Problems renting with bad credit? Child?

paintpot

Hi

I am a landlord and would be hesitant about you being honest but to reassure you I have let to a tenant with a CCJ and it was through a letting agent but I took precautions.

Firstly, if a tenant tells me fibs and I find out through the credit check then they are discarded immediately for lying. If they tell me the truth about their credit history then I make a judgement whether to progress. Honesty is the best policy and then you don't run as high a risk of wasting money on the checks only to be rejected. Subject to the state of someone's finances, their honesty, whether they have a guarantor and their status ( would credit check them aswell and also ideally they would be a homeowner and must have the income to be able to cover the said rent) I might consider the tenant, I might also ask for an additional deposit, more rent up front, I would want to know your income and I would scrutinise your bank statements especially looking for returned payments and charges, obtain landlord references and employer references and then make a decision based on my findings.
Have you thought about looking at your own credit report - anyone can apply for one, I've used Equifax before, you can buy a report about your own credit history for about £2 - just a thought as you seem unsure about what it will show. At least you could show that to any agents/landlords and see what they think before wasting your time. Some landlords are not as throrough as I have mentioned and as for children, I rent my houses to lots of families with children.

HTH

GarethK wrote: »

Hi everyone,

Next year we will be moving back to Norfolk and i have a couple of concerns.

Firstly we will have a newborn, does this put of landlords to the same extent as having a dog or cats? They dont really cause any problems until toddler age of course...

Secondly, my credit rating is bad. I have passed all checks on our current house, and have never failed to pay rent for any of the properties i have rented, but come April time, i am dreading the checks incase something bad comes up. My father has been a guaruntor on both occasions because my income isnt high, but does cover the house at least!

It would be nice to speak to a landlord direct rather than going through an agency, but dont know the right avenues to go through, any recommendations?

Gareth

clutton_2

paintpot and i have almost exactly the same attitude to prospective tenants who may have CCJs and i also have a fine tenant who has a CCJ - turns out it was for the last payment (disputed) on a washing machine he bought a few years back - he moved and never knew about it till i showed him his credit report. I could tell he was genuinely shocked.

I dont offer liars a tenancy either - oopppss sorry - not saying You are a liar !!

good luck

paintpot

Absolutely clutton, I also do my own viewings with the tenant even though the agent would do them if I required but I prefer to meet tenants and I rely on gut feeling along with all the checks. If I don't like/trust someone, they don't get the house, sorry if that sounds harsh. I do have some set criteria with my agents but other than those, i'd be seriously annoyed if they turned someone down on my behalf without checking with me first.

clutton wrote: »

paintpot and i have almost exactly the same attitude to prospective tenants who may have CCJs and i also have a fine tenant who has a CCJ - turns out it was for the last payment (disputed) on a washing machine he bought a few years back - he moved and never knew about it till i showed him his credit report. I could tell he was genuinely shocked.

I dont offer liars a tenancy either - oopppss sorry - not saying You are a liar !!

good luck

GarethK

Thanks for the comments everyone.

The problem is a lot of people may see CCJ = Criminal.

My guaruntor is a house owner, good credit history and has done the same for me before on previous properties because according to the rules, i dont earn enough! I've never had to rely on him to pay my rent though and budgeting is the key.

In fact i have been chipping away at my outgoings so affordability isnt the issue and i have plenty of bank statements to back up my earnings.

I agree that honesty is the best policy also, i also feel that if you are moving into someones house you should meet them and not the letting agent, if your experienced landlord and know how it works you shouldnt really need the services of a letting agent as they are rip off artists in my opinion and dont always have the best interests of the LL at heart.

It's also worth mentioning i've still not had contact with my current LL! I tried contacting her and she would have missed calls from me (no voicemail) and i would have expected a reply back, maybe she feels guilty?

I can only think the real reason for giving us notice is the fact she has had pressure for the letting agent to get the property on a ASH tenancy agreement and not on a periodic one which we are on now, for the area we also pay at the bottom end for this house, even though its tiny and £550 is alot, similar properties are going for £650..

Who knows..

I've done a credit check but the system is down, it took my card details first though, nice!

I have 4 properties to look at, 2 private, 2 agency. I will have no problems is saying i have bad credit, i really cannot afford to lose £2-300 quids worth of fees before we even get into a house, and of course i have to clear up the bills here first (water bill etc)

If all goes to plan i hope to make a decision tomorrow and then give the LA notice so i am not liable to pay more rent for this place than needed, will give Victoria more time to rest before she is due too.

