| Good morning. How can I help you? |
| Hello. I'm interested in renting a house somewhere in the town. |
| Right. |
| Could I have your name please? |
| Yes, it's Steven Godfrey. |
| And tell me how many bedrooms you're looking for. |
| Well, we'd need 4, because I'm going to share the house with 3 friends. |
| Okay, there are several of that size on our books. |
| They mostly belong to families who are working abroad at the moment. |
| What about the location? |
| It'd be nice to be central. |
| That might be difficult, as most houses of that size are in the suburbs. |
| Still, there are a few. |
| What's your upper limit for the rent? |
| We'd like something around £500 a month, |
| but we could go up to £600 if we have to. |
| But we can't go beyond that. |
| Do you know how long you want to rent the house for? |
| The minimum let is 6 months, as you probably realise. |
| We're at college here for two years, |
| and we don't want to have to move during that time if we can avoid it. |
| Right. |
| And how soon do you want to move in? |
| All our lets start on the first of the month. |
| Well, as soon as possible, really, so that means September 1st. |
| Okay, let me have a look at what we've got.... |
| We have photographs of all the houses on our books, so you can get an idea of what they're like. |
| There's this one in Oakington Avenue, at £550 a month. |
| Combined living room and dining room, with a separate kitchen. |
| It doesn't have a garage, though you can park in the road. |
| Ah, we'd prefer to have one, if possible. |
| Right. |
| Then have a look at this house, in Mead Street. |
| It's got a very large living room and kitchen, bathroom, cloakroom... |
| How much is it? |
| That one's 580. |
| It's very well furnished and equipped. |
| It also has plenty of space for parking, and it's available for a minimum of a year. |
| Oh, and there's a big garden. |
| I don't think we could cope with that, to be honest. |
| We'll be too busy to look after it. |
| Okay. |
| Then there's this older house in Hamilton Road: |
| living room, kitchen-diner, and it has a study. |
| 550 a month. |
| That looks rather nice. |
| But whereabouts in Hamilton Road? |
| Towards the western end. |
| Oh, that'll be very noisy. I know the area. |
| Yes, it's pretty lively. |
| Some people like it, though. |
| Well, what about this house in Devon Close? |
| That looks lovely. |
| There's a big demand for houses in that area, so prices tend to be quite high. |
| But this one hasn't been decorated for a few years, which has kept the rent down a bit. |
| It's got a living room, dining room and small kitchen, |
| and it's 595 a month. |
| I think it would suit you, from what you've said. |
| It sounds fine. |
| Why's that part of town so popular? |
| Well, there's a big scheme to improve the district, and it'll soon have the best facilities for miles around. |
| What sort of thing? |
| There's a big sports centre under construction, which will be very impressive when it's finished. |
| In fact, the swimming pool's already opened, ahead of schedule, |
| and it's attracting a lot of people. |
| What about cinemas: are there any in the area? |
| The only one closed down last year, |
| and it's now in the process of being converted into a film museum. |
| The local people are trying to get a new cinema added to the scheme. |
| I think I heard something about a plan to replace the existing concert hall with a larger one. |
| Ah, that's due to start next year. |
| Well, it sounds an interesting area to live in. |
| Could I go and see the house, please? |
| Yes, of course. |