Anyone ever used guarantor like housing hands for renting?

[dreamerkr]

Hey guys, me and my partner are thinking of renting a house very soon, however his income falls a bit low compared to the properties we’ve been looking at, and we don’t have a guarantor with an income of £40,000. It would also be difficult to pay 6 months or so rent upfront. I’ve been searching online and came across websites such as helping hand, who claim to be able to help by being the guarantor. Has anyone ever used them before, or any other companies similar to this? We are in Birmingham, btw, we want to rent here. Any advice please?

Anyone?

if you build a rapport with the letting agents and explain your situation with the guarantor, some landlords will overlook needing guarantor. It’s to the landlord’s discretion.

I don't trust any service claiming to be a guarantor. Ask yourself how they make money if they accept a small fee but if you default they have to pay your entire rent to the landlord.

Absolutely read the fine print and make sure that the landlord will accept their 'guarantee' first before you even give a penny to them.

Also, look on Companies House to see how much capitalisation they have. If they are paying out on guarantees, I would expect the company to have substantial paid up capital and not just a shell company.

I think a friend looked into it and the fee was 10% of the rent for as long as they were your guarantor which is a lot of money over time.

I haven't used it but I know someone for whom this would be useful and looking on their website they charge a monthly fee and then still need you to find someone to be a co-signatory to be responsible if you default so it doesn't feel much different to needing a normal guarantor.