them less than 10 pounds. Just like that.
The surroundings, the architecture and history, are really beautiful. I haven’t taken photos yet as I’ve got plenty of time to gain some perspective before shooting, as opposed to just taking snapshots. Besides, it’s another few weeks before I’ll be able to share them on the blog. Imagine though - our hotel is steps away from Trafalgar Square, around the corner from a fabulous view of Big Ben. It’s alright!
3 Jan 06 Aldgate East
First I want to note that I haven’t figured out yet how to edit and post photos using ubuntu Linux. It could mean I won’t offer any photos until I receive my own computer, which has likely just set sail from New York (ie. beginning of February).
It’s a misty/rainy day and I haven’t yet bought an umbrella. That hasn’t been crucial yet. Matt’s still at work and I just received an email from him that all is going well.
I spent the morning searching flat listings, then had a lunch at a great takeout sushi spot called Wasabi. I decided to take the tube to visit a lettings agency near Aldgate East station. We’re just around the corner from Embankment station (directly across the Thames from the BA London Eye), so the trip was expected to take about 20 mins.
I spent 3 pounds for a one-way tube ride straight to Aldgate East, which is about 6 stops northeast. I saw a sign about Oyster cards, essentially like a NYC MetroCard, and if you’ve got one the trip would be only 1.50 - half the price - and thought I should get one for the trip back to the hotel.
Before I left I checked the map and directions were fairly simple to find the agent’s office. I forgot to bring the map book with me, but once I arrived at Aldgate East station I followed the notes I made. One problem: many streets have no names! Guess which song was running through my head…
I wandered TWO HOURS looking for the street I wanted, asking directions from a few people who had no idea. I passed twice by the Stiralfields Market, which I knew was close to the office, and zig-zagged across Whitechapel Street where the tube station was (didn’t want to get so lost I couldn’t find my way back home). In my travels I saw dozens of women with headscarves, some with burkas, and an amazing street full of tables offering Indian textiles. But I couldn’t find Fashion Street.
After giving up I wandered back toward Aldgate East via Commercial Street, as it was getting dark. Of course that’s when I spotted a sign for Fashion Street out of the corner of my eye. I found the lettings office and spoke with the lone guy there who set an appointment for tomorrow for me to view some flats. On the way back to the tube I saw another lettings office and stopped in. He quickly showed me a 1BR available right above their office which, frankly, was an old grungy dump renting for 215 pounds/week (times that by 4.3, remember) . I didn’t look past the living/reception room and told him it was maybe too ‘rustic’ for my taste.
Hopefully tomorrow’s viewings will be better. One space I’m looking at is a former council building (government subsidized). I asked the agent why those seemed to have a reputation of being undesirable, and he said those flats were previously rented to junkies so the buildings may appear very run-down from the outside. From the pics I’ve seen though, reno’s on these places have served them well. I’ll see the reality tomorrow… if I can find my way back to Fashion Street, that is :O)
Oh and I did get an Oyster Card for the ride home. I filled out an extensive application to register a card, including my (hotel) address, phone #, email, etc. The positive of that is if you lose your card they can trace it back to you. The negative is of course that ‘big brother’ can keep track of every move you make on public transport, as you have to scan your pass to enter AND to exit the system. HEY but what an incentive that you save so much money!
On a side note, I have seen more police guarding historical places and tube stations here than in NYC.
11 Nov 05 The Flat Hunt
It’s doubtful we’ll be able to find a good flat in London from way over here in NY state, USA. The good news is that QuantCo will set us up in an apartment/hotel for the month of January, giving us a chance to pick a neighbourhood and find a suitable place. It’s been helpful to peruse classifieds online but when I see something great it sucks because it’s too early and impossible to go view!
So a few flat-hunting things stand out as noteworthy:
1) It’s expensive! We’re hoping to get a 2-bedroom but it looks like we’ll likely have to settle for one. Either way we’ll be spending somewhere around £1000 per month.
2) Rent prices are quoted weekly. Eg. £250/week. Multiply that by 52 and divide that by 12 so you can see how much monthly rent will be (took me awhile to figure that one out ;)
3) Most places come fully furnished.
4) Council tax. Renters are obligated to pay this monthly. Property tax.
The best sites for listings appear to be Find a Property, Foxtons and of course Craigslist.
From what I understand London flats are generally quite small compared to apartments in North America. We’re used to having limited living space, but I hear doorways and stairwells and such are tiny. So yeah, that enormous sleigh bed just won’t fit (not that we’ve got one anyway).
GET FED: