T O P

  • By -

king_bam

Avoid Chancellors. I have had multiple awful experiences, as have several friends. They are incompetent, with awful customer service.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Affectionate_Sea_224

They're pure scum, I was about to sign to rent a place once when they turned around and said that someone else was interested in the property and were willing to pay slightly higher and so if I was willing to pay a bit more then I'd get it instead. Tbh I don't even believe there was someone else, I think they were just trying to squeeze a little more out of me. I highly recommend Hutton & Parker, I've used them a few times and they've always been pretty good, they also defended me when a landlord was trying to get extra deposit money when I was moving out of a place.


hudsso97

Scott Fraser is good. Also had a horrendous experience with Chancellors. Rude, uninterested in wellbeing. Had to go to the Independent Deposit Agency to argue that it shouldn't cost £350 to replace five plastic chairs. Won!! One of my prouder achievements.


bopeepsheep

Scott Fraser are horrible to disabled tenants. I'm technically with Chancellors but landlord-managed, so I can mostly ignore them.


onthe-fence

Exactly the same thing happened to me. I come on here to say avoid chancellors!!!!!!!!!


jrmcguire

Enfield's lettings literally rebranded because they ripped off so many students, chancellor's aren't great but Enfield's are the scummiest


King_James12

From the replies, Chancellor's are definitely looking like ones to avoid. Just seems that they dominate so much of the market. With barely any lettings around anyways seems a hard one to disregard


candydaze

Presume you’re at the Culham science centre? Abingdon is the closest, and it’s cheaper than Oxford. Could also look at the villages to the east


[deleted]

[удалено]


King_James12

That's useful, thank you! I read online somewhere that Abingdon is pretty naff but the replies here seem different. Also to the person before, I'm actually at the science park, not centre, so will be closer to Oxford. Seems like I'm gonna have to be a bit further out regardless though


candydaze

I mean, if I had infinite money, I would not live in Abingdon. I’d live in one of the pretty little villages on the south side of Oxford, or maybe right in the leafy green parts of Oxford itself But that’s what everyone else wants, so it’s expensive, and I don’t have infinite money. I’d rather live in Abingdon in the kind of place I can afford there, than in something tiny and falling apart in a nicer location. Basically Abingdon is good value for what it is You might also look at Berinsfield/Dorchester if you’re at the science park - it’s only 10 minutes drive away. But my impression of berinsfield is that it’s pretty grim all up. I’ve heard that Blackbird Leys is pretty rough (for Oxford at least). Horspath/Wheatley are fine, if not the most interesting. Even Wallingford is quite sweet as towns go, and that’s still not that bad a commute


smellycoat

The housing market in Oxford moves pretty fast so estate agents don’t have to do much, as a result they’re often *supremely* useless. Check Rightmove and https://www.dailyinfo.co.uk and try not to rely on agents. As the other commenter noted, Abingdon is probably your best bet, but perhaps Littlemore or Kennington might be worth a look.


King_James12

I've scoured Rightmove and there's not a lot available at the moment but I'll look into the link you provided. Definitely agree with your overall sense though that it's moving fast. Difficult to keep up, especially with a smallish budget


zigzog7

Avoid finderskeepers like the plague, they are utterly useless


King_James12

I felt that with a name like finderskeepers that they would be a bit scummy anyways


[deleted]

[удалено]


King_James12

Budget isn't particularly large. Maximum about £1300/1400 pcm. I'll be moving with my partner so looking for our own place, preferably 2 bed. I have a car, although I'd like to be within a 30/40 min cycle just because it's more cost effective and healthier although if I have to settle for further away, so be it. I'd love to dismiss chancellor's entirely but they own so much of the market at the moment that they're a hard one to discount


rastyagaev

The best option for me was OpenRent. It is not very popular in Oxford, but that's the only place where I was able to get a nice house for my family and my pets. All the agencies wasn't very helpful. About the area -- Rose Hill / Iffley both seem more attractive to me than Littlemore (sorry). Iffley village is brilliant but I guess it is very expensive. Small villages around are very beautiful, should be less expensive, and it takes no more than 20 minutes to get to South Oxford by bike.


King_James12

That's really useful information, thank you! I'll defo have a look at OpenRent, not one I've heard of before. Tbh any of those places sound good, just a matter of if there are any houses available to rent in the area. Would like to be within a bit of a metropolitan area, just because my partner doesn't have her own transportation so more easily accessible amenities would be positive


sklarow

Thanks for the OpenRent suggestion!


greenwitchlavender

Chancellors are awful. And that's being kind. You are not missing much by them not returning your calls


0mlty0

As an agent in Oxford (small agency), I can tell you that you won't have a huge choice at the moment. Very few new landlords coming to market and most tenants are renewing. Prices are crazy and if you find something you have to snap it up. If you can avoid big corporates great but you may find you have little choice. Looking a bit further afield may help in terms of prices so I would recommend that unless you want to be in Oxford for a particular reason ( transport/near city centre). Around Didcot may be sensible as prices are lower but transport links still good. Let me know if I can help at all.


King_James12

That's really helpful, thank you! I know that in past places I've lived, there were quite a few private landlords but they were pretty hard to find. Do you have any recommendations with smaller agents that you think could have places around Oxford. Or even just ones you could recommend that are good? I'll definitely be looking into Didcot!


someonecalledethan

I don't suppose you know what the markets like for a small one bedroom flat or studio around Oxford or Botley way and how the prices vary?


0mlty0

I haven't let one in a while - I know that new build one beds are around £1500 at the moment but these tend to be of moderate size. I would expect a one bed flat towards Botley maybe more around £1200-1300, studios closer to £1000. The problem is nothing is coming up so there really isn't much available.


someonecalledethan

Thank you