Hi, I went yesterday to the house I found on the internet and arranged to meet my contact, Jose, at elevenish. As I had arrived early in London, I had time on my hands so I scoped out the local area. I've given a quick account of the local area and my thoughts against my needs and preferences.
Quiet and Leafy
I had a slow walk around the surrounding streets and it looked like a decent area. The surrounding houses were all Victorian three storey houses and there wasn't much activity even at half past ten on a Saturday. From what I could see, there's a few older couples and young families in the area so I can only assume it has some degree of safety. This is important as I don't want to be 'locked into' an area rife with crime. There were plenty of trees and there were two parks close by. Again, an important thing for me as I like nothing more than to walk in parks when I've got a spare half an hour.
Shopping!!
Further up the road and round some corners, there's a Londis supermarket which makes two close by (I saw a discount supermarket shortly after getting off the tube). This is important too as I don't want to be walking miles / getting on many buses to get to a food shop done. In addition, there's a few restaurants, newsagents and a launderette. All these amenities being close to hand makes the property look very attractive.
The house proper
Having looked around the local area, I returned to the house to meet with Jose. The door opened to reveal a smiley character. He walked me through the house and it tallied well with the pictures that the advertiser of the house had given to me. It had a great, bright well lit living room. This is more important than anything as I tend to work, eat and generally live in there. The room was small but with a double bed so indeed, very tolerable!!
Spick and Span
As the property is rented by young professionals, there is a cleaning rota and the house was very clean and tidy when I saw it. As I'm allergic to dust and mould, this is fantastic. As I won't be busy for the whole working day like they will, I'll be able to easily achieve my cleaning commitments.
The way forward
I've indicated my strong interest in the property and I have a number for the estate agent. I'll give them a call Monday and see how I go from here.
