some questions about renting

Simba-ali34

hello,

i have a couple of questions regarding renting a property if anyone is able to help.

1) will a payslip being 13P out on the net amount compared to my bank statement cause an issue as it can sometimes occur (dont ask lol) if so would confirming my pay with my employer solve this

2) how can i make my application more successful as i hear most reservation fees are non refundable?

3) if my application was turned down is it possible to negotiate such as offer to pay half the rent upfront etc.

kind regards

Pixie5740

Landlords just want to know if you can afford the rent payments so I doubt the 13 pence difference will matter all that much.

Ask the letting agency about its fees before you hand over any money. Find out what is refundable and what is not. The letting agency should display their fees in writing on their website and front-of-house in their offices. Unless you are in Scotland where letting agency fees are unlawful.

It depends why your application is turned down as to whether you can negotiate anything further. Offering 6 months rent upfront isn't necessarily that attractive to landlords as it's a tactic employed by those who rent properties to use as cannabis farms and other illegal activities.

theartfullodger

As pixie says:

It depends what sort of checks, if any, the agent or landlord do: Since these can cost as little as £8 - see
http://credit-check-services.co.uk/tenant/
- very little if anything may actually be cross-checked...and 13p probably not noticed: If I did notice it I'd (I'm deeply cynical/suspicious..) probably assume you'd had the payslips specially printed see e.g.
http://wageslips4u.co.uk/

HappyMJ

Simba-ali34 wrote: »

hello,

i have a couple of questions regarding renting a property if anyone is able to help.

1) will a payslip being 13P out on the net amount compared to my bank statement cause an issue as it can sometimes occur (dont ask lol) if so would confirming my pay with my employer solve this

2) how can i make my application more successful as i hear most reservation fees are non refundable?

3) if my application was turned down is it possible to negotiate such as offer to pay half the rent upfront etc.

kind regards

You need to earn or have enough money to pay the rent. That's pretty much it. Benefits are usually not taken into account unless they are guaranteed for the rest of your life such as a state pension.

General calculation is you need to earn 30 times the monthly rent as annual gross (before tax) salary. 13 pence is not going to make much of a difference. You need to provide a couple of payslips if possible.

If you have bank statements showing you've held the money you are offering for the last 6 months then offering 6 months rent up front plus deposit and fees can work. At least it does for me. I don't show any payslips at all.

As long as you don't have unpaid CCJ's and especially unpaid CCJ's for rent arrears you should be fine. A landlord cannot see if you are in arrears or have defaults on your credit record so if you have them don't worry.

theartfullodger

HappyMJ wrote: »

....... A landlord cannot see if you are in arrears ...

Sensible landlords also do landlord references - from current and previous landlords and thus may well find out about rent arrears. (Current landlord reference is almost always wonderful as if there are problems they want the tenants out, quick!).

But not all landlords are sensible: Nor all tenants: Nor all MPs...

Cheers!

HappyMJ

theartfullodger wrote: »

Sensible landlords also do landlord references - from current and previous landlords and thus may well find out about rent arrears. (Current landlord reference is almost always wonderful as if there are problems they want the tenants out, quick!).

But not all landlords are sensible: Nor all tenants: Nor all MPs...

Cheers!

If you left a property with serious rent arrears and/or unpaid damages you aren't going to use them as a landlord reference. It's very easy to avoid having to provide a previous landlord reference you just say "living with parents", "living with ex-partner" or "owned previous property". Even if the referencing agency does a previous address check it won't show the residential status of the applicant.

Simba-ali34

Thank you for all the replies

ive never rented before, ive been living with parents so dont really have any utility bills so will probably have to use bank statement as proof of identity along with my passport, thats why i asked about the payslip situation as i dont wanna pay out silly letting agent fees to only be turned down and waste all that money due to a small discrepancy in a payslip, plus to save wasting that money i was hoping to maybe offer 6 months rent if i get rejected to save me fees in the long run, unless you can carry over the fees to another property at certain agents?

regards

Simba-ali

HappyMJ

Simba-ali34 wrote: »

Thank you for all the replies

ive never rented before, ive been living with parents so dont really have any utility bills so will probably have to use bank statement as proof of identity along with my passport, thats why i asked about the payslip situation as i dont wanna pay out silly letting agent fees to only be turned down and waste all that money due to a small discrepancy in a payslip, plus to save wasting that money i was hoping to maybe offer 6 months rent if i get rejected to save me fees in the long run, unless you can carry over the fees to another property at certain agents?

regards

Simba-ali

Once you are rejected that's it you can't negotiate. The LL's rental guarantee insurance would be invalid if they were to rent to you.

Simba-ali34

do landlords normally point out whats wrong and how it can be corrected if once they reject they cant negotiate? i know the landlord is risking alot in terms of his investment but its annoying thats you pay this money which is not refunded and its all up to the landlord?

Pixie5740

The landlord might not have rent guarantee insurance. I know many who don't.

OP, I suppose it depends on why you have been rejected. It could be that the landlord doesn't want to take a chance on a first time renter but if you were able to offer a guarantor that might help.

There's a good chance the letting agency won't ask to see both payslips and bank statements so the 13p discrepancy might not even be an issue.

You don't know what is and is not refundable yet. Letting agencies are a law unto themselves which is why you need to find out IN WRITING what the fees are and under what circumstances they are refundable before handing over any money.

HappyMJ

Simba-ali34 wrote: »

do landlords normally point out whats wrong and how it can be corrected if once they reject they cant negotiate? i know the landlord is risking alot in terms of his investment but its annoying thats you pay this money which is not refunded and its all up to the landlord?

The money is spent on a reference check. The reference check comes back basically as a yes or no. It doesn't usually go into details about how to correct it. If it comes back as no the LL cannot claim on rental guarantee insurance so can't let the property to you.

Being accepted to that stage means as long as you pass the referencing check the property is yours. Agencies and LL's don't (or at least shouldn't) take fees from multiple applicants and pick the best one. They should only ever work with one applicant at a time.

As long as you can provide genuine payslips, employer references from an employer with a phone book checkable land line number (to avoid the applicants using friends to act as an employer) and some bank statements you'll be fine.