A lot of Wolfson students live outside the college and vacate the houses they are living in at the end of their studies. These houses go on the market again. As a trust relationship has already been established with the landlord, these houses can be taken up by the next cohort of Wolfson students.
In order to facilitate this exchange and discussing various options with other Wolfson members, you can use the website forum - http://www.wolfson.cam.ac.uk/wcsa/forums/offsite-accommodation
For specifically advertising available properties, there is a marketplace listing - http://www.wolfson.cam.ac.uk/wcsa/marketplace/accommodation
We hope that this develops into a good system for providing smooth solutions to student accommodation woes.
Outside of the Wolfson network, there are several other agencies which will help you find the right place. The University accommodation service is particularly useful: http://www.accommodation.cam.ac.uk
Other independent websites:
- http://www.rightmove.co.uk
- http://www.findaproperty.co.uk
- http://www.gumtree.com/cambridge
- http://www.accommodationforstudents.com/Cambridge.asp
The Postdocs of Cambridge society has a google group where people discuss about housing options. They also have an accommodation guide on their website.
How to spot a scam:
- Does the rent sound too cheap for the area?
- Is all contact made by email or instant messenger?
- Are they unable to arrange a viewing of the property?
- Do they ask for you to send a deposit via Western Union before you've seen the room?