a flat out nightmare

I was unprepared.
This is an ironic way to start this blog post considering the day of our move to London, I posted a status on Facebook about the ridiculous preparation that was required for survival of May 2015 through September 17, 2015. And then, we landed in London.
I lived in London from August through December of 2013. Not once during that entire period do I recall experiencing what is commonly called, "culture shock." I still cannot bring myself to call it that, because it's just not an appropriate label. No, I had culture shock in Africa. No, I love culture. I love being shocked by culture. That's not what this was. This was a nightmare.

This is the story of how we learned London's leasing market by doggy paddling in the deep end. 

Nearly every sale or let (aka lease) in London goes through some agency. Agencies charge a lot of money. The agents are practically anti-tenant/pro-landlord, as they get paid by the landlord to get the highest possible offer. So basically, we put in an offer and then its totally unprotected and can get outbid. The list prices are all up for negotation. This is supposedly the busiest time of year in the London leasing market and the leasing market here has been repeatedly ranked as one of the worst in the world. Didnt know that! But know i believe it!! Letting in London is much more synonymous with buying a house than what we think of "signing a 1 year lease." 

We learned that agency's fees were basically unavoidable. We scheduled viewings after work and saw about ten properties in five days. Multiple times, in the short time between booking a viewing and going to the viewing, the property was let. The market is HOT. Additionally, properties on the market now aren't actually available to move in immediately. Some aren't available until late October or even early November. Landlords are also dog-averse. One landlord wanted a £2,300 deposit for Grey. FOR GREY!! 

Last thursday, we found this wonderful place, great location, with this huge terrace for Grey. Brian viewed the property at 5pm and then I came after work and viewed it around 6. We went to dinner, thought about our offer, and went to the office first thing Friday morning with our offer. We had been told by all our London friends & coworkers that asking price is negotiable and no one really pays asking price. So in our offer because of the absurd experience we had all week with flats getting scooped up like crazy, we offered a 2 year contract at asking price. Within the hour we submitted our offer, someone had come in and given £40 MORE PER WEEK. That’s like almost $300 more per month!!! I mean, WHAT?! 

So then the pressure was on big time. Saturday, we went to a second viewing of a place I had reallllly fallen in love with earlier on in the week but that had a crappy location but with so much character and space. We placed an offer and left nervous because they had several other viewings and the agent wouldnt stop viewings or reject other offers until our offer was accepted by the landlord. With little hope, we carried on with our planned schedule and saw two more flats. We liked BOTH of them! At the third place, we put in an offer immediately after viewing. Totally spur of the moment, feeling super crazy, knowing any second the other landlord could accept our first offer and we’d be in big trouble. As soon as we left that place, we called and withdrew our first offer. Feeling like crazy people, emotionally drained, we carried onto a FOURTH viewing for the day because we were afraid our offer wouldnt be accepted. About five hours later, our offer was accepted by the landlord! 

The battle was just beginning. Even after our paperwork and holding deposit finalized, OUR property was still on the market. For three days, we were nervous that someone could put in a higher offer and knock us out. The idea that this is legal under contract law just baffles me. The agency requires the 10 week deposit to come from a UK bank. Well, thanks to the complicated nature of an international wire transfer, we learned that the bank's restrictions would be unable to get the 10-week deposit into our bank account in the strict timeline we had to preserve our hold on the property. Meanwhile, our temporary housing requires 7 days notice of any extension or cancelation. Not knowing whether or not we would be able to move in on Saturday, because we legitimately do not know whether or not we have the flat, we will now be paying for next week's rent in two places. A blessing of a problem to have compared to being kicked out of any housing at all! With quite a bit of thankfulness, we were able to sort the money out and it was deposited to their account today. This whole thing has just been CRAZY. 

Now, we are waiting on a bit of finalizing loose ends but we are expecting to move in on Saturday. 

However, I will not feel reassured until I have those keys in my hands. As you tap yourself on the back for finishing this really long post, say a prayer that we will actually be able to move in and that we are not flat-less in a few days. I'm so anxious to put this flat battle behind us and start settling in!