Any advice on first time renting and zero hours

Abstaaarrrr

I thought I'd post on here as a last ditched attempt for any advice or if any one else has this problem as surely we are not the only ones (I hope).
Just a quick bit of history, me and my partner live in the south east which has stupidly high house prices, and we are desperate for our own home. We have a two year old son and all three of us share the same room, living with my mother in law. I currently don't work as childcare is so expensive so it's just my partners wage coming in. My partner earns a decent wage before tax last year it was £36,000. We have gone down the buying our own home route and even with all the government schemes we are looking at over a year to be able to save up enough for a mortgage and in our current situation (with all three of us in one room that just seems like a lifetime). Plus I've done my research and the government schemes don't seem to be all they are cracked up to be.
So we thought about it long and hard and made the choice to rent instead as it seemed more of a quick fix. We have the money for the rent, deposit and referencing fees, we can easily afford the 2.5 times the amount of rent that they set as a guideline for being financially viable to rent the property. But we have now come across a BIG problem. My partner is on a zero hour contract. He has never worked less than 40 hours a week in over 4 years. But because of the zero hour contract no landlord will touch us. Which I do understand why, but it's just so frustrating. The only thing that could save us would be having a guarantor but needing to earn up to 36 times the amount of rent that's a very big wage well over the countries average. Unfortunately both of our families are very small and no one earns that kind of money.
I know it's a long shot but has anyone got any ideas?
Thanks

Cakeguts

There is an easy answer to this but you probably won't want to know. The South East is the most expensive part of the country to live in. The most sensible thing to do would be for either you or your partner to get a full time non zero hours contract in a cheaper area of the country. What people don't realise is that although the salaries are less further north the house prices, rents and general cost of living mean that you are actually better off than trying to survive on what is a low salary for the cost of living in the South East.

BadBehaviour

I'm renting as part time. You need to pay at least 6 months upfront (12 depending on estate agent/landlord).

Sandhy

We are in the South East too, both working part time (not zero hours) but with fixed contracts, and plenty of overtime which we grab whenever we can. In theory we don't meet the 'affordability criteria'. (We're not on benefits either)
We found the way round this 'affordability' is to save up 6 months rent and offer it in advance ~ don't forget to allow a buffer for fees etc. Over the course of the next 6 months save up for the next 6 ... and repeat. We get by. Good luck

AnotherJoe

Abstaaarrrr wrote: »

I thought I'd post on here as a last ditched attempt for any advice or if any one else has this problem as surely we are not the only ones (I hope).
Just a quick bit of history, me and my partner live in the south east which has stupidly high house prices, and we are desperate for our own home. We have a two year old son and all three of us share the same room, living with my mother in law. I currently don't work as childcare is so expensive so it's just my partners wage coming in. My partner earns a decent wage before tax last year it was £36,000. We have gone down the buying our own home route and even with all the government schemes we are looking at over a year to be able to save up enough for a mortgage and in our current situation (with all three of us in one room that just seems like a lifetime). Plus I've done my research and the government schemes don't seem to be all they are cracked up to be.
So we thought about it long and hard and made the choice to rent instead as it seemed more of a quick fix. We have the money for the rent, deposit and referencing fees, we can easily afford the 2.5 times the amount of rent that they set as a guideline for being financially viable to rent the property. But we have now come across a BIG problem. My partner is on a zero hour contract. He has never worked less than 40 hours a week in over 4 years. But because of the zero hour contract no landlord will touch us. Which I do understand why, but it's just so frustrating. The only thing that could save us would be having a guarantor but needing to earn up to 36 times the amount of rent that's a very big wage well over the countries average. Unfortunately both of our families are very small and no one earns that kind of money.
I know it's a long shot but has anyone got any ideas?
Thanks

I'd have thought that would wipe out any chance of saving for a deposit and for the sake of a year and a quick fix, make it much more difficult to improve your circumstances.

In your position, I'd look to move or if thats an absolute no-no, stick with it for a year. Though also, if you are looking for a mortgage in a years time and partner is still on zero hours, thats going to damage your chances of getting a mortgage anyway.

If your partner could get a job elsewhere at less wage, say 2/3 current wage but houses are half the price, you would be in a much better position (especially if the 2/3 was no from a zero hours contract either) You would also find that childcare was much cheaper plus as your child gets older you'd have more opportunities to earn, that with lower childcare is a win-win.

Otherwise, unless your partner is in a position where his wages will advance substantially, you are probably locked into renting indefinitely.

Abstaaarrrr

Thanks for your messages. I've considered all of what you have said but the problem is my partner recently completed a HGV course paid for by the company he works for. So is stuck with them for another year unless we pay them back the money for the course. So we can't move else where or even change to a different company if we wanted to. Plus the general field that he works in can be very unstable with many other companies going bust so the zero hour contract aside the company is a good one to work for as they are quite big and have other sister companies etc. I'm hoping on Monday he can go in and speak to the bosses and see if there is anything they can do about his contract as not everyone has a zero hour contract. Not holding out much hope though. I had a quick Google this morning and saw that you can find companies that will be a guarantor for you. I have no idea how that works, can anyone give their opinion on these?
Many thanks

wolfplayer

We're heading into 2017, when Section24 begins. It clamps in stages to 2020. Most BTL landlords appear to be oblivious to it. One on the forum the other day who hadn't heard about it, even though it was announced in Summer Budget 2015. The BTLers who don't know all about Section24 must be totally absorbed in living the bubble good life imo. Only valid excuse for a BTL landlord not to know all about Section24 is to have just awoken from a coma.

Point being, I expect a lot of BTL landlords to begin selling because their tax obligations will jump as their relief gets cut, and some BTL to find themselves in a difficult position to find CGT. Can't wait to see how that affects wider market. May give you, and me, opportunity to buy a house at a price that workers can actually pay, and find out more of the spiv BTLers and speculators.

In the meantime you have the advantage of somewhere to stay, even if it is only a room with MIL. If you're paying only a token sum to cover costs, perhaps treat yourselves a bit more, whilst continuing to save? A few more meals out, or weekend getaways? Tough it out a bit longer imo. Much better times are coming for those who have not been greedy or piled into debt, imo. You're not the only person I know in situation you've set out, and they're making the best of it.

AnnieO1234

If the company is so large that your dh works for would it be possible to locate further north? There is a depot close to us that normally houses an HGV company based in Cornwall but has drivers up here (Derbyshire) to drive northwards. Xxx

mary.f

if you are renting first time, you must be unaware of hassle and chaos at time of moving, therefore consider taking help from removing companies as they can reduce down the hassle of shifting.

xylophone

Why not stay where you are, save as hard as possible (do you both have HTB ISA/are you taking advantage of high interest current accounts) and take advantage of the year that your partner must stay with his company to explore other regions of the UK where housing is cheaper and your partner can get full time work on a standard contract?

Have you considered part time work for yourself? Are you sure that you would not be eligible for help with the cost of child care?

Or could your MIL not babysit in the evenings while you work?