The difficulty in finding a house to rent?

Cakeguts

Never take the kids with you anyway if the property you are viewing is not vacant.  It isn't fair on the present occupiers to have someone else's kids running around all over the place.

GeordieGeorge

Deleted_User said:

GeordieGeorge said:

Deleted_User said:

GeordieGeorge said:

How are you dressed and presented when you view? As well as wanting the rent paid on time landlords also hope for their property to be looked after and rightly or wrongly someone whose shirt is freshly pressed, who’s shoes are polished, and who seems “professional” gives a better impression on that front.

It’s the letting agent that does the viewings, the letting agent knows us knows we’ve never missed a payment, it’s him who is giving us priority of whatever properties he gets.

They are also likely to have the word “professional” in a great many of the landlords’ preferences. I have it in mine, and leave it up to the agents to make a judgement as to what that means.

The professional thing seems to have vanished around here, probably because professional wouldn't be renting in the first place or those who do is only short term while they build or buy their first home.

My tenants are always professionals, often people who aren’t British so don’t want to buy as they’ll likely be off somewhere else for their next job.

One couple just like knowing that they don’t have to worry about anything other than paying rent.

Gavin83

yksi said:

You talk about suspicion that some kind of process isn't being followed and you indicate you're being treated unfairly but that you don't really have proof the agents are doing the wrong thing. I have bad news for you, you don't have any rights to any particular process in this regard. Here is how it goes.

Owner asks the agent to find them a tenant. Agent advertises property. People show interest; it's the agent's job to vet them according to any wishes of the owner (the owner can say they don't want kids in the property, for example). There is no legal protection for a family rejected for no reason other than having kids, and in fact, if the agent doesn't tell you why you weren't successful, there's nothing you can do. Basically they're allowed to pick who gets to rent it and it's tough.

The best tenants are always two working adults without any kids. Always. So even if you have the rent money ready to go, there was probably a couple who also applied and have no kids. The owner and the agent both know that's a better tenant and the risks of damage or missing rent are lower. Sorry, but life can be unfair like that. A few years ago they might not have had any better applications than yours, but in today's market they can pick and choose.

As for being suspicious about a property being available in the morning but gone in the afternoon, it's fact right now. Properties get dozens of applicants within hours of going online. The agent probably told you the truth. You were just too slow - you should not be surprised when you yourself know there are hardly any properties available!

If I was a landlord I’d rather have tenants without kids or pets. I’d also want a couple rather than a single person and I’d rather both people could pay the rent entirely with their own salary. Given how likely redundancies will be in the near future and how hard it is to evict tenants these days I’d consider this vital. I certainly wouldn’t take anyone on benefits and would choose a so called professional, they’ll be easier to take to court and get money from should the need arise.

Above is harsh but I suspect many landlords would have similar criteria. During a period where there are so many more prospective tenants than available houses I suspect landlords can afford to be picky. Added to this everyone wants the lovely house in the nice area (which are super rare as a rental) and it becomes even harder.

Saying this I would never choose to be a landlord. It’s too much hassle these days and the law is way in the favour of the tenant. I doubt this has helped the situation either.

Gavin83

Cakeguts said:

Never take the kids with you anyway if the property you are viewing is not vacant.  It isn't fair on the present occupiers to have someone else's kids running around all over the place.

This is fair as well. I’d be fuming if I was a tenant and a new potential tenant brought their kids along. I’d consider whether I’d even let them in. I’ve got a nervous cat, lots of places kids could hurt themselves and a lot of stuff that kids would want to play with and poke. Added to this most parents can’t control their kids, especially when they’re focusing on something else it’s a potential recipe for disaster.

Slinky

I agree with the comments about kids not going in your favour.

Another point would be do you smoke? Even if you 'only smoke outside' if smoke can be smelt on your clothing or breath, it's not going to be something that helps tick the yes box.