Help - Credit checking when about to rent, again

fluffydicejc

hi there,

I'm 23, unemployed for a year, graduate who's just been told that my landlady wants to sell the flat i have lived in for a year.

I live with my partner whos working to pay my rent while i continue to look for ANY work.

since this bombshell, we've had to start looking for a new place to rent but i'm worried about the credit check that the new letting agency will want. What kind of check is it? we've never missed a payment always been good with everything.

i've been living off my savings for a year and constantly been in my overdraft, sometimes maxing it out to £1500, but then putting my savings in to save me. i've also got the standard student loan and because of university i've had (including this one), 6 addresses! I'm a good girl though! help, i'm really worried!

my partner's always in his overdraft but works himself out of it, he's paid off his car loan about 4 months ago and he's had about 4 addresses.

should i be worried? what kind of check is it? my old landlady said she'd be my reference, but will this help at all? people don't want the unemployed in their house but would they be fine if i can prove i've always paid???

hope someone can put my mind at rest, or tell me the damage.

kris

Tassotti

Any credit checks will be done using one or both of two companies. They are Equifax and Experian.

If you want to know whats on your credit file, you can pay a fee (think its about £2 through the post or about £12 online)

Certain factors affect your score and this is all explained by these companies.

If you have loans and have met repayments on time, this will boost your score. The regular change of address will detract from your score. Being on the electoral role will increase your score (strange one that)

Put down your partner as the person to be credit checked (if he is on the tenancy agreement, or maybe use him as a guarantor, if he is willing).

Employers reference will weigh well in your favour.

Good luck.

richgirl

fluffydicejc wrote:

hi there,

I'm 23, unemployed for a year, graduate who's just been told that my landlady wants to sell the flat i have lived in for a year.

I live with my partner whos working to pay my rent while i continue to look for ANY work.

since this bombshell, we've had to start looking for a new place to rent but i'm worried about the credit check that the new letting agency will want. What kind of check is it? we've never missed a payment always been good with everything.

i've been living off my savings for a year and constantly been in my overdraft, sometimes maxing it out to £1500, but then putting my savings in to save me. i've also got the standard student loan and because of university i've had (including this one), 6 addresses! I'm a good girl though! help, i'm really worried!

my partner's always in his overdraft but works himself out of it, he's paid off his car loan about 4 months ago and he's had about 4 addresses.

should i be worried? what kind of check is it? my old landlady said she'd be my reference, but will this help at all? people don't want the unemployed in their house but would they be fine if i can prove i've always paid???

hope someone can put my mind at rest, or tell me the damage.

kris

Hi

theres an online credit score checker at http://www.moneyforums.co.uk/credit_score_calculator.php

I have done a quick entry of the facts youve given, and I don't think its goign to look good, i.e. your credit score, probably the unemployment and lack of credit history will be a big negative.

fluffydicejc

Thanks for your responses.

it looks a little bleak to me. i'm making sure i'm on the electoral register and trying to work out if my partner could be the one who is put down as paying for the rent..... i'm not sure if that's possible as i'll still have to sign the tenancy agreement?


i'm wondering if i get my parents to be guarantors. would this help???

any more ideas would be sooo grateful!!!!

i'm applying for jobs (trust me, i'm not fussy and have had my cv looked at)and just hope that i get one this next month. got to keep my spirits up, but it is hard after a year of unemployment.

kris

fluffydicejc

Oh.. another thing... is there a way that i could bepass the addresses at university? i was using my Parents address as well and this was all the way through?????

please help.............!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

zeddy_2

Yeah, you can use your parents as guarentors - we did this when first renting as my partner was a student.

Why not just rent privately i.e. not through an estate agent. that way you avoid some fees and also they are very unlikely to do a credit check on you, going on references instead.

honestly it's just renting, most of the time the people are not that fussy. Like you say all they want to know is that you are going to pay your rent on time every month and keep the place clean and tidy. But honestly, you won't have a problem renting a place with a poor credit history. You aren't on housing benefit I presume, becuase that can sometimes work against you, but often it just depends on the market in that area. If it's slow you will get a place easily, if it's quick (like in a city or something) then you might not find it so easy.

Incidently, with your job, why don't you get work in a local shop or something, becuase doing some work is miles better than doing nothing - it always sounds better to say that you are keeping yourself busy.

Good luck though, I'm sure you'll work it all out soon.

fluffydicejc

the plan is to find a different place to rent, get the credit checks done. if there's a fuss, i'll try and see if my parents are willing to be guarentors and my old landlord whos' always said we've been great tenants, to be a referee.

if all that fails, then i'll have to sleep at friends houses until i find some work and get my stuff put into storage. i just hope it doesn't come to that. its such a worry to know where i'll be living next month. no, i'm not claiming any benefits as my credit score would take an even bigger tumble if i did. the market's slow around here, thank goodness.... oh i think i'm panicking....

thanks for all your help, please keep giving advice if you can, its so very helpful.

kris

Experian_company_representative

Just to clarify, landlords cannot access your full credit record - they can only see information on your credit report that is publicly available elsewhere, such as the edited electoral register, court judgments, bankruptcies etc. They cannot see your private credit account history. Tenant checking services also often include employer and landlord references. Check out Experian's Tenant Verifier service for further details: http://www.tenantverifier.co.uk/ These sorts of checks typically cost around £20 and some landlords may ask you to pay this. However, if you are asked to pay significantly more than this I suggest you find out why.

James

fluffydicejc

hi there,

well, its all going ok. i've got my parents being my guarantors and the estate agent says this will make the credit check come through very swiftly.

However, I was going to come onto the estate agent's costs! Obviously costs for solicitors to draw up a tenancy agreement costs a bit but they're charging us just over £300 for admin costs!!!!!!!!!!

I'm flabberghasted!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I expected it to be half of that.

when i questioned them about the admin cost, they questioned me, (because i've been asking about the credit scoring) whether i was in financial difficulty. As though i was being stupid. I persisted, saying i am just making sure i'm not being overcharged and still they persisted with making me feel bad about my credit check. I was in their office and felt humiliated by this conversation (which must have lasted for about 25 minutes going round and round) and left the situation making excuses of having to be somewhere else.

Am i overreacting? I should at least see a breakdown of their costs, shouldn't i?

I'll check out that tenant verifier, it'll help put my mind at rest, thankyou!!!

please help!

k xxxx

hazy1

Hmmmm,
Think you should really ask for a breakdown. Estate Agents have a standard contract they give to every new tenent and therefore there is no need for a solicitor to have to draw up a new one everytime. I, and many of my friends, have rented in lots of houses and I don't know anyone who has had to pay this much. Apart from your deposit you normally have to only pay an agency fee (which is normally 4/5 weeks rent) for each person which is basically the admin fee. So unless your rent is really expensive then it shouldn't be that much, I live up north though so it might be cheaper here! It sounds like they might be ripping you off a bit here, you wouldn't pay that with a private landlord for definate.

frugglewump

The most I have ever had to pay for the contract on its own is £80, which was for a shorthold tenancy agreement with our names, my parents as guarantor & the landlord's names filled in. We then had to pay 6 weeks rent as a deposit on top of that.

I would ask for a breakdown of the costs.