renting

charlies_mummy

all for my little man x
Hi, not sure if anyone will know but thought it would be worth asking.
We have been searching for a new rental property for a while and kept missing out as they were going so quickly, we were advised by all estate agents to hand our notice in as we would then be more desirable so we have and now need to be out by the 5th August, with a view of moving at the end of July. No problem or so we thought have found the perfect house and we are viewing it tomorrow, we called them this afternoon to check the details of deposit, admin fees and guarantor fees, and have had a nasty shock. Apparently not everyone accepts guarantors anymore and the lady was unsure whether we would be accepted as it depends on which company they use for their referencing (though I would have thought she would of known?!) We need a guarantor as we have a poor credit history (with no hope of ever improving it given the current financial situation) but have never defaulted on our rent, my m-i-l is our guarantor and could more than afford to cover our rent if the need arose. Am now terrified that we will not be accepted and will end up homeless, has anyone had a similar situation or heard of guarantors not being accepted anymore?
xxx
 
Tbh i cant offer any advice on this as ive only ever rented privately rather than through an agency. We have always done this as it tends to work there's less up front fees to pay and less of these hoops to jump through. Could you perhaps look at anything like this?
 
Hi, I am a landlady and know of one or two agencies who stipulate that they will not accept guarantors anymore. However, in this economic climate, they would soon be out of business as there are not many people younger than 40 who can pass a credit reference check!

My advice to you is to ring around all the agencies in the area and find out which ones use referencing companies who will accept guarantors. That way, at least you won't be wasting time with the ones who don't.

Good luck, I'm sure your dream home is out there somewhere!
 
Id be surprised if an agency doesn't accept a guarantor there's no reason for them not to. Don't worry she's maybe just not aware how things work x
 
Unfortunately Starlight, it is becoming more and more the norm. One of my current tenants had to leave her last home after her initial lease expired because the landlord decided he wasn't happy with her having a guarantor.

Not all agencies are the same though Charlies Mum, so keep your chin up. With a bit of luck, you'll be signing a tenancy agreement for this house in a few days.
 
Unfortunately its quite normal as we had the same difficulties 2 years ago. Firstly we had no guarantor as we didnt get on with our families and even the council said they would take care of the advance and everything through the bond scheme no private agency or landlord was accepting this. We were at that time living in a bed sit with a newborn baby and the council just point blank refused to help us even find private rental that would accept a bond as we were having no luck. Luckily for us we had also put in an application to a housing association and we eventually got a home through them.
Charlesmummy couldnt you try the housing associations or have they become difficult too x
 
I too have an awful credit score, but have managed to rent places. The first place (Whittaker & Biggs) let me have a guarantor, the second place (Daniel & Hulme) took on board why my credit history was awful, spoke to the landlord, who agreed to let us in as long as we gave a double deposit. The lady spoke to him and said we seemed like nice, genuine people who wouldn't trash the joint! The third place (Bury & Hilton) said I passed the credit check, which amazed me, as I have an IVA on file which failed (dodgy company). But they were prepared to take my parents on as guarantors if I had of failed.

It's always worth speaking to the estate agents about your situation, as in my situation, they have often spoken to the landlord direct, and basically convinced them to take a punt on me. I did however once have problems with Reeds Rains, but that was over their extorsionate £150+ credit check!

Basically, I guess honesty is the best policy. Explain your situation, that you are likely to fail the credit check, but that you really love the house, and is there any way they would accept a guarantor.

Good luck x
 
Thanks everyone :) we have tried looking for private rentals but there is actually nothing about with 3 beds, and we need the extra space! We do not qualify for housing association because we earn too much; that's the really irritating thing, we both earn quite good money we just have a poor credit history from the past! He was a bad boy before I tamed him ;) and I managed to get in a lot of debt as a student when I went over my overdraft and they kept charging me quicker than I could pay, so I had to get a debt relief order before I had my son.
We can more than afford our rent but just need the guarantor for their security!!! Am dreading falling in love with this place tonight and then not getting it! Fingers crossed they will have us! X
 
Worth asking the agency to check with the landlord who may be happy to have a guarantor.
 
We went to look at the house and it wasn't as nice as I thought it was going to be. We have also had a pretty bad day today as a family so will be contacting our landlord and seeing if we can extend our tenancy by one month.

Though on the paperwork they gave us today it had all about guarantors - strange! x
 
Oh what a shame! I'm sure the right place is out there for you. I let my properties privately as I worked as an agent myself when I was younger and know how little work they actually do for their commission!

I hope your luck changes soon
 
Back
Top