To ask how hard it is going to be for us to rent a house?

[AwfulMaureen]

We've been in this rented house for 7 years. It was sort of a private rental through an employer...he's selling now and we need to look for a new place.

Trouble is this....we're both self employed...we won't have great credit checks...mine came up as "fair" but DH hasn't checked his yet. We can pay 6 months rent in advance with savings....will that be any use? we have nobody who earns enough to act as a guarantor....the council said we may earn too much to qualify for their bond scheme....so they won't help us find a private landlord but may help us get a council house but they warned us that they are few and far between in the area we want. What are our chances?

You have to make some calls and see the response you get. Have you any CCjs'?

Should be fine.

We've rented for years, and agent's credit checks seem designed more to prove who you are than anything else. So payments to utility companies and being on the electoral register count for a lot.

Be up front with the agents you approach and you'll be fine.

Dusty we are on the Electoral register thank goodness. Thanks for the reassurance. Shall I be upfront in that I tell them our credit checks won't be great? Will they do one anyway?

My DH and I are both self employed and early in our relationship we had to rent and couldn't prove our income so we paid the first 6 months in advance and were then allowed to pay monthly after that.

I wouldn't worry. We've moved a lot over the past 5 years and every agent has accepted 6mo rent up front in lieu of a guarantor or good credit. Most contracts are 12mo ASTs with 6mo break so that gives a good deal of security. Most if not all will be happy that you're both working, pick a rent you can reasonably afford and you're away Check out Gumtree for LLs as a number that don't deal with agencies advertise there and are sometimes more flexible, but tbh I don't think you'll necessarily require that anyway. Good luck with the home hunt!

PS they tend to do the credit check even if you want to pay up front, to check your identity and make more money... cynical, moi?

Speaking as a landlord, the six months rent up front thing is great and that's ok for a six month let, althoughI'd still want the credit checks for identity proof and the other stuff people have mentioned as well. I also like references especially a previous landlord's reference. After 6 months, I would want to feel secure that you would pay, so i'd probalbly want information about what kind of self employed work you do and how much income you get from it, going back for a while.

Delasai I have looked at Gumtree and there are only 7 lets in our area! 5 of them are too far from school and are flats which we don't want and two are just too expensive.

Bug Well...we've been here 7 years...which hopefull might make some LL feel a bit more comfortable about us. LL should give good ref.