Homelet Referencing Checks

lucror

Does anyone have any experience of Homelet's referencing checks.

Myself and my girlfriend has applied for a rented property, we filled out the homelet forms and gave them back to the letting agency on Monday.

Homelet have since been in touch with my employer yesterday and have sent some forms through the post for them to complete (as we didn't have a fax). However Homelet have not yet been in touch with my partners employers.

I'm also concerned as neither of us have perfect credit histories, we have checked our credit files and none have CCJ's but a couple of defaults from a few years ago are showing as outstanding.

Would Homelet still check the references if a credit check had failed? We have rented our currently property for over a year and have never paid late and our landlord will give us an excellent reference.

I'm just worried (and a little impatient) and keen to know now if we have the house or not. Our LA has said that Homelet are very strict and thorough in their checks but surely a sparkling reference from a current agent of over a year will compensate for any possible "credit blemishes"?

Premier_2

The references are usually considered as a whole, rather than in isolation to one another.

Only if one check was so bad would it alone probably scupper any chance of you renting.

Likewise, one outstanding reference will not over-ride unsatisfactory checks uncovered elsewhere.

Good luck

veyrongirl

We were reference checked by Homelet.

They contacted my OHs employers by fax immediately (within 12 hrs).

My employers were more complicated as I did not know there was a specific address and contact number for this, and the HR staff at my particular branch were next to useless ( I was told that if a request was received in store everyone knew where to forward it. Despite 2 requests from Homelet and my personal intervention this did not happen):mad: .

I contacted Homelet on several occasions and they were extremely helpful, even admitting that my employer is one of the worst for responding to reference applications and that they do not provide salary information. I provided wage slips to them for this purpose.

I was concerned that we had some late payments on various accounts but in the end the only problem was that my salary was not sufficient to cover my half of the rent. However, my OHs salary was enough to cover the entire rent, so, he is the tenant and I am a Permitted Occupier. I still contribute but am not legally responsible:D

HTH
Lynn

lucror

veyrongirl wrote: »

We were reference checked by Homelet.

They contacted my OHs employers by fax immediately (within 12 hrs).

My employers were more complicated as I did not know there was a specific address and contact number for this, and the HR staff at my particular branch were next to useless ( I was told that if a request was received in store everyone knew where to forward it. Despite 2 requests from Homelet and my personal intervention this did not happen):mad: .

I contacted Homelet on several occasions and they were extremely helpful, even admitting that my employer is one of the worst for responding to reference applications and that they do not provide salary information. I provided wage slips to them for this purpose.

I was concerned that we had some late payments on various accounts but in the end the only problem was that my salary was not sufficient to cover my half of the rent. However, my OHs salary was enough to cover the entire rent, so, he is the tenant and I am a Permitted Occupier. I still contribute but am not legally responsible:D

HTH
Lynn

Still waiting on receiving something at my employers - it was supposed to be sent out Monday! Getting more impatient now :mad:

Thanks for the information to you both.

lambo5461

For the sake of anyone who may be interested, as stated in the post by others Homelet will carry Credit Reference checks for a new Tenancy proposal.
The way this works is as follows:
Unusually the first check they carry out is with the Call Credit Reference Agency. This is relatively unusual as Call Credit are a very small agency compared to Experian/Equifax. If they get the information they require from Call Credit (i.e.. Electoral Role, No CC Judgments, some Credit History) then they stop at this point.
If Call Credit don't hold the information they require then they search Equifax and then if this doesn't yield the info they require they then contact experian.
I would assume this is a cost related issue as its probably cheaper for them to search Call Credit than it is Equifax/Experian.
They are actually a really good company, seem to move very quickly in producing the final reports and seem fair in their appraisals.
If you are reading this and are worried about the Credit checks remember that its actually the landlord who makes the decision about whether to accept you, not the estate agent or Homelet (or similar company). As other people have stated offering 6 months upfront (especially in the current economic climate) is likely to mitigate any bad credit. Also, if there is bad credit around be prepared to write a letter to the estate agent/perspective landlord explaining the reason for it. It is highly unlikely that a letter of this kind accompanied by an offer of payment up front is going to result in your application being declined. I've accepted a number of tenants that fall into this category on properties I let out and would never refuse anyone based purely on the result of a credit search.
Good luck!

MunnyBoiler

As someone who receives reference requests from HomeLet to complete, I find them very 'assertive'.

After receiving the initial fax request, which demands an immediate reply, I then proceed to receive a telephone call from them at least every few hours until said reference is completed.......

tbs624

Lambo has posted the same comment on this board 3 times in 3 separate threads- perhaps has an undeclared personal link with this particular firm?

vallance95

Good News! Yesterday we received a call saying we had bast the credit check and the house is ours. I cant believe it, as i said in the last post i have a default and repayment pending and my partner has a new name and their previous name is poor history and we passed it with flying colors. Move in within a week.

aniketkulk

Hi All,

I am looking at renting a flat and have been told that I will be reference checked with Homelet. The issue I have is that my bank & credit card statements have my friends address, which I use as forwarding address. The current address that I live at (shared accomodation), I am registered with the council & electoral register, but the address is not the same with address registered with bank & credit agencies. Is this going to be an issue with referencing with Homelet ? I have no issues with my credit history.

strawberries1

Aniketkulk, how did it go? Please come back update us.

aniketkulk wrote: »

Hi All,

I am looking at renting a flat and have been told that I will be reference checked with Homelet. The issue I have is that my bank & credit card statements have my friends address, which I use as forwarding address. The current address that I live at (shared accomodation), I am registered with the council & electoral register, but the address is not the same with address registered with bank & credit agencies. Is this going to be an issue with referencing with Homelet ? I have no issues with my credit history.

Lixuestar

Hi,

I wonder if anyone has any idea how it works if you have a guarantor?

I am currently on maternity leave so my mum has provided herself as a guarantor for me, but I am worried about how this works? I have a default against my name from my uni days a few years ago, but I know my mum has great credit and her wage alone would easily cover the rent, so if I fail would they be able to take it that my mum would guarantee the rent and help me out?

I should hear back some time next week, but a little worried as paid £450 holding fee (which comes off what is owed) but they are still advertising the property and were still doing viewings after I paid the holding fee. A bit concerned as I am also worried that if I don't pass the credit check I lose the £450.:(