The Initial Enquiry
Chiltern Relocation received an email from a family from Oregon in November 2020 who were keen to move to the UK in February 2021 to be closer to relatives in Buckinghamshire. The family consisted of two adults and three children.
Chiltern Relocation is often asked to source and view properties for overseas clients, sending them reports and video footage to narrow down options ahead of a visit to view the shortlist. However, with Covid-19 travel restrictions in place this relocation would become wholly reliant on our local knowledge and recommendations to find the family a suitable home whilst they were based in Oregon.
How we helped
The rental market at this time was particularly sluggish with very little available on any of the search engines. Family rentals were in short supply as current tenants were keen to renew and remain during lockdown – waiting for greater clarity and a wider selection of rental or purchase options when out of lockdown.
With very few suitable options available we set about speaking directly to the landlords who we regularly deal with to see if any of their tenancies were due to end before they advertised on search engines.
We placed adverts on local Facebook groups and in Post Offices in the town to reach out to a wider audience of potential rental options. We also kept in touch with Letting Agents to see what they were valuing in terms of new properties coming to the market in the next few weeks.
Our perseverance paid off and we were given the opportunity to view two new rental choices before they were advertised on the open market. Both were within walking distance of the town and train station which was high up on the list of requirements. We took videos of the properties and detailed notes and sent them to the family and talked through the two options via Facetime. A decision was made and we then negotiated the lease agreement with the landlord in Spain.
Problems we faced
Due to the changes affecting international arrivals due to Covid-19 the family would now need to isolate for 10 days before they were able to move in. Chiltern Relocation assured the family that we would be at the property to facilitate move in, check through the inventory, take meter readings and ensure that the home was ready for their move once isolation had finished.
Conclusion
Chiltern Relocation were delighted that we were able to find the family a rental property that fitted the bill for the five of them, that we got first access to two options pre-market listing and that we were able to facilitate their move in during these most challenging of circumstances.
Thank you so much for all your help, this has been a challenging move due to changing Covid-19 restrictions but Chiltern Relocation helped enormously with our move.
