George Appleton- Treasurer and Editor

Are you a first year looking to move out of student accommodation? Moving can be difficult and choosing the right house, the right letting agency or private landlord and the right people to live with can all be difficult but important choices to ensure that you find the home that is the best for you. As a third year who has lived in student accommodation in my first year and then with a private landlord and then a letting agency in my second and third years, I hope this guide will help anyone who is struggling to find the right house for them.

What do you want?

First of all do you even want to move out of student accommodation? There are rooms available for second and third years still on the Edge Hill campus and there’s nothing wrong with wanting to stay on campus. Edge Hill has a wonderful campus and with the entire uni literally right outside your doorstep it does sometimes make sense to stay on campus. But sometimes you want a change or you feel like moving out is the best thing for you, so where do you start?

Start Early!

If you are thinking of moving out of student accommodation start early! This is one of the most important things, if you leave it too late all the good properties will be long gone and you might be left with no choice but to stay on campus anyway. Edge Hill releases a list of potential landlords and properties late December/early January time but I advise to start even earlier than this. The best thing you can do is decide who you want to live with early on and then start contacting letting agencies to let them know you are interested. This way you can arrange viewings before the list has even come out so that you can get ahead of the game and have plenty of time to decide where you want to live.

Viewings!

Once you start arranging viewings either through a letting agency or private landlord you can start looking at potential places to live. It is important to note that you do not have to decide anything straight away, a viewing is only you first impression of the place and you can go back as many times as you want and take as long as you need to think about it. In first year me and my friends bought the first house we viewed on our first viewing because we thought we needed to buy ASAP and I do regret it. On the other hand in our second year we waited too long to decide and someone else bought the property. Essentially you have time to decide but also be aware that other groups of students are in the same position as you and there are a limited number of properties available.

Private Landlord vs Letting Agencies

When you’re deciding which house to go for the difference between a private landlord or a letting agency can make all the difference. I’ve been with both and personally prefer private landlords. Letting agencies may have more properties available but this means you won’t get as close as a relationship with them as you would a private landlord. Private Landlords are a lot more hands on and will handle any problems you have themselves, if I had a problem in my second year I was able to message my private landlord and it would be get fixed fast. However, Letting Agencies hire different people to do their jobs for them and so you could be waiting much longer to get simple problems fixed. Ormskirk does have a number of Letting Agencies and from doing research and reading reviews you can learn about who you’re going to be renting a house from before you sign anything. I recommend you do your research- if a letting agency has a lot of bad reviews there’s problem a good reason for this.

Costs

Another issue with moving can be how much your new home will cost, depending on where you lived in your first year on campus Edge Hill can seem pretty pricey compared to the properties out there and a much cheaper house cost may seem like a welcome relief. One of the biggest choices you will have to make in renting a new home is bills included or not included. The majority of properties will be bills all included and so the idea of paying your own bills can seem scary or even off-putting- but it’s actually a lot easier than you think and it can be a useful learning curve. So a bills not included property is when your private landlord or letting agency expects you as tenants to pay the bills yourself- this may seem like a lot of money but bills not included properties normally have a much cheaper rent per week. In second year I moved into a bills not included property and the idea of paying my own bills was terrifying to me- but now I’ glad I did it because I now know how to do it for the future. All you need to do is ring up the respective companies (gas, water, electricity) and set up a payment plan. In my house I nominated myself and rang up the companies and set up a plan where the bill money would be taken out of my account on the 28^th of every month and then the other tenants would all pay me their bill share- it really is that easy.

Read the Contact

One of the most important things to do before you make any bold choices is to READ THE CONTACT. The contract between you and your landlord legally dictates the rules for the next one or two years of your life so make sure you agree to everything before you sign. Little things that you might not even consider can catch you out, meaning you could be breaching contract without even knowing.

I hope this advice is helpful. Happy house hunting.

By Hannah Yates

I know what you’re thinking. Yet another first year’s guide, surely you know everything about the University there is to know by now. However, they may surprise you with of the amount of support you can receive. I will go through a list of things they don’t necessarily talk about on the introduction week.

Drop-in sessions provided by the Catalyst –

Do you feel like you are struggling with writing essays at degree level? It’s definitely a jump from A levels and the pressure is on. On the Catalyst helpdesk, they provide drop-in sessions everyday on various topics such as referencing, structure and anything else you may need to query. Just ring up the helpdesk and they will provide dates and times for you to book in on the day.

Software on the Catalyst computers –

Essays can be stressful and it’s not rare to see people in the Catalyst shed a tear now and then. Something you might not know is there is software built into the library computers to make it easier. Programmes such as ‘Claroread’ which reads aloud your writing to ensure it makes sense. ‘Mindview’ is an amazing tool to help build mind maps for when planning out an essay and places all your notes and research in front of you. It even lets you add hyperlinks, audio notes, pictures and comments.

