Flat Hunting

We decided fairly early on that we were going to engage a relocation company to assist us in our relocation to London.  The London real estate market is very fast paced and is similar to the New York City real estate market for those familiar.  We spoke to two relocation companies and got a positive impression from both, but one charged twice as much as the other so we went with the less expensive of the two.  We ended up working with London Relocation and it was a positive experience all around.  We had multiple conversations with various folks at the relocation company to determine and rank our preferences. 

We arrived in London about a month before our anticipated move date (even though the move date had not been finalized) and spent a full day with Kenneth, one of the company’s representatives.  He lined up 20 flats for us to see in various neighborhoods that we had expressed an interest in.  Needless to say it was a very long day. And true to form we received at least one call during the day to tell us that one of the flats we were planning to go see had already been taken.  Many of the flats were very nice and would have suited us fine, but we ultimately ended up choosing the 19^th flat that we looked at. 

There were a couple of flats around the 15-16 marker that we were also very interested in, and prior to going to see the 19^th flat we called those realtors and told them we wanted to put in an offer.  Fortunately for us, they didn’t answer and Kenneth left a message which gave us enough time to finish out the viewings that were planned for the day.  Ultimately our number one criteria was location.  The flat we ultimately settled on has lots of natural light and really good storage for a London flat.  After seeing the last two flats for the day, we knew that number 19 was the one.  We called the realtor to put in an offer.  Her office was very close by so we went on over to the office, negotiated the price, completed a tenant application and put down our deposit. 

We flew back to Atlanta the next day and completed all of the necessary paperwork remotely with Kenneth’s assistance.  The flat finding process went about as smoothly as one could expect it to go.  Not that there weren’t any hiccups but nothing that couldn’t be fixed.  The big move and moving in to our flat will be the subject of a later post, so stay tuned for more on that.

How we ended up in London

I’ll spare you all the details and give you an overview, but if you have questions or want more information because you are going through a similar process, let us know and we would be happy to share more of our experience with you. 

It’s hard to remember exactly when and how this crazy journey began.  I believe it all started sometime in March.  Mo’s boss approached him and asked if he would be interested in a position in the UK.  Mo’s UK counterpart in Bradford, England had resigned and would be leaving the company at the end of May. After we discussed the opportunity and what it would mean both personally and professionally, Mo told his boss that he would be interested.  From that point there were a series of conversations about the expense of the relocation, logistics, where the position would be—Bradford vs. London, and timing.  The Bradford vs. London debate was especially important to us, as we knew that my company had a London office but did not have a Bradford office. 

Before being officially offered the position, Mo had to go through several rounds of interviews.  Then, sometime between mid and late May, the offer was made and the specifics of the contract were agreed upon.  With those details in order it was time to start the visa process. 

Fairly early on in the overall process I mentioned the possibility of a move abroad to my partner, in hopes of enlisting his assistance in securing a position in London.  Upon Mo’s acceptance of the position, I began serious conversations with my company about relocation to London.  It was a long and drawn out process and quite a bit more stressful than I ever thought it would be, but finally in August, I secured a position.  At this time the visas were still in process. 

A couple of months later in October we got word that the visas had been approved and we finalized our move date, bought plane tickets and began on our massive to do list.