Why Will Landlords Not Accept Upfront Rental Payments?

theartfullodger

Some landlords will accept upfront payment.

As a landlord when tenants offer 6 or 12 months upfront I take it as a warning flag that there may be ...
- plans for 'nabis farms
- plans for brothels...
- there's an affordability (after initial payment) or credit-worthiness horror to be hid from me...

G_M

glasgowdan wrote: »

Try gumtree for direct landlord ads, and local newsagents/post office windows

but make sure the 'landlord' really IS the landlord. Gumtree hosts scams, eg an outgoing tenant says they are the LL, shows you round the property, takes your deposit/advance rent, then vanishes........

dekaspace

I suppose theres no perfect scenario, in my student days and my now benefit days I have had landlords tell me that they want 6 months rent in advance to rent to me and when I say I can't afford it they say its about the risk, then other times I have been turned down simply for being a student/on benefits and told them I can pay 2/3 months in advance and a deposit and told theres no guarantee I will pay.

So each landlord has different standards.

Eliza_2

I've never used an agency. Lots of landlords round here still don't trust the internet so use the good old fashioned methods, local newspaper, shop windows and most importantly, word of mouth. I've never been credit checked by a landlord, they're much more likely to go by their gut instincts - if they like you, if you seem respectable, if you know people they know and so on. They're often just an individual with a house going spare, rather than a 'business' that you'd find a website for - and yes, I know, being a landlord is a business etc etc. Farmers have spare cottages, holiday cottages no longer viable as such so want to rent longer term, family members have died leaving an inherited house and so on. Would never think to advertise on the internet.

Good luck.

Carl31

On our first rental property i paid 6 months upfront in advance in return for a rather large discount (25%)

that was in 2010 though, different market now

[Deleted User]

You might find that from a LL's point of view, if you didn't pay after the six months, it will take them another 2 months at least to evict you.., add on another month (or more) most LL's would wait for payment before initiating court action. It adds up to quite an amount. Not having a guarantor can be a major problem. I didn't have one and very nearly lost the house I was looking at on move in day (first time LL asked for a guarantor).

However, if you can go directly to a private LL, with clear proof of 8 years of rental payments, bank statements showing you conduct your finances well (hoping you do now), you might be able to persuade them. If you have CCJ's, you will not make it through an LA's credit check without a guarantor.

Personally, I'd be building up my credit standing..,should have done it before really.