Transferring courses or repeating a year –

Are you or anyone you know in first year, not happy with their course? There is the option to swap courses or repeat a year at the end of the year, as each student is provided with four years of funding from student finance. In order to apply for this, you must book a visit to student services who will guide you through the process. An application and evidence is required and the student has to consider the variable that both courses have to agree to your request. When repeating a year, the same process is required and there’s the that factor that any assessments will not be carried over but will have to be repeated again. The deadline to complete all this is around the 23^rd August every year.

Fastrack –

Do you have a friend or family who never got the opportunity to apply for University when they left school or who would like a career change? Well, you can let them know about Fastrack. This is a seven -week course in the summer that is rather fast paced like it says on the tin. You can apply on the Edge Hill website and if successful will go to an interview, before attending the course beginning in June. The student will choose a subject from an extensive list such as Business and Management, Computing, IT and Web Development, Creative Writing, Health and Social Care, Psychology, Law, Teacher Training and Nursing and Midwifery to name a few. The student will study both their chosen subject as well as DASS. Developing Academic Study Skills is a lesson they instruct alongside, which teaches essential competences for higher education such as essay skills such as referencing, structure and how to get top marks. They also get students to perform group work by asking them to present together occasionally. The whole course is amazing as it gives students experience of what it will be like on the actual degree with a bit less pressure. I completed the Fastrack course myself and would highly recommend it.

Accommodation outside of Campus –

It’s that time of the year when everyone starts signing up for accommodation. I have made all the mistakes for you so not to worry, here’s some advice. First thing to do when looking for flats or shared houses, most importantly is to do your research! I would strongly advise to look at the reviews on the chosen Lettings Agency before even booking a viewing as some in Ormskirk are problematic and have been blacklisted by the University. Secondly, look at your finances for the next year and ensure you can cover the scheduled rent payments as if these cannot be paid, they automatically go to your guarantor. Some handy information I will give students is that, if you were to change your mind on the contract after signing for any reason, be aware, the only way to be released depending on the contract is by finding someone else to take over the room which is not always reliable. Thirdly, be aware of the location of where the room is if it is in the Ormskirk town centre, as it can be noisy at all times of day. There is shopping in the day, drunks at night and the twice – weekly market at 5am. These are all things to be taken into consideration.

I hope this information helped some of you.

Emily Burrell – Arts and Culture Sub Editor

1. Toothbrushes:

Most toothbrushes are plastic. Thankfully, because of modern media, we are aware of the catastrophic effects plastic has on our environment. It is recommended to replace your toothbrush every three months. That means over 260 million toothbrushes are thrown away in the UK each year. A cheap and simple way to avoid using traditional plastic toothbrushes is to purchase a bamboo toothbrush. Bamboo toothbrushes are completely recyclable and thus zero waste.

2. Toothpaste:

Colgate has created a nationwide recycling scheme with the company Terracycle. Terracycle creates community drop off points to return widely un-recyclable products to their manufactures or appropriate recycling centres.  Toothpaste tubes – and other dental hygiene products – commonly end up in landfill. However, Ormskirk has a Colgate drop off point. To find this drop off point and others simply search: www.terracycle.co.uk

3. Make up wipes:

Make up wipes take up to 100 years to decompose. Simple have created biodegradable make up wipes, suitable for sensitive skin.  However, if you wish to avoid make up wipes all together, there are reusable makeup pads.  This eco-friendly alternative works the same as regular cotton make up pads. However, rather than being single use, you simply soak them in hot water to clean them.

4. Shampoo and Conditioner:

Although most shampoo and conditioner bottles are recyclable, reducing our personal plastic use is always ideal. An easy way to avoid plastic is to use shampoo/conditioner bars. They work like a bar of soap and can last up to 80 washes. Most bars also have the bonus of being made from natural ingredients. This makes it easy to avoid the nasty and unneeded chemicals of regular manufactured shampoos.

5. Food packaging:

It seems infuriating that most food comes in unnecessary packaging. With the budget constraints that come with being a student, it is often easier to buy pre-packaged and cheapest option. Sometimes the cheapest option can also be the eco-friendliest. For example, loose bananas at Aldi cost 14p per banana. An easy way to save money and reduce packaging is by the larger portions and food prep. By cooking larger meals and freezing/refrigerating them, you have the ease of a ready meal with the benefits of home cooked one. If you are deterred by the prospect of repeating meals, you can make food prep a social activity. Cooking collectively with friends creates a social environment and allows you to exchange meals and avoid repetition. 

Additionally, an alternative to using tin foil is using food wraps. Food wraps are sheets of material, used in the same as tin foil, that can be wipe down and reused. These are widely available online.

Sources:

https://resource.co/article/colgate-launches-uk-recycling-service-toothpaste-tubes-and-toothbrushes

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=1O_r34RjN-j2e45EUcHGPbJ4WPaLxjVrz&ll=53.548267816927705%2C-2.8858552430365307&z=12