Agents & credit references - any way round it?

SuzySu

Hi

Do letting agents always do a credit check and, if so, is there any way I can find out whether I will fail? I need to rent a property in the next few weeks and, providing I can find money for the deposit etc etc, I could afford the rent.

Is there any way I can find out what THEY will find out so I know whether it's worth trying to rent through an agent.

I have seen the perfect property for me - the area I would like, no of bedrooms and the fact that they take pets. It's just a matter of getting past the agents.

Any ideas?

Batty_3

SuzySu wrote: »

Hi

Do letting agents always do a credit check and, if so, is there any way I can find out whether I will fail? I need to rent a property in the next few weeks and, providing I can find money for the deposit etc etc, I could afford the rent.

Is there any way I can find out what THEY will find out so I know whether it's worth trying to rent through an agent.

I have seen the perfect property for me - the area I would like, no of bedrooms and the fact that they take pets. It's just a matter of getting past the agents.

Any ideas?

I've always had to pay a £125 'search' fee (non-refundable) for this check and ALWAYS been told I had bad credit, despite I've rented for over 9 years in various houses and never missed rent.

HOWEVER

They nearly always ask you to provide a 'gaurantor' who is in full time employment, who would vouch for you. If you have someone willing to do this (and they have to be a very good friend to be sure you wont default) then despite the check you should be ok...... unless of course another person applies and pays the deposit before you do. I nearly lost out on once house due a rubber cheque! (Banks fault not mine)
Now they like a Bankers draft for the bond, plus first month in advance, so be sure to stash away for that ok?

So even if you had bad credit, it doesn't always mean you cant rent

Hope you get it............... I have to hide my cat on inspections!

barnaby-bear

SuzySu wrote: »

Hi

Do letting agents always do a credit check and, if so, is there any way I can find out whether I will fail? I need to rent a property in the next few weeks and, providing I can find money for the deposit etc etc, I could afford the rent.

Is there any way I can find out what THEY will find out so I know whether it's worth trying to rent through an agent.

I have seen the perfect property for me - the area I would like, no of bedrooms and the fact that they take pets. It's just a matter of getting past the agents.

Any ideas?

Standard affordability check is:

salary before tax must be greater than monthly rent multiplied by a number, the number used by most agencies is 24, the strictest is usually 30....
so if you earn 24k you can rent somewhere costing 800 to 1000 a month.

CCJ and alike count as big black marks that usually mean computer says no.

clutton_2

you can get a copy of your own credit search or £3 i think - but it will take 6 weeks to arrive. the speedier services that landlords need cost a lot more

what are you afraid they might find ?

happybroker

you can get free copies of your credit file at credit expert from Experian. You have to subscribe which i think is about £7 a month but get 30 days free with no obligation to continue your subscripton. it's instant also.

when you ring in to cancel your subscription make sure you note down the full name of the person you speak to and the date and time of the call in case they "forget" to cancel it.

If you don't have any adverse credit you shouldn't have anything to worry about, if you have then there isn't a way around it, it's there for a reason.

Remeber that the agent doesnt get paid if they don't rent the property out so they will be looking to get you in if possible i would imagine.

SuzySu

Thanks all for your helpful replies.

Batty: the search fee the agents are quoting is £205.63 which includes VAT. Don't know who I could ask to be guarantor, but I'll think on it.

Barnaby-bear: should be ok to cover this amount of rent. No CCJs, but I do have some mortgage arrears and other missed payments. Do these also count as 'big black marks'? Up until the beginning of this year I'm sure my credit history was good - no missed payments, nothing. It's only since Jan 08 that things have gone t1ts up! Will this previous good history count for anything?

Clutton: I'm not afraid they'll find out anything else, other than I have mortgage arrears and some missed payments.

Happybroker: I haven't got the spare cash to 'waste' on search fees if I can find out in advance whether I might fail. If there is a chance of my credit rating being good enough (especially with a guarantor) then I will go ahead.

Thanks for the advice so far.

clutton_2

if you have missed payments this will show up and a LL may not want you - HOWEVER - being a LL myself, what i value most is honesty - if you showed me mortgage payment history in your name from the past, current bank statements for the whole of this year, showing me that you can afford the rent i might be willing to give you a tenancy - i would prefer to have a guarantor tho - a working person who earns enough to pay their own rent/mortgage and your rent ..... there's the rub ....

jimc_2

barnaby-bear wrote: »

CCJ and alike count as big black marks that usually mean computer says no.

This has been referred to on MSE before and really depends on how the Credit Check is read.

If the Tenant has been upfront, declared the CCJ and perhaps explained why, a private Landlord might decide to overlook it as 'past history' (especially if it is, for instance, just a few hundred from student days.)

If the Tenant has tried to hide it, (or like another poster, hoped it wouldn't come up - It always does!) then it is indeed a black mark against the TRUSTWORTHINESS of the tenant.

This is true for private landlords but Letting Agents have their own rules and may take a simplistic view for their own security. You'll probably be better off talking to private landlords and explaining that you are perfectly capable of paying the rent. (They may want more upfront though.)

clutton_2

if a LL is buying rent guarantee insurance he cannot offer to a tenancy with anything negative on their file - otherwise he wont get the insurance

if you came to me with deposit in cash, . references in your hand, copies of bank statements, NI number, passport, (copied) and explained yoru circumstances i would still do checks, but would be willing to give you a go....

paintpot

Whether it's through an agent or a private landlord the key is to be upfront with them from the start i.e honest as clutton has stated and be specific about what will come up on the credit search. That shows that you actually know what is going on with your finances. I become more dubious about people who declare that something might show up on their credit check but they aren't sure what. Surely generally people know whether they have defaulted on a loan or received a ccj? If it's through an agent, once you have been honest you should ask the agent to run this past their client ie. the landlord to ensure that if the credit check comes back in line with what you have told them you would still be successful in renting the house so that you don't waste fees on credit checks and to establish whether any extra criteria might apply like guarantor or additional bond, rent up front etc. Most landlords are, and expect to be consulted over the suitability of a tenant even when using an agent, well I assume they do because I know I do on every occasion unless the agent has totally ruled a potential tenant out as they fail to meet any of my criteria.

I took on a tenant who had a ccj in their dark past and I asked for a guarantor. She has now been in my house for 18 months and has never defaulted on her rent. She was honest from the start and that was why I allowed her. If she had lied, or not told me about it prior to the credit checks then I wouldn't have touched her with someone else's bargepole let alone my own.

All the best

Honesty is always the best policy.

SquatNow

In a few months some LL will break rank.

Their are hundreds of thousands of empty rental properties suffering voids.

Eventually LL will have to scrap credit checks as virtually every prospective tennant will have some kind of bad credit history.

LLs can't have their cake AND eats it anymore.