Corporate Home Search Service

Typically our clients spend between 1-3 days viewing properties with their consultant, but we often provide additional days depending on individual circumstances.

From start to finish on average it can take around a month to complete a home search process ready for you to move in. It's important to understand that it can take up to 2 weeks from offer to collecting keys, so it's vital the Employee works with their Consultant early to speedily find a new property, especially if they are staying in temporary accommodation with a fixed end date.

We'll carefully coordinate the property tour dates and search around the relocation schedule to try and help tie everything smoothly together. 

There are a number of fees that the employee may need to be ready to pay prior to moving in and these may vary by destination country. The Relocation Consultant will explain these at the start of the process. For example in the UK relocating Employees will require:

• Holding deposit: Paid to the Estate Agent to take the property off the market whilst we negotiate the lease. Please note this is not legally binding and is non-refundable if they change their mind.
• First Month's rent in advance: Paid prior to occupation. Some landlords may require 3-6 months rent in advance. 
• Security Deposit: Paid prior to occupation and refundable at the end of the tenancy subject to deductions for any non payment of rent or damage to the property above reasonable wear and tear. 

This will vary depending on the host location. Our consultant will inform you and your Employee as early as possible of any documents you will need to provide and assist you in arranging these wherever we can.

For example, landlords in the UK must legally check a Tenants 'Right to Rent'. Every adult living in the property will be required to provide certain documents as evidence. Find out what more here: Document Checks for Renting in the UK. 

It is important we have these documents ready ahead of the home search in order to secure a property. 

There are a number of things your Employee need to do to help ensure a smooth and successful move into their new home: 

1. Work with our consultant: They are experts in the local area and will provide advice to help make decisions quickly and in a way that protects the employee during their rental. They will check any property to ensure it meets requirements (e.g. move in dates, length of lease), that it is safe and that the agent, landlord and property are appropriately licensed to ensure they are protected both financially and in terms of personal safety. 
2. Respond as quickly as possible: In the competitive UK property market homes are quickly let once they are advertised so responding to our consultant as soon as possible and being available and flexible for viewings (including during working hours) will really help in finding a property they love quickly. Many agents do not show properties in the evenings or on Sundays and ideally we don’t recommend Saturday viewings as they may be cancelled at the last minute if the existing tenant decides not to allow access during their weekend.
3. Read the tenancy agreement: The employee needs to make sure they understand your rights and responsibilities and we'll help them do this. Whilst we will check the contract to ensure it includes any special clauses required and that everything is as we would expect this is not an official legal review and is not legally binding. If you wish to have the lease checked by a lawyer we can arrange this service on your behalf (this service may incur an additional fee). 

Yes. When they move in and again when they move out an inventory should be conducted to provide an accurate list of the condition of the property and its contents. This should be conducted by an independent agent and may be arranged by the Estate Agent or Landlord. If this is not offered we would strongly advise an employee to arrange this to ensure they and their security deposit are protected should there be a dispute. Bournes can arrange this service on your behalf for an additional fee.

We are happy to help in the process of securing a rental property that the employee has found themselves. Please let us know as soon as possible if this is the case.  

IMPORTANT: Please advise your employees not to book any viewings or pay money to an agent without discussing with our Consultant first. They may risk losing money or compromising personal safety if they do so. 

Typically we can only assist with shared accommodation if an employee wishes to share with another employee of the same company. Unfortunately, we cannot help with rooms in other privately shared accommodations as we can’t always conduct the necessary checks into the licenses or lease terms. This may mean we can’t ensure that finances, rights, safety are fully protected.

If you wish for us to search for a shared property please inform us during the initiation so we can ensure we are searching for the right properties straight away. Should an employee decide to share further into a search the delays may mean we cannot guarantee finding a new home as quickly and this is important if you have a fixed exit date from temporary accommodation. 

Before choosing to share a property  employees should consider the following points carefully:

• They will need to agree on what happens if someone moves out. How will they cover the rent and what happens to their share of the deposit?
• They will need to consider what happens if someone doesn't pay their rent or share of utility bills.
• They will need to agree who is responsible for the cost of damage if this is caused by one person.
• Shared properties for 3 or more unrelated people may require a Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) license, this may limit the properties available.

Yes. Bournes International Removals service helps Employees relocate furniture and effects from wherever in the world to your new home, whether that's locally from temporary accommodation or internationally from the home location. Our dedicated team will work closely with the home search consultant to plan and organise each move, and will guide the employee through the process every step of the way. If you'd like to use this service please just ask us for more information.