London’s property market has become famous with high competition and even higher prices, which make it tough to buy, rent or move without hassle.
Looking for an affordable place with good transport links and in a great neighbourhood? To find such a little heaven in London you would need patience and a good adviser.
While it is always recommended to turn for help to a good estate or lettings agent, a lot of people prefer to do their own search first. But where to start? The property jungle is as thick on the internet as it is offline.
One good place, which I recently discovered, is citybusters.com, a new website designed especially for the needs of renters.
The Citybusters team explained in more detail what their service is about and what they plan for the future.
Q: Tell us a few things about citybusters.com. When did you launch, what is the main idea behind the website, what services are you planning to offer?
A: CityBusters was launched about 4 months ago through an initial soft launch phase and after only a few weeks it has sky-rocketed. Initially co-founded by Tim Stöber and Ferrah Raza, they now have brought on Martin Strohmeier, who is currently completing a PhD at the University of Oxford in Computer Science.
The main idea behind CityBusters is to create a Trip Advisor-like space where renters can find out more about a flat, landlord or rental experience from previous tenants before signing a lease. Often landlords and agencies do rigorous background checks on tenants, but for some reason in London that level of transparency doesn’t exist for renters about their landlords/flats. Ultimately, CityBusters was launched to offer the same transparency for renting that is available for all your other purchasing decisions.
Q: On your website you say that you have got “a one-stop shop offering”. Will that be for all people renting in the capital or are you focusing on a specific group of tenants?
A: Our one-stop-shop offering was created so that renters have the ability to get all the info they need to rent in London. We put together helpful data about average rents or Council Tax based on borough to help you decide where to live, a renters’ survival guide with nifty tips on renting, legal Q&As, as well as a blog with some eye catching reads to assist you in your renting quest sprinkled with a bit of fun. We focus on a range of different groups such as Young Professionals, Students, New Comers, Families and even Landlords. CityBusters wants to work collaboratively to help improve both ends of the rental experience.
Q: You have a lot of helpful information and guides about renting in London on the website. Where do you get your data from?
A: All of our data comes from reputable sources, many of which are government procured data sites like London Census Data or London Statistics & Council Websites. Check out our site for more information and references – http://citybusters.com/london/rentersguide. The renters’ survival guide is compiled from feedback via current tenants in London and recommendations from research. Legal pieces often come from our expert on housing law, Naomi Moore a London Lawyer.
Q: You are promising visitors to the website access to feedback from previous tenants. Tell us more about that. How does it work?
A: Renters currently have access to feedback from previous tenants and we are in the midst of getting more and more feedback from London renters to grow our database. We encourage all renters to help each other by reviewing old and current flats. It’s important that renters stand in solidarity so that we are aware of what we’re truly getting when we sign the lease beyond what is promised in an often quick viewing.
You can anonymously review an previous and/or current flat by filling out a 60 second form at citybusters.com/rate
Q: Can you imagine expanding the service to the whole of England or the UK at a later stage?
A: Absolutely! The aim is to help renters across the UK and beyond.