Gareth

GarethK

Sadly one of the houses we were going to look at has now been agreed to let.

Given the following points can anyone see any reasons why i will be refused to let a property -

I earn approx 17k, but still require a guaruntor. He has good credit, good wages and is a house owner. I can provide excellent references, proof of income etc. Bad points, i have possibly one CCJ (i still cannot check the experian site its down) and just generally bad credit from past debts which are now under control. Never had rent arrears. No problems with checks on last move.

What do people reckon?

clutton_2

i would be honest and explain why you have a CCJ, what it was for, when, and how you are sorting things out now - take bank statements with you to show regular repayments on debt, and proof of rent paid to previous landlords - the more honest and upfront you are in my view, the better. But then i dont take credit check fees off folks who i know i wont want as tenants anyway - i;d rather tell me its let.

paintpot

Hi

Some landlords will refuse you unfortunately due to bad credit especially if you have a CCJ. However, other's won't so persevere. Have all your paperwork in order, put your landlord on notice that you will require a reference, see if they can put something in writing to you stating how long you have lived there, the condition of the house whilst you have resided and the fact the rent has always been on time - the landlord may want to call them to verify the truth so produce your old tenancy as evidence that the landlord is who they say they are. Also have bank statements organised, pay slips, details of your guarantor so you aren't faffing around trying to find them when it comes to the crunch. You really need to find out if you have a CCJ, keep trying with Equifax or do a google search and see if you can find another company, I am sure there are others. You will need to be ready to explain why you have defaulted on other credit arrangements and be able to show how you are keeping up your payments as well as affording you rent so a budget of your income and expenditure would show a landlord how you are now organised with your finances.

HTH

GarethK wrote: »

Sadly one of the houses we were going to look at has now been agreed to let.

Given the following points can anyone see any reasons why i will be refused to let a property -

I earn approx 17k, but still require a guaruntor. He has good credit, good wages and is a house owner. I can provide excellent references, proof of income etc. Bad points, i have possibly one CCJ (i still cannot check the experian site its down) and just generally bad credit from past debts which are now under control. Never had rent arrears. No problems with checks on last move.

What do people reckon?

blue_monkey_2

Paintpot & Clutton - do you get a CCJ then if you get evicted through the court? So the council are telling we have to be branded as criminals for the next 6 years then? I have to confess that I am shocked by this. I don;t mean to sounds stupid or anything but I thought a CCJ was when you did not pay your bills and get taken to court for the money. Everything is fine and paid (and we are still going to be paying for as long as we are here) mum wants us out so she can sell. So we will get a CCJ for this then? I just learn something new every damn day. What effect will this have on us can I ask?

You know, I just wish I'd told my mother shove this damn place now. We agreed to do look after this place for her and slowly renovate after it for her as it was supposed to be for when she retired (shich is not yet BTW), it flooded and she did not have insurance, once in it was hard to get out without feeling bad and feeling like we would be letting down as she would not have had the money to pay the mortgage, get it fixed, etc... so we stayed, and stayed and in the end got priced out of the housing market in this area. And for our thanks we are now stuck with a) being homeless and probably in a hostel and b) getting a CCJ because we can't afford to move and the council won't house us until we have a, what I guess, is effectively a criminal record. Does that mean that as the S21 is in both my husbands and my names we will both get one? What is the implications of that long term? I can't even tell you how sick and upset that makes me feel right now.

blue_monkey_2

Another thing Clutton and Paintpot, this is going to sound a bit daft but although you accept children, what about those with Mental Health Issues. My son has done lots of things here such as rip wallpaper off, draw on furniture, he has kncoked some holes in plaster on the walls, he is just very destructive and much as I would like to keep an eye on him 24/7 (and I do for most of the time) I do have to go to the loo and the like. However he has ruined the decor in every room here and this is why we were about to do a major redecoration when he starts school FT (the EA actually told us not to bother as the house has no heating and the people who move in will want to put it in and redecorating so it was fine as it is) however, most landlords would not be impressed by this and it is just one of the problems we have with him (along with many others) and he is just destructive. I am guessing this would have implications on everything would it. sorry to hijack your thread Gareth but as they were talking about it I thought I would ask. I guess this is another reason why council housing would be better for us as it is long term and we will have time to put right anything he destroys or ruins rather than having to get it done now. Time is not what it should be when you have a child you have to keep tabs on 24/7 and I cannot decorate when he is in the house for obvious reasons I guess.

blue_monkey_2

Gareth, do you have money to pay a huge chunk of rent up front? Does this make a difference to a landlord, if the rent is paid in this way?