Case Study: Relocation from Israel to Surrey, UK during the COVID pandemic

​A family were needing to relocate with 2 young children and a dog during a time when the UK was imposing strict quarantine measures on people travelling from most countries.

How we helped -

• Assisted with timing and planning of arrival, including advice on immigration  and pet travel

• Helped narrow down large search area for which to concentrate their search
• Viewed properties remotely due to quarantine restrictions, including viewing  on their behalf, as well as virtual viewings
• Secured delightful property in their preferred location and allowing for wife to be added to the contract at a later date
• Favourable contract terms negotiated with agent/landlord
• Tenancy agreement checked  and amendments made to better protect clients position
• Single point of contact prior to arriving, through to settling in
• Provided information on local nurseries and assisted with application process
• Coordinated delivery of belongings and attended property for handyman to assemble furniture so it was ready for their arrival
• Accepted delivery of groceries for arrival
• Attended check in on client’s behalf. Checked the inventory and produced a detailed check in report to protect their deposit against any unfair deductions at check out.
• Provided a welcome pack and assistance registering with local doctors/dentists , transferring utilities and setting up broadband

​These private clients contacted us for assistance with their family move from Israel. They not only had 2 small children and a dog to contend with but the prospect of moving to the UK during the COVID pandemic and facing 2 weeks quarantine on arrival.
 
After a long discussion is was decided that their preference would be to secure a property remotely for their arrival, meaning they could quarantine in their new home and not have the extra cost and inconvenience of staying in temporary accommodation.
 
Our client’s office was in London but as he would be working from home the majority of the time, where they decided to live was extremely flexible, particularly as the necessity to commute to London had been removed due to COVID. This was useful in some respects but equally gave us numerous areas and options to consider and research, in order to find them a suitable home. Their preference was a nice family neighbourhood with good schools and nurseries, commutable to London and somewhere with a nice community but not too noisy. These areas are of course plentiful in the Home Counties but after a lot of research, contacting agents and researching the property market, it was decided to concentrate on Berkshire and Surrey. 
 
Prior to their arrival we had already assisted with providing information on the immigration process. Our client had an EU passport which made his entry straightforward but his wife and daughter had Israeli passports. It was decided his wife would travel with him and have her passport stamped on entry to the UK so it was only at that point that she would be given right to reside in the UK.  This  added the complication of renting a property and passing the right to rent check when his wife would not have a visa or family permit agreed prior to arrival.
 
We set about contacting agents within a reasonable search area, initially ascertaining if a property would accept pets and then narrowing down options to send to our clients. We then arranged some video viewings with our consultant over a variety of different days and areas, based on which suitable properties were coming on the market. Having had an offer accepted on a property in Berkshire, our offer was subsequently withdrawn as the landlord was slow to respond to our requests and seemed somewhat unreliable. We continued the search and viewed further properties both online and in person with our couple eventually asking to offer on a property in Virginia Water. This is lovely community with lots of open space and family friendly activities (not least Virginia Water Lake and Windsor Great Park) and was perfect for our family. After negotiating with the agent we were delighted to secure the property at £500 per month under the advertised price. We also negotiated for the contract to be in our clients name in the first instance, with his wife to be added after arrival. We over saw this process and checked the addendum to the contract on their behalf.
 
We then set about preparing for their arrival, proving details on furniture shops and online shopping services (they had rented unfurnished but were not bringing any furniture with them). We also arranged a handyman to assemble the furniture prior to their arrival, transferred the utilities and helped set up a broadband account, something that was very important for our client as he would immediately need to start working from home and be quarantining on arrival. We were also present the day before their arrival to pick up the keys, accept the delivery of their grocery order and furniture and oversee the handyman whilst he assembled the furniture
 
In addition we started contacting the local nurseries and assisted with the application process, and arranged for them to open a UK bank account.
 
Once they had arrived and completed quarantine our MD was invited to visit them in their new home. She was treated to a wonderful welcome which included an array of cakes and wonderful hospitality!
 
We are happy to say our clients are delighted with their new home. There is always an added pressure when choosing a home for a client sight unseen, but they couldn’t have been happier with their choice!

If you are thinking of relocating but have concerns about how to do so during the pandemic, we would be happy to discuss this with you.  Please feel free to contact us to see how we can assist you.

0118 947 0029
info@therelocationconsultancy.com
​www.therelocationconsultancy.com