Renting house in Durham

Hi,

Currently living in Stockton but it's a dump! I want to move to Durham and commute. Lease on my house at the moment runs out in Feb 11 so want to move then.

What area would be good to rent in Durham, close to few good bars, train station etc. ?

Also what web sites, estate agents would be best to use?

Looking for a 2/3 bed house for about £500 - £700 a month, would need to be furnished too.

Any help much appreciated!

Thanks.

Reply 1

River85

17

tgreene01

Currently living in Stockton but it's a dump! I want to move to Durham and commute. Lease on my house at the moment runs out in Feb 11 so want to move then.

Go to Yarm and commute then. Closer to Stockton and it's far from a dump :p:

What area would be good to rent in Durham, close to few good bars, train station etc. ?

Do you plan on using the train to commute? It would be far easier to use the bus. Durham students are entitled to free travel on the bus.

As Stockton isn't on the East Coast mainline or any direct link to Durham you'd need to take two buses (Durham to Darlingon, Darlington to Stockton)

Anyway, the area known as Viaduct (by the bus and railway stations), Claypath or maybe Elvet will probably suit you best. Maybe Gilesgate and Nevile's Cross but these are a little further out.

Try this for a start although there are others.

http://www.accommodationforstudents.com/durham.asp

But finding a house free in February won't be easy. Most leases are July/September to the following June.

Some houses will still be available and, if still vacant in Feb, you might be able to get it until the following summer.

Reply 2

angelmxxx

14

River85

Go to Yarm and commute then. Closer to Stockton and it's far from a dump :p:

Do you plan on using the train to commute? It would be far easier to use the bus. Durham students are entitled to free travel on the bus.

As Stockton isn't on the East Coast mainline or any direct link to Durham you'd need to take two buses (Durham to Darlingon, Darlington to Stockton)

Anyway, the area known as Viaduct (by the bus and railway stations), Claypath or maybe Elvet will probably suit you best. Maybe Gilesgate and Nevile's Cross but these are a little further out.

Try this for a start although there are others.

http://www.accommodationforstudents.com/durham.asp

But finding a house free in February won't be easy. Most leases are July/September to the following June.

Some houses will still be available and, if still vacant in Feb, you might be able to get it until the following summer.

Do you mean trains? The X1 bus is free and goes right to the Stockton campus.

I agree though, there'll be very very few (if any) houses to let in Feb. However if you want a room in a house of single students (as in where you contact a landlord/agent saying you want a room and they put together groups of students), there might be a few houses with vacant rooms which you could move into.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 3

River85

17

angelmxxx

Do you mean trains? The X1 bus is free and goes right to the Stockton campus.

Yes, I was distracted by having a facebook chat and, erm, something else I'm afraid :frown:

The X1 (or, if going the other direction, the X2) is what I was referring to when I mentioned free bus travel.

It will take two costly trains (Durham to Darlington, Darlington to Stockton). Or one, free, bus.

I have no idea why I linked to that site. There are at least two better sites. Competely forgotton what one of those is called though which is an arse. A flat I want (2011-2012) is on there :emo:

I think on that site there was one house which techincally could be taken in February and kept for up to June 2012. But I think it was a six bedroom at £800.

Reply 4

Warda

Hi,
I am currently signed to a house in Durham, but because of unforeseen circumstances I will most probably be taking a year out, so essentially I'm looking for someone to take my room. My lease is from July 2010 until July 2011. Even if you were to live there from Feb onwards, it would be a great help. Let me know if you're interested.

Reply 5

tgreene01

OP

Well I'm renting with my girlfriend at the moment. We'd prob prefer our own house if we could get one that suited. We're living in a nice house in stockton but not much happening down here durin the week. Few friends in newcastle too, so thought durham would be easy to newcastle but still commute to stockton. Got a car, just about goes, but it usually gets us from a to b, so commuting isnt that much of a problem. I hear durham is good for a night out and few pints during the week.

Thanks everyone for your help, will look on those web sites closer to the time to see whats available.

Reply 6

tgreene01

OP

Well I'm renting with my girlfriend at the moment. We'd prob prefer our own house if we could get one that suited. We're living in a nice house in stockton but not much happening down here durin the week. Few friends in newcastle too, so thought durham would be easy to newcastle but still commute to stockton. Got a car, just about goes, but it usually gets us from a to b, so commuting isnt that much of a problem. I hear durham is good for a night out and few pints during the week.

Thanks everyone for your help, will look on those web sites closer to the time to see whats available.

Reply 7

pipsi

I'm living in Newcastle at the moment but want to move closer to Durham when (or before) my contract here is up in January. Ideally i want to be out of here asap, I'm not happy with the people i'm living with and one of the nicer people recently moved out and was replaced by another guy. I came home from my holiday a few days ago to find the house in a mess because of the guys. It's not too bad but when i left the place spotless i didn't expect to come back to a tip, especially considering the cleaners had been here the day before i got back. I want somewhere on my own, with at least two bedrooms, I have my own car so parking is essential and don't need to be right in the centre of Durham, in fact being on the outskirts would be better.

