Hi all.

Im currently viewing flats to rent as i want to move in the new year so i can do incalls.  I lost out on THE MOST PERFECT working flat last week so have viewed another today but i need some advice.

I am  definately wanting a flat that is on a high street and above shops or a business of some sort because i love living in the centre of towns so i can walk out my front door and be in the middle of it.  The flat i saw today was just that, on the high street, 2 floors up, perfect for what i want except im worried about the entrance.  the first flat i saw had the entrance behind the shops so was ultra discreet even though it may have been seemed a little seedy to new clients on first visits.  this second one has a communal gate between 2shops that then leads to a courtyard with 5 flats, all pretty spread out and its not the sort of courtyard that would be used communally, i would have my own staircase and front door for clients so it shouldnt be a problem.  its just the gate that worries me, would it be off putting for guys to have to use a front gate that was right on the street especially as its not even the busy end of town, its  pretty quiet to be fair.  it has an entry system for them so they would have to buzz up to me to let them in the gate.  The more i think about it the worse it sounds.... what do you ladies think?

My apartment is in a very large block with several separate entrances in different streets, so no-one can really tell where callers are headed from the outside. In addition, the entrance to my bit is in a side street and opposite commercial premises; one of my windows overlooks it but none of the others do, and I find that my neighbours are rarely encountered in the corridors (plus as some of the flats are holiday lets, subsequently they are not only empty a lot, but the other residents are fairly accustomed to different/unfamiliar people coming and going).

I would say that your main area of concern is your neighbours - these are the people who will make your life a misery if you are found out. When you say there are five flats in the courtyard, do any of them have windows which overlook your door? Are the people who live there elderly/looking after young families and likely to be in a lot during the day? Is the gate buzzer very loud (and for that matter, does the room you plan to work from adjoin any of the other flats? Are the walls thick?)

Don't worry too much about the outside appearance of the building - you can always make a bit of a joke about it on the phone to new visitors, and provided the area isn't a really bad one it shouldn't matter too much. My last place was down a back alley in a far from salubrious part of town, and I managed OK! It is also true that the current media portrayal of us can actually work a little in your favour - as Sophia said, provided you're not seeing 10 blokes a day and don't answer the door in inch-thick makeup and thigh boots, you're unlikely to be sussed!

I would say that your main area of concern is your neighbours - these are the people who will make your life a misery if you are found out. When you say there are five flats in the courtyard, do any of them have windows which overlook your door? Are the people who live there elderly/looking after young families and likely to be in a lot during the day? Is the gate buzzer very loud (and for that matter, does the room you plan to work from adjoin any of the other flats? Are the walls thick?)

Don't worry too much about the outside appearance of the building - you can always make a bit of a joke about it on the phone to new visitors, and provided the area isn't a really bad one it shouldn't matter too much. My last place was down a back alley in a far from salubrious part of town, and I managed OK! It is also true that the current media portrayal of us can actually work a little in your favour - as Sophia said, provided you're not seeing 10 blokes a day and don't answer the door in inch-thick makeup and thigh boots, you're unlikely to be sussed!

I already thought about some of this stuff so when i was looking i checked.  the neighbours all work during the day and all of the bedroom walls (except the winow wall) join on to other rooms in the flat so hopefully noone would hear anything to get suspicious.  the space below me is used as storage for the shop on the ground floor so even that is safe.  and my cover story would also allow for a few people a week to be visiting so i think it would be ok from that point of view.

And i like the idea of being able to keep my living area seperate if i want to and this flat had the bedroom and bathroom off the entrance corridor so it would make it possible to close my lounge if i didnt want to take someone in there.

I had thought with the seedy looking flat entrance that if i had got it i would tart up the hall and stairs a bit with some pot plants and ikeatastic pictures just so it was a pleasent suprise when they walked in and like you said amy, i think if i made a bit of a joke about it before they arrived they wouldnt mind too much.

I have even been basing my decision on how much public parking there is around me and both flats had supermarkets really close by so guys could have parked discreetly.

Thanks for the advice ladies... any other tips very welcome. 

I agree about the gate. One of the things I like about my apartment is that there is a main entrance which leads to a locked 'security' door; there is no immediate access to the flats themselves. The doorbells are there, but I don't give out my flat number even when clients arrive - I meet them at the security door and show them in without telling them where they are going (I am not paranoid, but wouldn't like the thought that there could be other people waiting outside for a signal to ring my doorbell immediately afterwards).

My old place did have an ordinary outside door and I never had this happen but I have heard of it enough times to know it was likely to sooner or later, and I did once have someone throwing gravel/pebbles at the bedroom window to try and wake me up - to this day I don't know that it was a former client, but I wouldn't be surprised.

Cassie, are you looking for a working flat? or both ? I will message you

LD