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Last-minute transfers often mean last-minute relocation's but you don’t have to settle for living out of a hotel room. Find out how to make the right move…

Moving house can be stressful at the best of times, but if you’ve just signed for a new club you might have to find a new home halfway across the country in a town you’ve never even laid eyes on – and in a fraction of the time you’d ordinarily have. If you do find yourself in that situation don’t panic – the PFA’s relocation partner Garrington is on hand to take all the stress away. We spoke to Managing Director Jonathan Hopper to get his essential advice on relocating.

What’s the first thing players need to think about when they’re relocating?

Bizarre as it sounds, one of the first things to think about before making a purchase is a potential exit from the property. Players have a unique career cycle, so when they’re moving into a new home they need to think about what their likely ownership period is going to be. On that basis, they should buy with their head, not their heart – unless they can see their next location being one they could settle in for the long term.

So a player comes to you looking for help relocating – what happens next?

Our first steps are to orientate players in the area and educate them in all the lifestyle options – like travel times and schools if they have kids. We’d also show them what different areas can give them in terms of property prices and availability.

Do you work closely with the clubs?

We work with clubs and they vary across the UK in terms of the support they’ll provide. We’re seeing an increase in player liaison officers as clubs recognise they can provide the practical support on the ground for the player. However, they understand and respect that they don’t have the in-depth knowledge of the property market as they’re not in it every day as a relocation specialist.

What if a player is transferred abroad?

Garrington’s personnel are UK based, but we have an international relocation division that handles moving people all over the world. Moving abroad is a similar process to moving within the UK, but it becomes more complicated in terms of looking at visas, property ownership and taxation. Culture is a big consideration too, as is the question of language barriers.

How do you help players settle in a new location?

We put players in touch with an expert member of our team in the specific area of the country (or indeed the world) they’re moving to as early as possible in the process. To understand the timescale, how they want to handle things and start getting them up to speed so they can make the important decisions.

How do you handle the fact that players often have to move without much notice?

Transfers can happen very quickly. When they do we can help players with a suitable hotel, but we also have access to temporary accommodation that doesn’t tie them in for six months. On average, players will get twice as much space in temporary accommodation as a hotel room. And as much as a five-star hotel seems appealing on day one, it loses its novelty factor by the second week. We advise players to get comfortable with an area first and be very sure about a purchase before jumping in, so temporary accommodation can be very useful.

When you’re dealing with such short timescales can it be better for players to rent rather than buy?

The rate of property price growth in the UK over recent years demonstrates that it makes sense for players to be exposed to property as an additional asset. It may well be that renting a property suits their lifestyle requirements better, but in terms of their financial needs they should consider having a property even if it’s an investment instead of a main home. The income they get from the investment can offset the cost of renting.

Security must be a big factor too when you’re dealing with footballers?

Security figures very highly in players’ priorities when they’re thinking about an area to live in – as does garaging and off-street parking usually! A sense of privacy is the biggest thing for players regardless of how high-profile they are.

How do you keep their identity secret when they’re looking around at houses?

When it comes to the house-hunting process itself, there are various tools we have to protect the identity of a player. Because buying agents and property finders are an accepted norm in the market, sales agents don’t expect us to explain who our client is – and that applies right up to the point when we’ve agreed to purchase a property. So we can work with a level of anonymity to start with and that privacy is extended to viewings if we know someone is high-profile and they will be spotted. If we do need to go into a formal non disclosure agreement we can do that to suit our client’s needs.

Do you often find players tend to be drawn to the same areas?

Living near teammates is quite common for players and it makes absolute sense when a player may find it difficult to integrate with other local residents, or may simply want to stay under the radar. The trick, though, is to ensure that players look at prospective areas with their head as well as their heart, and make sure that they’re not buying into a location where, due to the efforts of a football club, the market has become artificially inflated. This can happen to the point where you question whether – with the exception of another football player – anyone would consider buying one of these properties if they were considering selling in the future.

What’s the best way to avoid being stuck with a property you can’t sell?

It’s important to get impartial advice. Over the years I’ve seen too many players influenced by where other players live, buying into exclusive new developments where they’re paying premium prices, only to be caught out several years down the track when they need to move suddenly and find it difficult to sell.