Problems finding a home

Gustav37

I was wondering if anyone has any advice as I feel I am presently in an impossible situation.
My partner and I have been told by our landlord he is selling up, and we have had a prior warning (the sale isn't finalised yet) but we know sometime this summer we will have to move. As we've been given the heads up early on, we are looking for a private rental, but none are forthcoming despite numerous applications. We are trying to get a mortgage, but have been told we can't get the full amount we would need for a house. We are going to try this option again at the end of the tax year, to see whether the new tax report makes this amount increase. We have also applied for the local council housing list, as we are on a low income and if by the time we get to the end of the section 21 we haven't found anywhere ourselves, this may be the only option.
What muddies the water is that I and my partner are self-employed and work from home. Also, my partner has 3 CCJs (all satisfied about 4-5 years ago), but they are still on file.  We also have pets (which is off-putting to some landlords). My partner's credit score is dire, though thankfully mine is good for the area we live in.
However, one thing we have to our benefit is our current landlord was rather slack at the start of our tenancy - we were given no paperwork (energy rating, etc.) and the deposit wasn't protected in time - so at least (I believe) this would make any section 21 invalid.
But does anyone have any advice on how to private rent, given all the above? Also, how do we get a mortgage for a house? At present we feel trying either of these is pointless, given how the market for them is at the moment.
Thanks in advance for any replies.

RAS

Well, as you realise, you won't be moving out this summer, the LL can whistle.

How long have you been self-employed? In which month do the CCJs fall off your partner's credit record? Do they have other bad markers there?

Gustav37

We've been self-employed since the end of 2021, so way over a year now.
The CCJs will be on for six years, so they won't be off file until another 1-2 years. Unfortunately, they weren't satisfied under a month, two were two months and the other four. Apart from those CCJs, they don't have any other bad credit issues.

Emily_Joy

Since you work from home, can you relocate to a cheaper area? Sometimes moving as little as 10 miles makes a huge difference. 

theoretica

Do you rent directly from your LL or through an agent?  Any chance to lean on LL or agent to help you find a new property to rent?

gwynlas

Very unlikely to get a mortgage without 3 years accounts. Do you have savings to pay six months rent in advance? Dependent on where you live you might get on a list for social housing but this is very much dependant on local politics.

MobileSaver

Gustav37 said:

how do we get a mortgage for a house?

With CCJs still showing, only recently becoming self-employed and a low income, you have to be realistic that a mortgage is not going to happen any time soon.

RAS said:

Well, as you realise, you won't be moving out this summer, the LL can whistle.

While @RAS is sort of correct in that you don't have to move out in the summer, it may actually be in your interest to work with the LL and agree a mutually beneficial end to the tenancy in return for a reference. Given your circumstances a good reference may be the difference between securing a decent new rental or not.

pinkshoes

Gustav37 said:

I was wondering if anyone has any advice as I feel I am presently in an impossible situation.
My partner and I have been told by our landlord he is selling up, and we have had a prior warning (the sale isn't finalised yet) but we know sometime this summer we will have to move. As we've been given the heads up early on, we are looking for a private rental, but none are forthcoming despite numerous applications. We are trying to get a mortgage, but have been told we can't get the full amount we would need for a house. We are going to try this option again at the end of the tax year, to see whether the new tax report makes this amount increase. We have also applied for the local council housing list, as we are on a low income and if by the time we get to the end of the section 21 we haven't found anywhere ourselves, this may be the only option.
What muddies the water is that I and my partner are self-employed and work from home. Also, my partner has 3 CCJs (all satisfied about 4-5 years ago), but they are still on file.  We also have pets (which is off-putting to some landlords). My partner's credit score is dire, though thankfully mine is good for the area we live in.
However, one thing we have to our benefit is our current landlord was rather slack at the start of our tenancy - we were given no paperwork (energy rating, etc.) and the deposit wasn't protected in time - so at least (I believe) this would make any section 21 invalid.
But does anyone have any advice on how to private rent, given all the above? Also, how do we get a mortgage for a house? At present we feel trying either of these is pointless, given how the market for them is at the moment.
Thanks in advance for any replies.

In which case I would suggest, when the LL wants/needs you to move out, that he returns your deposit in full in advance, gives you a GLOWING reference, then an extra £XXX to help you pay for any moving costs.

For council housing you are normally advised to stay until the S21 is taken to court (which will fail if invalid) and then bailiffs arrive at your door.

For another private rental, a glowing reference from the LL saying how you have never missed a rent payment would help.

As for buying a house, you will need to speak to a mortgage broker if your partner still has CCJs on file. Self employed isn't an issue if the accounts go back a long way to show income. You'll also need a hefty deposit.

Gustav37

The only issue with moving 10 miles or more is my partner has a daughter who goes to college - she is willing to get the bus as far as she needs to, but my partner isn't keen to make her travel too far (I know how horrible a long commute can be). So, this complicates the situation a little further.
We rent directly from the landlord. He is currently in the process of selling all his properties so he can move to Spain, so asking him for another rental is not an option.
We can pay six months upfront, and this is something we have been putting on our applications so far.
We can also provide a fairly hefty deposit courtesy of my mother-in-law, who won the lottery (lucky her!) and is generous enough to have offered.
We have approached a broker and spoken already. She has advised we wait until the beginning of April, as our tax return for 2021-22 was our 'start-up' 6 months, so the next will be a full return for the whole year 2022-23. I have arranged another appointment with her, so fingers crossed we can get some more money on a mortgage. At the moment, we are stressed about not having a roof over our heads, so exploring any and all options.

Emily_Joy

Gustav37 said:

The only issue with moving 10 miles or more is my partner has a daughter who goes to college - she is willing to get the bus as far as she needs to, but my partner isn't keen to make her travel too far (I know how horrible a long commute can be).

Colleges around where we live actually have reasonable bus connections that do go as far as 10+ miles radius from them. It is not so bad commute if you have a direct bus that takes you almost door to door. I also used to love it when I was in college myself - the journey home gave me a bit of time to relax before sitting down again for homework.

diystarter7

RAS said:

Well, as you realise, you won't be moving out this summer, the LL can whistle.

How long have you been self-employed? In which month do the CCJs fall off your partner's credit record? Do they have other bad markers there?

Hi

The highlighted bit is very poor advice to the OP and their OH. How do you think that will help the OP finding another property when they ask for references?

OP, your LL seems like a good one and caring  to an extent hence the extra notice. Work with the LL

As anoher poster suggested, try LA's?

The pets will be a problem IMO but you may get LL's that love pets and readily allow pets

Save harder, possibly offer above the rental rate is an idea, by a small margin may persuade someone that may not
have otherwise agreed.

Provide evidence that you paid rent on time, without problems and kept the present home clean and tidy etc to support your application etc

Good luck