Renting to bankrupts

dodecanese

Hello,
I would really appreciate some advice. I currently own my own home- due to circumstances I wont bore you with here, I have stopped the payments on my mortgage and am looking at bankruptcy and voluntary repossession.
I am hoping to rent a property and am a bit confused about the best thing to do. My credit rating at the moment is ok- but I dont want to mislead any one and and want to be as open and honest as possible. I have spoken to several letting agents and explained that although my credit references are good at the moment, I will very soon be bankrupt, so- they all want 6 months rent upfront. While not impossible, this would be difficult.
The letting agents I spoke to also said they would need to speak to the landlord to see if he/she was happy renting to a bankrupt. I would appreciate any landlords opinions on this and whether my finding a rental is going to be difficult- even with the rent upfront. I am in full time employment and have 10 years of mortgage statements showing I have never( until now) missed a payment. I have been "advised" by a couple of people ( letting agents) to not mention the bankruptcy and do the cred checks now- or find a private landlord and hope they dont find out. I dont want to do this- I want to be as up front as possible- any opions/experiences would be really helpful.

PasturesNew

It's not just bankrupts. I had oodles of cash when I went to rent and I, too, had to provide 6 months' rent up front because I had just relocated and had no job, even though I wasn't signing on and will never sign on.

It's just the way it is.

Landlords and agents like to see: personal/landlord references and credit references. Then they either want a guarantor or 6 months' rent up front.

Your only way forward is to try to find a private landlord, from somebody you know, word around at work, look online, try gumtree.com or just a small advert in your local paper.

Good luck!

For the record, my first six months is now up and I am chasing my landlord to continue paying him. He's said to me on the phone tonight that there's no rush, they trust me and know I'll be paying, so they don't see any urgency to get the bank payment set up in time even as there's no risk/I am the best tenant they've ever had. So, once you're in they aren't always as harsh the next time.

dopester

I seem to have read quite a few tales of woe recently of people who've paid 6 months upfront - only to bitterly regret it later.

Landlords being repossessed / Letting Agencies going under with their money.

Just be careful please.

dodecanese

thanks for the replies- I will indeed be careful- Im going to try and find a private landlord- be totally upfront and see how it goes- thanks again.

happinessfactory

I'm going to be flamed for this response, but anyway, here goes...

You sound like a really decent, honourable person.

Bankruptcy is a truly horrible thing, and although there are plenty of people on here who think bankrupts have only themselves to blame, it genuinely is a case of "there but for the grace of God" for most people.

But I would keep schtum about your imminent bankruptcy.

The decent, honourable people of the world rarely get treated decently and honourably, and my fear is that you could find yourself at the mercy of an unscrupulous landlord because the good ones won't touch you.

When I used to let my flat out, I was super-cautious about the quality of my tenants - the flat was my biggest financial asset and I just couldn't put it at risk. I always had plenty of applicants for tenancies, and someone who told me he was about to be declared bankrupt wouldn't have stood a chance - I wouldn't have had the nerve to take you on, when I could have had my pick of people in regular employment, even though your ability and willingness to pay would have been equal (or perhaps even greater) than theirs.

You need a roof over your head and you're going to do the right thing by the landlord by paying them the rent on time and every month. You really mustn't jeopardise your living arrangements, and those of your family if you have one, with an attack of conscience.

[HF prepares to take cover]