Please help. Worried about credit check :(

angel13

try looking on gumtree for private rentals rather than through an estate agents - lots of them also take people on benefits as even if you are on them you still need somewhere to live

our rent is very high in comparison to our income so i have a parent as our guarantor which has worked fine for us.

angel13

btw do you need a whole house or can you try a hosue share? around here there are plenty of rented properties where you share with say 3 others and all pay your proportion of the rent to the letting agency/landlord. Means you get a really nice big house and double room of your own and then you could save for a few months and then branch out into a little flat of your own.

if you have kids like i do then this is not an option of course.

btw in the OP you said about things being dark for last 12 years.... and wanting to feel safe in a house. i understand ALL of this COMPLETELY so if you need someone to chat to please pm me I go by I am living in recovery after terrible past. It all ended 8 or so years ago now but I live with it all every day - finally have a partner who I can live with so amazingly a man was allowed through the door Still have bad days as its the trust bit thats hard - im completely fine with strangers and professionals and can chat to anyone but not on a personal close friend type of way, one thing i know for sure whatever you are going through as soon as you have a safe area of your own you will feel a million times better

Madame_George

Thanks Angel. I've emailed someone on Gumtree about an hour ago, but the property has been up for about 6 weeks so don't fancy my chances of it still being available. I've been checking Gumtree everyday.

I guess I just hope for a little bit of luck. I'll keep looking over the weekend and nothing private comes up I think I'll need to try the Agency I have booked, the building is perfect for me and I won't know until I try - I'm just worried about another let down at the moment.

Thanks for your comments, can I ask what is considered affordable in terms of income vs rent. The rentals I'm looking at are about 45% of my monthly income.

angel13

45% should be fine I would have thought. when I took this house initially 3 years ago (long story) i was relocating for a new job so didnt have that salary coming in obviously, this rent on my salary alone was 50% of it and with a child they let me take it without any problems - at that point i had other parent as my guarantor. now our rent is 80% of partners salary (hence we are struggling) but we still managed to move back in to this house and we get bits of help from various benefits.

we had some excellent news FINALLY today and partner is getting a payrise so hopefully we can now start moving forward and buying a few bits and pieces that we need

Madame_George

Angel,

Just saw your second post when I'd replied to your first.

Thanks for your support, it's really something to hear some gentle words at the moment. I'm sorry to hear about your suffering, I'm glad to hear things are on the up for you.

The way I feel after coming out of 7 claustrophobic years is I couldn't share with anyone, not even family. I have a loving partner who I trust completely and I'm grateful that I can have him for nights over, but I'm needing my space definately, I can hardly spend a night with anyone without feeling stressed these days. So I'm looking for a small one bed flat, or even openplan lounge bedroom like the one I'm viewing Monday.

I'll drop you a PM Angel, thanks

angel13

if it was me i would try and look at as many properties as possible btw and the agencies as they are all different and you should get the jist of what sort they are by seeing a few. we moved out of here for 6 motnhs elsewhere (its a long story) and rented with a rubbishy letting agent - but in reality we paid for credit check etc but we are 100% sure they never actually did it and kept the money. we had a lovely house to live in - that agency only charges landlords very very small sum of money so i know i shouldnt say this but i think the ones like that are not so fussy.

btw whilst i remember (ive lived in about 18 houses in last 15 years!) i rented in the past as a student whilst on benefits. with those agencies i did not have to have a guarantor at all and that was with a student grant/loan and some benefit help as sources of income to cover a house for us.

so there are things out there

Madame_George

angel13 wrote: »

we had some excellent news FINALLY today and partner is getting a payrise so hopefully we can now start moving forward and buying a few bits and pieces that we need

Aww that's wonderful! Good things are always just round the corner, sometimes it takes hard times like these for us to realise good things happen to us and we don't notice. I'm just looking forward to reading a book again without my ex saying I turn the pages too loud! And living in a normal environment again, the BR and the effects on my spending money is nothing compared to the sense of value I'll get from freedom and a simple life in a city I love. I just hope I make it.

Really please for you and your partner I got news of a promotion too this week but it'll be next year before I feel the effects, still something to feel proud of.

x

Lightattheend

Madame_George, have you tried talking to your local housing authority? I don't wish to pry but from some of the things you've said you may qualify for a higher priority or even emergency housing? Might not be much but might be worth a call at least?

Madame_George

angel13 wrote: »

btw whilst i remember (ive lived in about 18 houses in last 15 years!) i rented in the past as a student whilst on benefits. with those agencies i did not have to have a guarantor at all and that was with a student grant/loan and some benefit help as sources of income to cover a house for us.

so there are things out there

Well thank Buddha it don't sound as bleak as I thought! I hope not, I guess just the luck of the agency. I'm hoping to take in a work ref with me, I've worked with police for 7 years so hoping that will be positive for me, you think that will help?

angel13

a promotion is excellent well done
all you need now is a little home of your own and you will be fine

i had to literally leave everything of mine and start all over again with my son in tow but its the best thing that i ever could have done - now if only i could have made myself do it sooner!

I am also very lucky as I was able to get a dog 4 years ago so made me feel a lot safer, hes very soppy and does not act like he would ever protect me of course but then when we have a stranger in the house doing repairs he does change a bit. this one time i needed to go upstairs with heating engineer and the dog forced his way through the doorway and sat at top of stairs between me and the man to make sure i was ok. so out of character for him but he was making sure i was ok - nice to know i have him here as partner works away all the time - in ireland tonight. now ive moved a few times and a new area of the country again i feel a lot safer and dont have to do the checking the whole street before i go out stuff etc etc etc. so things are brighter always than they ever were before