Anyone a letting agent? or know all about their credit and reference checks?

[housingdilemia]

Finally may be able to get out of social housing! Have seen a house we want and can afford but have just paid £300 for credit and reference checks through an letting agent, and am terrified we might fail

We dont have great credit (dh terrible, me a few missed credit card payments) so have my father as guarantor who should sail through so we thougfht we were sorted

However the letting agent seemed a bit arsey, dh works but is just starting a new job so it will be new employer they will be contacting, i was working as a nanny/mothers help for a friend but am on a long maternity break so not sure whether to give those details or not as i havent been paid for a year and am now on umpaid leave as it were

My bank account is £900 overdrawn, but this is a £1000 interest free overdraft but will that still reflect badly

We have agreed to a credit check, and ref from employers, bank and previos landlord but can pull put before mon and get cheque back

Will we fail? We even offered to pay 6 months rent upfront but agent still seemed a bit odd,

bump

£300 gosh that's a lot.

I think if you've got a guarantor you should be ok.

its is so much im really worried

£300 does seem high. The council can help sometimes for these costs. Have you spoken to them?

It's better to find somewhere in the local paper or on Gumtree, they don't ask for credit checks, just a deposit and a guarantor sometimes.

If your father is your guarantor it is likely that thye will credit and reference him to make sure that he can afford the payments in the event that you cant.

Bank references will be simply asking if you can afford the rent payments as will employers as well as length of contract.I think credit checks are looking for bankruptcy and CCJ's I think they are quite basic. However, £300 is a lot of money if you think either you or your father wont pass these I would pull out now.

my father will pass def

i poss wont, dh prob wont (which is why we have a guarantor)

Why don't you look through the local paper/gumtree?

What's the problem with social housing? many people will jump at the chance, low housing costs mean you can save. There's no point spening money you don't have to spend.

Has the letting agent said that you will have to pay for your father to be checked as well?

we have looked but aside form the crazy agent fees this is a very reasonable priced rental property (has two bed plus tiny third room that i can put a cot in at £800, whereas going rate is £850 for normal two bed here per month) we actually viewed this house 6 months ago and narrowly missed it, we were in a better financial position then but dh lost his job in between (now has a new one\0 and were not actively looking but were contacting as we had so wanted it last time around

the problem we have with social housing is related to where we are now (might be better elsewhere) we have no garden for the children to play in, we are stuck in a bad neighbourhood in the catchment for the bad school and it is upsetting me and we have no choice, we are on a list to be moved but it will be years and nobody wants to swap with us

we moved here two years ago and decided that if we would give it a trial for a year and hate it here

Have paid for me, dh and my father to be checked

I spoke to a letting agent a while back for a friend.

Interested in £575 per month rent. He explained that they would look to see a £17,250 income from earnings. They didnt think benefits would count unless the landlord had said yes to HB. For a guarnator they would need an income of £21,000 approx.

Think its 30 x income for tenants and 37 for guarnators.

Can't remember who they used but someone like Let Sure or Key Safe.

Credit checks only normally fail for CCJ and defaults, or bankruptcy. Not a few missed payments.

FAQ

Ignore Keysafe, dont know what made me think of them!

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