If you’re looking around for accommodation and struggling to find the one that is right for you, then try not worry, at least you have left plenty of time.
Believe it or not, some students end up waiting until university is practically on their door step before they think about accommodation, leading to last minute, frantic panicking and the making of some pretty insane decisions resulting in some pretty crazy results!
Once you’ve read these student’s disastrous attempts at finding last minute accommodation you think will that your situation is pretty tame.
My first renting experience at university was a disaster. I only applied the day before I headed to university and got myself a bedroom share pretty close to university which I was chuffed about. Unfortunately on arrival I soon learnt that the room had no windows which soon became incredibly unbearable as there was no sunlight and hardly any air! I tried to break the lease but was unable to, my landlord wasn’t the nicest of people. Top tip; (tips), don’t leave accommodation till the last minute and ALWAYS view your property to make sure that you know where you are going to be spending the next year! Because with no windows, ONE YEAR is a pretty long time…
I was unable to view my new flat share due to being on holiday (worth it) but was told by the landlord that we had a wet room which sounded very lavish!! When I arrived I realised that the wet room was exactly that, a shower head in the cupboard which I was not too pleased about. The landlord wouldn’t fix it too because I was in such a rush to sign the documents that I had stated that I was happy with it!
I went travelling before university and literally got back the day before I went, meaning that I had completely forgotten to sort out the halls. I ended up taking my mum to Fresher’s week with me to help me find some accommodation which was interesting! We would drive around each day attending viewings and meeting with people. We actually did get me a room which was nice, the downside is that my mum had to stay with me for the week which was different!
I ended up quickly agreeing to a flat share in my first year of university as I forgot to apply for halls and was left searching days before my course began. Once I was settled into my room I soon realised that it really wasn’t that bad, that is until someone walked in and placed their bags down on the bed. The house owners had double booked the room! I had to have a stranger sleep on my floor for a week before they could relocate him!
I quickly agreed to a flat share online and realised when it got there that it was nothing like the pictures, my mum and dad were horrified! Luckily I was able to relocate but it cost me loads in fees meaning that I had to scrimp and save for the first semester!!
Similar to the wet room fiasco, my first renting experience resulted in my pro-prosed en-suite simply consisting of a toilet in the corner of my bedroom, I know student halls are often compared to prisons but seriously? The whole experience, whilst handy at times, was definitely not dignifying at all.
My flat was not cleaned. I mean, IT WAS NOT CLEANED. There were things that I witnessed in that flat that no one should ever witness and it took the landlord weeks to actually get around to cleaning it which was pretty disgusting. The worst thing is that the site displayed the property as a beautiful room but my late application definitely caused me to rush and just click accept which I do regret!
I never managed to find anywhere to live by the time that uni had started because I was so slow going through accommodation (something that I definitely regret) that I had to rent an Air BnB for the first two weeks which cost me the vast majority of my student loan! Gutted. I also held a few parties as well meaning that I also had to pay for some damages to the site as well which wasn’t really ideal.
I walked into my accommodation to find someone asleep on the bed, turns out the wrong room had been advertised. Brilliant. I was left for two weeks with nowhere to live and spent my time sofa surfing amongst friends.
