Lettings - references / guarantor

jaype

Can anyone shed any light on how your income is judged by a professional referencing company when you apply to rent? My problem is that I am newly |(well, under 12 months) self employed and I'm not sure if husband's income will be allowed to cover the lot. What income would you need to support rent of 1100pcm? And can retired people be guarantors?

sooz

i've read 30 times monthly rent is required with a referencing company

retired people could be guarantors if they could show enough funds/pension income to cover your rent, plus their own living expenses.

rosysparkle

I guess you won't have any accounts yet so Letsure or similar may not be able to take your income into account.

Generally the rent should be 40% or less of the income to pass Letsure's affordability criterion, so a rent of £1100pcm means a salary of £33k.

Retired people can be guarantors if they can demonstrate sufficient income/savings to cover the rent and can pass the credit searches.

jaype

Oh dear. This is going to be a problem as husband is about 6k off. Most of my family live abroad and the friend I'd feel comfy asking such a favour is currently re-training so has little income. Would evidence we have 30k+ in savings help or do they only base it on income? Would parents still have to have 30x my share of rent? I really begrudge it as to ref my parents will cost another £57!

peter999

You're adults, why would anyone ask for a Guarantor ??
Why ask for a Guarantor other than for young people who can rely on parents.

No disrespect, I would not act as a Guarantor to a friend.

peter999

scrummy_mummy_2

peter999 wrote: »

You're adults, why would anyone ask for a Guarantor ??
Why ask for a Guarantor other than for young people who can rely on parents.

No disrespect, I would not act as a Guarantor to a friend.

peter999

A guarantor is required when one (however old you are) cannot prove income or is unable to cover the liability of rent alone, or there are issues (such as outstanding CCJ's or possible 'risks' associated with the individual concerned as a possible tenant...thus, young people (who generally don't earn much) often need a guarantor to get a rental property, because their wages generally aren't enough to afford to rent!
Others need a guarantor if, for example, they have just begun their own business and can't prove income or indeed their salary doesn't cover what they need on it's own, or if they have outstanding credit issues that are deemed to be 'active' like CCJ's.
A guarantor agrees to cover the financial liabilities of the main signatory if they default for any reason....there are lots of reasons a guarantor could be required. It's not an age dependent issue.

As far as the original poster is concerned...one option may be to delve into your savings. One option to get a rental property if you suspect there could be an issue with income/guarantors is to pay for the whole of the rental period up front...this would mean £6600 straight off the bat (plus deposit) but can be a way of getting round being 'scored'. It can be viewed as a bit strange suggesting you pay up front and would be subject to letting agency/LL approval, but it can be done...try explaining your circustances to the relevant agency/person and see what they say.
The worst that can happen is that they say no.
It certainly seems from what you have said so far that you would need a guarantor in your circumstances though.

Can't remember how many years published accounts you need before this income is taken into account for scoring though......????

becky_rtw

Hi There,

Not sure if this is what you mean, but when I rented my place I earned £1500pa and rented out for £660pcm plus bills which was actually over half of my (then) monthly income and I had no problems. I think the credit check the run is quite minimal.

I think they accept that if you have a good credit rating and some form of income then you can rent somewhere (within reason). I've never had any problems paying my rent (although I did get a 6K pay rise shortly after moving in).

peter999

scrummy_mummy wrote: »

A guarantor is required when one (however old you are) cannot prove income or is unable to cover the liability of rent alone, or there are issues (such as outstanding CCJ's or possible 'risks' associated with the individual concerned as a possible tenant...thus, young people (who generally don't earn much) often need a guarantor to get a rental property, because their wages generally aren't enough to afford to rent!
Others need a guarantor if, for example, they have just begun their own business and can't prove income or indeed their salary doesn't cover what they need on it's own, or if they have outstanding credit issues that are deemed to be 'active' like CCJ's.
A guarantor agrees to cover the financial liabilities of the main signatory if they default for any reason....there are lots of reasons a guarantor could be required. It's not an age dependent issue.

This is Letting Agent nonsense, because they have got away it.
Like misuse of deposits, where control has been tightened.

Who guarantees other people's debts in normal world, it's claptrap ??

peter999

jaype

Peter - I agree, it is nonsense, especially as I am a grown adult with two children and plenty of savings within the family... They should be a bit more flexible with how they score it, especially as self-employment and contract work is becoming more common. However, not much I can do about it that wouldn't result in us becoming homeless! Strangely, it would be much easier for us to get a mortgage... Go figure. (Not that we want one as there's nothing to buy locally and we have taken the decision to wait a year and see what the current market wierdness turns into).

One of the reasons why providing a guarantor would be hard is that it's a very big financial commitment and not the sort of thing you ask someone unless they're your best friend who has known you forever...