The current safety conditions in force across the UK, mean that we cannot provide our usual service of accompanied viewings. If you want to decide about where to live for the next academic year, then we can still help. You can gather a lot of information about a property and get a good idea of what the accommodation is like, especially for our purpose built halls, without visiting.
What is happening while viewings are on hold?
We are seeing that many people are booking, and we are talking to others who have questions, so we know that students still want to secure their accommodation for next year. What is the best way to do that from a distance? We have some practical steps that can help you with that process.
- Before you start have an idea of what you require from your accommodation. Are you willing to share facilities like kitchens and bathrooms? Or do you want a studio with an ensuite? Are you in a group and need a house to share? Do you want bills included in the rent or not? And finally, have an idea of your budget.
- Once you have your criteria in place, how can you go about making your choice? On our website we have virtual 360 video tours of many of the purpose built properties – Eastern Boulevard, Newarke Street, The Summit and Upperton Road. These will give you an in depth look at what the accommodation will be like. They are a great way to get a detailed understanding of the room type and what is on offer.
- Each purpose built property also has photos and a description. The nature of this style of accommodation means there is an amount of standardisation in room types so what you see on the 360 tours and photos gives a sensible indication of what your room will be like.
- For our houses we have photos and descriptions. It is not practical to take 360 video tours of each property but given the current restrictions we are asking our landlords to provide videos where they can. These will give more detail of space, equipment and the style of the property. If you are interested in one of our remaining houses, you can get in touch and ask our negotiators if there is a property video to watch.
- Ask our staff. They know these properties well and can answer your questions – bear in mind they might not know the exact position of every plug point but they will be able to give you some first-hand knowledge and talk about how the property might meet your needs.
- Once you have decided on your accommodation the booking process can be completed quickly through our website, enabling you to secure your home for next year. Remember if you book a room in one of our purpose built halls you have nothing to pay until October 2020.
We think it is prudent to issue this guidance given the number of queries we have received and the ongoing interest in accommodation for the next academic year. We are aware that it may not be a priority for everyone at this point, and we can assure those people that the service we provide will be available in the same way when they are ready to make their property choices.