My friend is going to live in London, apartment hunting advice PLEASE!

My best friend is going to work at London office of her company starting this fall. She said that finding a place to live is pretty much on her own. We have no idea how the real estate system works when you try to find an apartment in London (or the UK)... Please provide me with some advice/tips to find a decent place to live for a single woman who commutes to London. I greatly appreciate your help!! (Mrs. Jstaff)

LOndon's changed a lot since I lived there, but how far out did she want to live, and will she be renting or buying?

Thanks for your response! She will live there at least for 3-5 years, maybe more than that. She will definately renting an apartment. Do you rent a place thru a realtor/agent? Are there any areas she should avoid?

You can rent through an agent or privatly, I would personally say if she didn't mind a commute then I would rent somewhere just outside of London as the price difference is mad!

I'd use an agent, you have more comeback on things like repairs etc.

I obviously don't know how much she's going to be able to afford, that's why I asked how far out of London she'll want to be. There are very nice areas (Ealing, Hampstead are 2 lovely areas) but they are expensive. If you move a bit further out it's less expensive, but then you have travel expenses.

A lot of people live in areas such as Kent and commute in to London, and that's personally what I'd do. It's cheaper, quieter and the travelling isn't more than about 45 minutes on a train to the centre of London.

I'd avoid south or east london, because some of those areas are pretty rough. West or north are probably best, or as I said, right out, but within commuter distance.

Move to Guildford The commutes 45 mins with the trains direct and its a lovely place!

Thank you all for your advice! I'm sure that she would not mind commuting for up to 60 minutes. She will work overtime a lot during tax season since she is an accountant, so less travel time will be ideal.
Again, I appreciate your quick responses!! I will pass them on to her immediately so that she can get it started.

Just seen this I live and work in London so if you still need help let me know and I will help

Thank you very much!
My friend said the other day that they are still working on the paperwork so it'll be around Dec for her to move, but I will definately let her know!

good cause i do know most of the areas well and if she can get a postcode of where she will be working we can go from there