Manchester Graduate Flat

[Gettingthereslowly1]

We are desperately trying to find a 1 bed flat in Manchester for graduate DD who is relocating and starting first job imminently. The job is 6 months fixed term which employer hopes to extend and salary is minimum wage. Applications following estate agent tenancy viewings have failed so far due to DD not having salary to cover 30x the rent even with parents as guarantor. Have just tried co-applicant application (DD and me) in hope that it would succeed with my salary added but it got rejected as single tenant is preferred.
Any advice please? Ideally looking in M4

Bumping this in case anyone has advice or experience from another town? Thank you!

We had issues with someone in my team who was relocating to start a new job because the letting agent wouldn't accept his salary until he started work. Could this be adding to the issue? I think he got around it by borrowing money from his parents to pay some rent up front.

I doubt they'll get a 1 bed flat on min wage.

Can she get a room in a shared house on spareroom.com? Tend to be less demanding than estate agents. We have just set my son up in one near London, no special conditions and it's a proper AsT tenancy.

Rental market is brutal.

shared house will be easier to arrange. Esp on min wage.

I think a flatshare would be more reasonable as others say, a one bed flat on min wage is not really likely. Less constraints financially than a letting agent too.

Young people I know who live in one bed flat in big cities have two above MW salaries or one very high one.

The ‘ Spare room ‘ site is what my DC used when moving to Manchester . House sharing is what the majority of their friends do too.

Rents are high and it’s quite competitive.

Surely a flat share is more appropriate for 6 months as per PPs

Yes, basically "spareroom.com" is where all the cheap flat shares and bedsits that used to be in the small ads of your local paper, now get posted. This is why hardly any are on Rightmove/mainstream estate agents.

Thanks everyone, this is all really helpful. We’re looking on Spareroom and really didn’t want a house share but it may be the only option.
@HewasH2O offering 6 months rent up front is a good idea. We could loan DD.

if there are any letting agents online who can give tips it would be very helpful.

Is it for reasons of privacy/social anxiety? House shares are often independent people sharing facilities, it doesn't have to be friends or in each others pockets.
DS setup is his own locking room in a house of 4, (live out landlord) and he hardly sees the other sharers, there's no expectation of socialising. You'll see if you filter to studio flats they are scarce and expensive.

Tell her to look at Didsbury Chorlton city centre both have a vibe for house shares

My daughter is in the Union Coliving block. They do have studio flats but Dd is in a 4 bed flat share. They do flat mate matching . No deposit, and will do short term lets. The 4 bed share would be cheaper than a studio flat. Think it’s just over £800 a month, which I appreciate is a lot if you’re on minimum wage but Manchester rental market isn’t cheap at all.

I’m not a letting agent but was a guarantor for my graduate DC a few years ago in Manchester - since then the demand in the city centre has got so high that letting agents can afford to pick and choose. Spareroom dot com is a good option and the tram system means it’s easy to commute in from the suburbs.

We had to pay six months rent (+ one month rent as deposit) upfront to secure our DS flat - in addition to proving our income/some investments. That is just in a small town. It is brutal. Massive change to when I was looking for a graduate rental 30 years ago - loads of choice, just needed a deposit, and most furnished too.

Hope you find something soon.