Renting credit checks

Mysterymoomoo

Hi there
Im new here and am seeking some advice. My partner and I are looking for a property to rent, we are both in full time employment. We know that there will be credit checks, my partners credit history is good, mine is not so good. I have one ccj which I am paying off monthly (wont be finished until 2010) and three defaults, relating to 2006, one I have just finished paid off but wont get the satisfaction letter until later this month, the second well thats next on my list to pay off. The third is a catalogue debt which is in dispute.

So my question is how in depth are the credit checks that letting agents do, could we get rejected because of my poor history? My mum has offered to be a guarantor for me, but Im concened they will say no at the first hurdle.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

MMM

wannabedebtfreee

Hi, We Have Recently Been Through The Same, We Just Applied In My Name, I Was Subject To An Iva. This Of Course Showed Up, But Luckily We Knew The Landlord So Once He Was Informed Of The Credit Checks, We Approached Him And We Completely Honest With Him, He Made A Few Enquiries As To What An Iva Was And Decided To Give Us A Chance, We Paid A Deposit And 2 Months Rent In Advance, This Seemed To Go A Long Way Into Reassuring The Landlord. Honesty Paid Off, But I Do Know That If They Would Have Turned Us Down A Guarantor Would Have Been Acceptable, Provided Their Credit Is Ok. Hope This Helps.

lil_me

wannabedebtfree - if you type in capitals that's what happens to your text

MMM - similar thread http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=854767
The thread suggests ways you may be able to persuade landlords to accept you as tenants if there are credit history issues.

They are a credit check as any credit card/bank would do, it would show your CCJ and defaults. Not every landlord credit checks but many do. If the landlord refuses to accept those with a poor credit history I would guess it would be worth mentioning ALL of your issues to the agent first and if you can guarantee refusal for a bad credit history consider if it is worth wasting money on fees for this property. Any persons over 18 for the property we are in required a credit check and to be named on the tenancy so wouldn't have been able to get out of it by putting one persons name on the agreement. If your Mam is a guarantor you would likely need to pay for her to be credit checked and with the company we rented through any guarantors need to earn at least 3 times the rent, some ask for 4 times.

Sammy85_2

Be honest with the LL or LA from the off. They'll think better of you than if you leave it til the report comes in!

Offer to pay rent upfront. Say 6 months. It shows you are serious and that your credit issues will not be a problem for the LL.



Good luck

guyrulius

Sammy85 wrote: »

Be honest with the LL or LA from the off. They'll think better of you than if you leave it til the report comes in!

Offer to pay rent upfront. Say 6 months. It shows you are serious and that your credit issues will not be a problem for the LL.

Good luck

Sorry Sammy but I don't think that the 6 months rent in advance is good advice in the current climate unless the money goes into an escrow account with a solicitor. You can't be sure that the LL is not in difficulty and that after 2 or 3 months you might find yourself being turfed out as the place is repossessed.

The tenants are going to come off last in a list of creditors.

I have gone through rental checks with a ccj (albeit 4 years old back in 2003) without any problems.

PROFESSIONAL_LANDLORD

Sammy85 wrote: »

Be honest with the LL or LA from the off. They'll think better of you than if you leave it til the report comes in!

Offer to pay rent upfront. Say 6 months. It shows you are serious and that your credit issues will not be a problem for the LL.

I've taken on a few tenants who have been truthfull regarding their previous poor credit history, some with guarantors, some without.


Never taken an offer of 6 months up front from a prospective tenant, who's been found tellin porkies, never will.

Sammy85_2

I would never touch a tenant that had told porkies.

We do however have a very nice lady living in one of our properties who had a poor credit history. During her divorce she ended up in alot of debt and CCJ's against her. She told us before we ran the credit checks exactly what would come up and she offered 6 months rent in advance.

Without her honesty and the guarantee that we'd get more than just the first couple of months rent and then nothing, we probably wouldnt have touched her.

guyrulius, it works both ways..

LL's are usually the last on a tenants list of creditors when they get into financial difficulty!! They'd rather pay off the baliffs than deal with the LL, especially when they know it will take months to evict them anyway...
With more and more people getting into financial difficulty after years of spending beyond their means a LL needs to know that the tenant can keep paying the rent!