Employee Relocation Services | Corporate Home Search

Home Finding Assistance

As one of the UK's leading independent relocation service providers and a member of the European Relocation Association (EuRA) Bournes can help make finding a new home easy and enjoyable.

Help finding a suitable home quickly

Bournes consultants have vast experience to help your Employee move through the process efficiently using their local knowledge to help decide the best areas to live and properties to view based on what’s important to each individual.

Advice and Guidance on the rental process

Our consultant’s knowledge of the local legislation and market means you are protected from rogue landlords, inappropriate leases and unnecessary risks to financial and personal safety.

Local connections to find the best properties

Our on the ground consultants in-country have relationships with the best property agents meaning that we can often find properties that may not be available on the open market.

What our Customers Say

Overall experience was delightful. Bournes team was always approachable and resolved all my queries in time. As I was new to UK, I wasn't sure about even where to start. Thankfully Bournes team has been very patient and helped me all the way, including shortlisting the areas, booking viewings for properties, negotiating, utilities changes and so on. But most important part of the integration was giving me insights and tips about processes and localities. So Thanks again. I would highly recommend to anyone interested in their services.

UK Home Search Client

Relocation to London

10/10 job in finding and pushing for the flat. I sincerely thanks Georgette for being very professional and paying attention to details. I was totally dependent on her help and she did deliver the most hassle-free renting experience ever.

UK Home Search Client

Relocation to London

Home Search Process

1. Needs Assessment

We'll work with your employee to identify their individual requirements and preferences for a new home.

2. Property Search

We will search the market for properties that match your Employees needs and share shortlisted options.

3. Property Viewings

We'll arrange viewings of the properties your employee would like to see, send an itinerary and advise on the final selection. If you've approved an accompanied search we'll also collect them on viewing day(s) and guide them through the viewings.

4. Making an Offer

When we've found a great property together we will help make a formal offer to the landlord.

5. Lease Admin

Once the offer has been accepted we'll help with negotiating the lease, referencing and next steps.

6. Move in

That's it! The Employee can sign the lease, collect keys, attend the inventory check-in and enjoy their new home! We will also help where we can with utility connections.

Flexible Home Search Services

We offer flexible, customised services to suit the needs of your organisation and your employees. Our most commonly requested solutions are Accompanied or Un-Accompanied traditional Home Search.

Accompanied Home Search Service

A hand-picked Relocation Consultant, best matched to the employee's individual needs, will accompany them during their property viewings.

The employee is guided through the viewings with advice on what to look for, what questions to ask, managing expectations and addressing any initial queries or concerns with the property agent in real-time.

Un-Accompanied Home Search

Un-accompanied home search services allow you to provide a low-cost alternative where a full home search package is not part of your policy.

We will provide full guidance to the employee prior to their viewings and have a debrief call with them afterwards to discuss what they think and whether they would like to move forward with a property.

This alternative still provides a great level of support to the employee and helps you manage your duty of care and the risks to the employee's finances and personal safety. The only difference is that property viewings are not accompanied by our consultant.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT HOME SEARCH SERVICES

How long does the Home Search process take?

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.

What initial costs will need to be paid by the Employee?

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. 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.
Tenancy Admin Fee(s): Paid to the Estate Agent on acceptance of an offer to cover the costs of referencing, setting up the tenancy agreement and protecting the deposit. These will be explained up front.
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.

What documents will we need to have ready?

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.

What will the Employee need to do during the process?

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

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.
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.
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).

Does the employee need to attend the inventory check in?

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.

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What if the employee finds their own property?

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.

Can Bournes help with a shared property?

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.

Can Bournes help move the employee's belongings?

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.