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Would we get approved to rent?

I am in my final year of Uni, and my boyfriend currently lives with his parents and works - we are looking at finding a place to rent from beginning of July. (Target rent around £500).

My boyfriend currently earns £14,500 and I hope to be earning at least £13,000, so we should have between £1700 and £1800 income us per month.

We went looking round letting agents and they were saying about applying for tenancy, which would cost from £60 to £200 depending on which agents, which worries us as we might be paying money and then get refused because of our credit: we both have student loans and £1500-£2000 in overdraft, and I also have a credit card with £500 limit which has been maxed out since about christmas.

Also, we don't have a clue how much initial costs are likely to be? Do you tend to pay deposit PLUS a couple months rent in advance or what? We should have a bit over £1500 when it come to the start of june and then boyfriends wages at end of june will cover costs over the month of july (then I should have money coming in).

We're both a bit clueless and parents dont know much about renting these days so any help would be appreciated!

Cheers
«13

Comments

  • fratty
    fratty Posts: 36 Forumite
    Hi KatieF,

    We have just moved into a new rental place and the costs were as follows:

    Lease Fee: £60 +VAT
    Reference Fee: £50 per person + VAT
    Dilapidation Deposit: 1.5 months rent (for us that was £1,350)
    plus obviously one months rent in advance when move in for us £900
    so a grand total of £2,508.50 to move in.

    Obviously this is dependant upon your rent amount etc, but it gives a rough idea....

    Can't really answer re: credit cards etc... I know that the application form is credit checked, but I guess as long as your payment history is good then I don't think there would be any problems?!

    Someone else maybe along shortly with a more info!

    P :-)
    .... if you don't like what I say, then don't listen....

  • KatieF
    KatieF Posts: 44 Forumite
    What are the lease fee and reference fee precisely?

    I presume when you say dilapidation deposit thats the money that the landlord holds for if you trash the house?
  • scotgirl
    scotgirl Posts: 805 Forumite
    When we rented the lease fee is the fee to the letting agent and the reference fee is the fee they charge to check you references - both previous landlods and credit reports.
    The Best Things in Life Are Free
  • You should be absolutely fine renting. You should be given the opportunity to have Guarantor on your lease which effectively means that the Guarantor (a parent?) signs the lease as well and is responsible for covering the rent if you do not pay it. It is a great way for young people to be accepted. Your Guarantor would need to be referenced too.

    The lease fee is often to cover the cost of drawing up the tenancy agreement and reference fee is to cover the cost of referencing.

    We charge 2 months deposit (because we have 70 residential properties) but most landlords charge 1 month/6 weeks. We would then ask for one months in advance for rent (unless they move in mid month in which case we just ask for the rent to the end of the month).

    Your credit card at £500 really won't be an issue, they will just want to check that 1) you are earning enough to cover the rent, 2) you don't have any CCJ's or defaults against you and 3) (Most importantly) you appear nice and trustworthy tenants!

    Delapidation deposit (deposit) is held until the end of the tenancy to cover any damages. These are now held under the Tenancy Deposit Scheme which for tenants are a sure and safe way of ensuring that the landlord does not keep the deposit unecessarily. It is basically protected by a government run scheme and they get involved if any money needs to be kept back.

    Sorry, I have waffled but hope this helps! From what you say, I would have no problem renting to you.
  • KatieF
    KatieF Posts: 44 Forumite
    That is very reassuring! It's so hard to know what is expected of us!

    Will it matter that I will only be starting my job at almost the same time as our tenancy begins? (Our moving up here permanently is dependant on me getting a job offer)
  • peter999
    peter999 Posts: 7,102 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Have you seen folllowing thread:

    Can we afford to rent??!!
    http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=432816

    peter999
  • KatieF
    KatieF Posts: 44 Forumite
    Yes, I've seen that one - it answered some of my issues with our budget (which I think we'll be fine with once we're on normal month-to-month expenditure), its just the initial viability that I have problems with!!
  • KatieF
    KatieF Posts: 44 Forumite
    Oh, and also, if we are looking to move in at the end of june/start of july, when would be the sensible time for us to be looking?? I don't know how far in advance you do these things
  • KatieF wrote: »
    That is very reassuring! It's so hard to know what is expected of us!

    Will it matter that I will only be starting my job at almost the same time as our tenancy begins? (Our moving up here permanently is dependant on me getting a job offer)

    Not at all, just as long as you can prove you have a job offer you should be fine. They will want to have clarification of this from your new employer.
  • KatieF wrote: »
    Oh, and also, if we are looking to move in at the end of june/start of july, when would be the sensible time for us to be looking?? I don't know how far in advance you do these things

    That's a difficult one because it often depends on the notice period of the previous tenant. We ask for 2 months to vacate at the end of a calendar month but everyone is different. If you are looking June/July, there is no harm is seeing what is out there but you are probably a little early. You want to really look hard mid to end of May as that will probably give you properties coming back end of June. Remember, the good thing about renting is that even if the property you find doesn't tick every box but is vacant when you need it, if you can just sign up for 6 months fixed term initially, you can always move!
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