My problem is that i don't want something studenty, i want something preferably in a more family/residential as i'm sick of all of the noise and stuff i experience with the students who live near me in Newcastle. Most of the estate agents i've been to charge an absolute fortune for things like signing contracts etc which i think is a complete rip off. Plus few of them will consider me without a guarantor because i'm self employed (only studying part time).

Anyone know of any decent private landlords? Ideally i want somewhere where i can live until i can afford to buy my own place which will be a few years yet, with that in mind i want somewhere that i can put my own stamp on such as decorating etc (although i'm happy to get approval from my landlord for chosen colours etc, there wouldn't be anything outlandish). I don't want someone who is going to dock £20 out of my deposit if i want to put some picture hooks in the living room.

Oh, also need somewhere unfurnished as i already have all of my own furniture etc, so right now i'm paying rent plus a storage place to keep a load of my stuff in.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 8

River85

17

pipsi

My problem is that i don't want something studenty, i want something preferably in a more family/residential as i'm sick of all of the noise and stuff i experience with the students who live near me in Newcastle.

Then I can see why you would rather live in the outskirts :p:

There's no escaping the students in Durham!

Oh, also need somewhere unfurnished as i already have all of my own furniture etc, so right now i'm paying rent plus a storage place to keep a load of my stuff in.

Is this the same stuff you told me you had in storage almost a year ago? Must be starting to cost a small fortune!

Anyway, finding something unfurnished, with the right amount of space for the things you have, might be a problem.

Unfortunately I can't recommend any landlords (although my agent is very fair and reasonable - came strongly recommended by the Student Union :p:

) but I can suggest possible areas.

Some parts of Gilesgate might suit. Those going more towards Gilesgate Moor where you have private estates/family areas.

Although the street where I live, which you visited, probably doesn't suit. There is a little cul-de-sac just behind. These have some fairly new builds and are mainly detached with a few semis. All, or certainly most, have off street parking.

It's called Mackintosh Court. If you're interested just Google Map/streetview it (either as Mackintosh Court or DH1 1PW). Although DH1 1PW will take you to Annand Road, Mackintosh Court is just behind it. Concentrate on the very end of the cul-de-sac.

There are a couple of houses that were for rent there although when I last had a look (in early August) only one was still available. I think it was three bedroom although was funished if I remember correctly. I can't find the details at the moment but can have a search if you want?

How far out of Durham would you be willing to go? As I think the best areas for you will be Newton Hall (a huge private housing estate by Pity Me, so only just outside Durham). That's more a family/residential area and the student houses it does have are usually rented to small families or the more mature and less wild postgrads.

Is Lancaster too far?

But I can't provide any landlord details or recommedations I'm afraid (and you probably already know much of what I've said) :sad:

But good luck with the searching.

Reply 9

pipsi

Yeah, i keep forgetting about having a look at the room in your house.

I'm assuming you mean Lanchester not Lancaster. I would consider Lanchester. Ideally i need to be between Durham and Newcastle so north of Durham would suit whereas heading south/west or further away from the A1 would just be more inconvenient. Pity Me/Framwellgate Moor or that sort of area would probably be convenient. Even somewhere near Durham Cricket Club in Chester le Street would suit.

My problem is that i come across houses in some areas but because i don't know the area too well i end up considering something in a rough area before i realise. I arranged to see a flat a few weeks ago and the pictures made it look lovely but when i got there it was the lower flat of a tiny pit cottage in a really horrible area, i had a glance in the window and it didn't look as nice as the pictures. In the end i waited for the land lady who was stuck in traffic apparently for about 20 mins before i had to go because i had to be somewhere else and i was also looking after a baby for a friend, so i didn't get to have a look inside. Had i known what the area was like i wouldn't have bothered to arrange a viewing.

I live in Jesmond at the moment so would be looking for something along the same sort of lines in terms of how nice the area is. Although i appreciate i may need to lower my standards slightly to get something within my price range (again part of the reason why i'm looking outside of the city centre).

Which agent do you use? On the whole i found the agents unhelpful, they didn't really seem interested in helping me and most of them just pushed a list of properties in my hand and would have sent me on my way if i hadn't asked lots of questions. I had hoped that at least one agency might have taken my requirements and kept in touch as soon as anything came in. I'd rather go with a reliable private land lord than an agency just because of the money it costs to go via the agencies and at the end of the day it doesn't offer any sort of back up in case the land lord is rubbish because once they've got their money they aren't interested in hearing about issues.

Reply 10

vickiw89

1

I would say use the durham student pad website. Avoid estate agents, we went with J W Wood and they aren't very good, took our deposit of us without good reason, we fought it and they just wouldnt give in. They are also very very pushy as most agents are and force you to sign a contract very early on to try and get rid of their houses. Once you have signed thats it they dont bother about you at all.

Renting house in Durham

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