Post discharge - how long before I can rent "normally" without large upfront payment?

casterlyrock

I'm discharged from BR in May 2016 and currently living with parents. Obviously at the
moment I have no savings at all whilst studying (I don't have an
IPA/IPO). I'm a 30 year old, single guy.

How long after discharge will I be able to rent "normally" i.e rent through an estate
agents without pay a huge (6 month/12 month) deposit and just pay what a "normal" person
would pay which is usually a 6 week security deposit and one month rent.

It is going to take me AGES to save up what I need to rent in the area (average flat
rental is around £500) and for various reasons I don't want a single room, I need a 1 bed
flat. If I need a minimum of 6 months rent, plus the first month's rent and the security
deposit of 6 weeks worth plus agency fees, I'm looking at having to save around £5000
minimum.

I have zero surplus each month living with my parents, and even if worked full time
I would only have a couple of hundred surplus each month, which means it would take
me nearly 3 years(!) working full time to be able to afford to move out of my elderly
parent's house and into my own place I so desperately seek.

So how long will it take before I can rent normally? I'm not interested in dodgy classifieds in the back of the paper advertising rooms/flats, I need the security that an agency rental offers.

alltaken

No advice on the time frame, would social housing make your move faster?

casterlyrock

alltaken wrote: »

No advice on the time frame, would social housing make your move faster?

As in council type housing? I'm on the waiting list but been told to expect a wait of 5-7 years(!) as I'm not a priority being a single adult male. If I was a teenage mum with 3 kids I'd have a place tomorrow.

Rrushi_Shqiptar

If you can find a friendly local estate agent in your area they may have landlords who have 1-3 properties and are prepared to rent out to Post BR tenants, lets face it, your under scrutiny and hopefully learnt your lesson. Indeed they may be able to come to agreement over the deposit etc.

I know as we let a property and we were up front regarding my BR and showed our outgoings etc to the estate agent and landlord and they were happy to let to us, we only needed a months rent upfront. I was 3yrs into my BR then.

Don't loose heart but expect a few knock backs.

Cobalt77

casterlyrock wrote: »

As in council type housing? I'm on the waiting list but been told to expect a wait of 5-7 years(!) as I'm not a priority being a single adult male. If I was a teenage mum with 3 kids I'd have a place tomorrow.

Or, here's a more practical alternative.

Get yourself in shape and save as much as you can. Then, a couple of months before your BR ends, start looking for a nice girlfriend with her own place.

By my reckoning, it's far cheaper to invest the money in her instead of saving for a huge deposit. Plus, the M1LF sector is full of ladies who have divorced their husbands and are now looking for younger toy-boys.

Obviously, the same approach is equally suitable for our BR lady members too ;-)

Mollie_Guinness15

Hi
I rented privately without problem at the end of October this year, prior to discharge.
Just be upfront with the agent when applying and get them to sound it out with the landlord before doing the costly credit check bit. The agent we were dealing with said it was quite common these days, and their criteria take into account affordability as well as credit rating. We only had to pay one month's deposit as normal.

Good luck!

youngbuck2

rdw06 wrote: »

Hi
I rented privately without problem at the end of October this year, prior to discharge.
Just be upfront with the agent when applying and get them to sound it out with the landlord before doing the costly credit check bit. The agent we were dealing with said it was quite common these days, and their criteria take into account affordability as well as credit rating. We only had to pay one month's deposit as normal.

Good luck!

That's good to hear. I suppose mentioning it as early as possible will rule out definite yes or no answers. I guess one positive for me is that when I do eventually move again I'll be after a long term tenancy which I believe landlords prefer generally.

I won't be in a position to move until after I'm discharged anyway so it's good to hear it's not impossible.

MEM62

casterlyrock wrote: »

I have no savings at all and working part time whilst studying.

I have zero surplus each month living with my parents, and even if worked full time I would only have a couple of hundred surplus each month

Just a thought. On the basis of the above statements how are you going to afford to pay the rent??

EllieBelly

That't what I thought!

EllieBelly

MEM62 wrote: »

Just a thought. On the basis of the above statements how are you going to afford to pay the rent??

That's what I thought!

casterlyrock

MEM62 wrote: »

Just a thought. On the basis of the above statements how are you going to afford to pay the rent??

I'm not discharged til May 2016 so it won't be until after then. A couple of months after that I'll finish the course I'm doing and can work full time again.

I currently pay "lodging/housekeeping" of around £500 (including bills, food etc) to my parents. If I'm sensible about it, I should be able to afford somewhere even if it's tight financially.