Renting with no income

jamesmorgan

I am looking for some advice (probably from existing landlords). I am currently in the process of selling my house and plan to move into rented accommodation for a couple of years before buying again in a new area. I am a few years away from being able to take my pension, but am fortunate enough to have sufficient savings not to need to work. It appears that most rented accommodation in my area is being let through agents. I have a concern that the agents may be using some simplistic formula to decide whether the prospective tenant is suitable (eg based on income affordability). Is this likely to be true? If so, what is my best way to convince the agent/landlord that I am a suitable tenant?

My credit checks are likely to be excellent and I have no objection to paying 6 months rent upfront if this helps.

redcard

Just explain your situation; I'm sure they'll be falling over themselves to get you signed up.

pjread

Last time I rented they asked for salary, proof of income, credit checks etc. I said what broadly equated to "None of your business, how about I just pay 6 months in advance?". That seemed to work (got the rent lowered a bit too )

fishpond

Paying up front would be acceptable to me, providing your references checked out and I got no bad vibes having met you.

cattie

A friend was in the same situation a couple of years ago. Had come back from living in USA due to his health to make things a bit more difficult.

He managed to find somewhere & the fact that he could provide bank statements to confirm he was financially comfortable & offered 6 months rent in advance helped him enormously.

Mercurial

Yes paying 6 months rent in advance is a good move. My best tenant was someone who wasn't working due to bad health and he did this.

Sandhy

I was in much the same position as you. I was in between jobs but had enough put by to pay 6 months up front. I was accepted for this current place straight away
I still do the same even now I am now back in work. I save up my rent money then pay 6 months up front every 6 months. I've been here 2 1/2 years.

Morglin

When we considered private rentals, neither LA's nor landlords appeared to have any problem with the fact our income was savings, pensions etc., as we could supply good bank and landlord references.

Lin

jamesmorgan

Many thanks for everyone's feedback. It is reassuring to know that this is unlikely to be a problem.

the_matrix

Try gumtree. Loads of private LL list on there and they are less strict than proper agents.

I use gumtree and am very lenient. The only thing I ask for is passport to prove a person is entitled to live in the UK.

jamesmorgan

the_matrix wrote: »

Try gumtree. Loads of private LL list on there and they are less strict than proper agents.

I use gumtree and am very lenient. The only thing I ask for is passport to prove a person is entitled to live in the UK.

Thanks. I've tried gumtree, but couldn't see any private landlords for the types of houses I'm looking for in my area (3-4 bedroom, rural SW. Midlands, budget £800-£1200/month). Are there any other sites which are good to locate private landlords?