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Finding a residence in a quiet suburb of London for the whole family

My husband applied for a work visa, successfully passed the interview and received a lucrative offer from a British company. But we knew how difficult it was to find affordable housing in an area with good transport links, especially for a family with children. So, before moving, we contacted Imperial & Legal.

Ali, 28 and Rania, 26
Experts from Morocco
Clients’ names and photos have been changed

Ali is a young and qualified specialist from Morocco with very high potential. He studied well, graduated from school with honours, and was able to enrol at the University of Cape Town. It is the most prestigious educational institution in Africa, ranked 150th among the best universities in the world. His specialisation is green and renewable energy. In his fourth year, Ali met Rania, and the young couple got married.

After Ali graduated from university at the top of his class, the question arose of what to do next. His teachers were convinced that in Morocco, this promising graduate would not be able to realise his full potential and provide his family with a comfortable, secure life. Since the couple already had a child and wanted to create the best conditions for his development, they came up with the idea of moving to the United Kingdom.

Ali and Rania were most concerned that it would be difficult to find a good job quickly. But they were lucky. One of the university professors recommended the promising young specialist to his former classmate, whose company worked in the same field and was looking for worthy candidates to join the team.

The terms of employment were very attractive, and Ali would not have been able to find anything like this in Morocco. He obtained a work visa without any particular difficulties, including Rania and their child in the application. One problem remained: finding suitable accommodation. It had to meet several requirements at once: be relatively affordable, and definitely be in a quiet and safe area with good transport links.

The situation was greatly complicated by the fact that Ali and Rania could not allocate a significant budget for finding accommodation, as their income in Morocco was limited and their savings were set aside for settling in England. Ali’s salary covered all their needs and provided a fairly high standard of living with plenty to spare, allowing them to save and set aside some money for their child’s education.

Ali and Rania spent several days studying the catalogues of large real estate agencies. Most of the current offers did not suit them. The main reasons were too high prices, insufficiently safe neighbourhoods, underdeveloped social infrastructure, and poor technical equipment of the housing. But the worst thing was that property owners often asked for a year’s rent in advance, as our clients were immigrants with no credit history. In the end, Ali decided to seek help from Imperial & Legal.

Our client

Ali and Rania, Moroccan citizens planning to settle in the UK.

The task set for our specialists

To find accommodation with a sufficient level of comfort and technical condition in a safe area. An additional request from the client was good transport links.

Difficulties encountered by our specialists

Ali and Rania’s case was quite complex. Standard solutions might not have worked, or their implementation would have exceeded the agreed financial and/or time constraints.

The main difficulties were:

  • budget constraints;
  • the client cannot pay rent for a year in advance;
  • no credit history;
  • formally unemployed (an agreed offer does not always solve the problem);
  • the technical condition of the property must be sufficient for family living, but monthly rent payments are initially limited.

Solution

Cases with a set of mutually exclusive source data are complex, but interesting in their own way. They are a challenge, a test of our employees’ professionalism. The intangible bonus is customer satisfaction and the knowledge that the test has been passed. In carrying out the assignment, we used a standard algorithm developed by our specialists for such cases. It allows us to effectively solve highly difficult problems while meeting all the customer’s requirements and wishes.

How we fulfilled Ali and Rania’s request:

  1. Analysis of current offers on the rental property market with the selection of suitable properties;
  2. Preparation of personalised offers for landlords; two owners were willing to discuss terms with our clients;
  3. Final selection of the property;
  4. Negotiating the details of the agreement (which can take several days);
  5. Completion of the referencing procedure (verification of the tenant’s identity);
  6. Obtaining confirmation from the employer, who provided information on the tenant’s position, income and other employment conditions;
  7. Agreement on the terms of the lease — payment terms, early termination, rights and obligations of the parties;
  8. Verification of the text of the contract (tenancy agreement) by Imperial & Legal lawyers;
  9. Final signing of the contract.

Result of cooperation

All client’s requirements were met. Ali and Rania were able to rent a cosy house in the suburbs of London on a long-term basis with monthly payments. Within walking distance, there is a kindergarten, a school, and several general stores. The area is quiet and peaceful, with a very low crime rate, clean air, and a plot of land surrounding the house. We would like to note the high quality of the roads and the proximity of a bus stop. This is especially important for the time being, while the family does not have a car. The neighbours were friendly towards the guests, and there were no problems with the immigration service or the police.

How we handled Ali and Rania’s case

1 day
Review of the case, signing of the contract
1 day
Formulation of a list of requirements
10 days
Search for suitable options
2 days
Visiting suitable properties
2 days
Waiting for responses from landlords, analysing the offers received
3 days
Preparing a letter of recommendation
1 day
Signing the lease agreement
1 day
Discussing the details of the move
2 days
Paying rent, moving

Please note:

  • the referencing procedure, which includes obtaining a letter from our client’s employer, is a separate stage and may take several days;
  • the start date of the contract and the date of signing coincided (this is not always the case), so the family was able to move into their new home after just a few days.

Conclusion

With our help, the client was able to find suitable property in the UK for long-term residence. Ali and Rania’s case was complex, but we successfully completed the task. The client is satisfied, the area suits our heroes perfectly, they really like the house, and their relationship with the owner is open and friendly.

If your case is similar, don’t settle for compromise terms and give up on options that are important to you. Tasks can be solved in full accordance with the client’s wishes. The experts at Imperial & Legal don’t just facilitate relocation to the UK. We make it as comfortable as possible for our clients!

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