Flatmate wanted 15 minute walk from centre

Larger Bedroom

One of our current flatmates is moving in with his girlfriend, so we're looking for a new flatmate to replace him and join us (Justin and Charlie). Ideally we're looking for a postgraduate student or young professional.

The flat is light, quiet and spacious with a separate toilet and bathroom (both of which are going to be redone soon). The bedroom is a light, very large double. It comes unfurnished, though my flatmate is happy to leave his large desk. The rest of the flat consists of a living/dining room and separate kitchen, complete with dishwasher, washing machine, fridge freezer, oven, toaster, slow cooker and bread maker. All the windows are double glazed.

We're in a building with 3 other flats (1 above, 2 below) which are occupied by young(ish) professionals who are all pretty quiet. There is bike storage space downstairs. We don't have our own parking spaces but the spaces on the road outside are unallocated so it is often possible to park nearby (though I don't drive myself).

Location: the flat is on Belvoir Road which lies right between Cotham, Montpelier, Redland and St Andrews (a leafy suburb). It's a 2 minute walk to the arches at Gloucester Road (which is where the nearest shops are and plenty of night life). It takes 15-20 minutes to walk to the Bristol Uni campus. Montpelier train station is just a 1 minute walk away (goes direct to Temple Meads), and we are a 1 minute walk from many major bus routes (including some that take you to UWE). St Andrews Park is 3 minutes away. The town centre is just a 15 minute walk. Bristol Temple Meads station takes about 30 minutes on foot.

A bit about us: I'm Justin, 27 years old, doing a maths PhD at the university. I'm sociable, but don't make much noise, tidy and don't smoke. I'm a big sports fan and play tennis, badminton, squash, football, cricket and recently took up rugby refereeing and korfball. I also enjoy reading and learning about science, going to the pub, the occasional night out and cooking and baking.

Charlie is a great flatmate, he's a young professional in his mid twenties working in marketing. He's also a big sports fan and a considerate and friendly guy.

We don't want to have a flat of 3 strangers living together, so we're looking for someone who wants to hang out some of the time, though obviously respect people's privacy when they want it. We don't want somebody noisy or messy.

Costs: the rent is £475 (for the bigger room) per calendar month not including bills. Bills are comparable to anywhere else I've lived in Bristol, about £50 a month is a rough guide all in (water £13.75, gas £10.20, electric £20, internet £9). Since I'm a full time student I'm exempt from Council tax, but (for non students) the flat is band C. I have a good relationship with the landlord who manages the property, except for the contract which is done by Andrews Estate Agents. They charge £180 per person for a one off referencing check and £135 per person to draw up the contract. If you need a guarantor, they charge an additional £144 for a guarantor reference. The damage deposit is £646 which gets repaid at the end of the tenancy (all of my previous housemates have received the full amount back).

The landlord is looking for people who can commit to a contract lasting until the end of January. Though, as has happened with me twice, you'd probably be given the first option to extend this for longer if you wanted. The contract starts on the 19th of June, so though the move-in date is flexible, rent would need to start being paid for then.