cynsleigh

Ok so I am American. My husband is British. He has been living over here for 5 years. He is back in the UK now visiting his fam and also interviewing for a real good job. The interview went wonderfully and he basically has the job. He was looking at placed to live and seeing as he hasn't lived there in 5 years they all want 6 months rent. This can't happen. We will have just enough to get me and my daughter's visa and plane ticket. There will be no way that we can pay 6 months rent in advance. Question everyone says he doesnt' have credit but he has kept his UK bank account and has had his father put money into it. Is it possible that he does have credit? We are just so upset because this is his dream job and I don't want him to give it up just because of that. Is there anyway around it.
Thanks so much

dunroving

Would his family front up the money????

It is a landlords' (not tenants') market at the moment so things are harder. Even if he does have any sort of UK credit record, it won't help (because it's not just a case of having a record, it has to be a good record, and essentially he hasn't been earning and spending and borrowing in the UK). That's the whole purpose of checking someone's credit.

You may find an understanding landlord who will be willing to consider a shorter term.

Alternatively, have you considered moving into a shared house? usually this is a young person/student arrangement, but there are exceptions. For example, you may find someone living alone in a large house who wants to rent rooms to make some money. Again, the challenge is that such a person often prefers separate, single renters rather than couples or families (because they want to feel like it is their house, and a couple or family may "take over" the house).

Try www.spareroom.co.uk.

I think you'll need to think outside the box, but it's not impossible!

Englishmum

Another strategy is that your husband could ask one of his relatives to be a guarantor on a rental; ie. if he defaults on the rent payments the guarantor will have to pay it.

We had to do this when our daughter was a student at university in England and shared a private house off the campus. (The letting agency didn't care that we were overseas, they just wanted a guarantor).

Obviously anyone agreeing to be a guarantor is only likely to do it if they have total confidence that they're not going to be left on the hook for someone else's rent payments if they stop paying their rent!

PS: I would also strongly suggest that your husband will be able to provide the following so that the letting agency or/and landlord will be reassured that you are not going to trash the place, are bankrupt or move in and not pay rent in a timely manner:

You will need to provide references. Copies of your credit score in the US from say, Experian, Equifax etc. You should be able to get one copy per year free of charge. (Experian and Equifax) also operate in the UK but they are not connected with the US) http://www.freecreditreport.com/ is one such place to get a credit report.


Also you need to show that you have an address history (3 years if possible) that can be searched for evidence of your good character and rental history. All references should be 'checkable' if possible (ie. names, addresses and contact details of people providing references - especially from any previous or current landlords). If no rental history, then evidence of mortgage payments being paid in full and on time.

When we moved to the US we were able to provide a letter from our bank (had to pay for it) which had our names and address on and all it basically stated that our account was in 'good standing' - I don't know if American banks do this? (Haven't asked them yet!).

Hope this helps!

Spacecake799

Hi,

We have been in New Zealand nearly 6 years. My husband moved back to the UK in July and we managed to rent a house from here.
The choice was 6 months rent in advance or a credit check. We decided to let them check, they contacted my husbands employer and our landlord and were more than happy.
I would suggest trying another estate agent. It is possible.
Good Luck
Carole

Snap Shot

Could your husband get a loan for the six months rent from a 'payday loans' company ? This would be raised on his salary. Or an instant loan from a reasonably reputable company ? OK, he would have to be comfortable with the repayments and interest due but would it really be that much more than a monthly rent would be ? It would get you out of your immediate fix.

When my husband and I were purchasing our first house the banks didn't want to loan us any money as my husband had only been in his job a matter of weeks. Our High Street lender took one look at my husband's salary and said yes please. We've never looked back.

mikelincs

Payday and instant loans are for a maximum of 28 days, and come at a staggering AER of some 4,000%. His best bet is to get a rental through an agent who will allow him to have a guarantor instead of the credit checks, we were fortunate in moving back to the UK after only 4 years, and could pay 6 months, and also used the agents who sold our house when we left the UK.

sallysimmons

We rented while in America. We were ready to offer 6 months if we had to, but it didn't come to that. The estate agents just wanted a copy of our US Equifax credit history and a reference from our accountant (we're self-employed. If we had been moving for a job, they would have wanted a letter from the employer instead). This was in a very competitive market too.

Basically every landlord and every estate agent is different. Keep persevering and you'll find something that works.

Pom_Chch

What ever you do DO NOT get involved with payday loans, they are bad news. There's an uproar about this in the UK at the moment about people who have opted for these loans and ended up in serious trouble after not paying them back.

Try and look at different agencies that may let you use a guarantor as other people have mentioned.

ohwottodo

I had never thought of them wanting all that in advance - thanks for the warning!, you will have to find a private landlord.

vikingsail

Find a different estate agent fast. The 'jobsworth' mentality should be a warning sign. Anyone who is unable or inflexible and unwilling to work with you is probably not worth dealing with. And good luck. Don't let something like accommodation stop your dream.

As the other posters here indicated where there is a will there is a way to get something accomplished. Unfortunately, it seems to be more and more common to forestall people at the first/easiest hurdle rather than actually assist. I suppose because it is easier to do this than actually provide help...

Pom_Chch

cynsleigh - try www.airbnb.co.uk. Could your husband could rent a room short term and then arrange something more permanent later on? I've used airbnb to rent my spare room and rented places from people with no problem. They wont request any money up front apart from the rent for the number of days you want to stay. Some charge a deposit but it will be very small.

As for the estate agents being a jobsworth, it may come across that way but there have been problems in the UK with foreigners (mainly eastern Europeans) turning up with no credit history, being allowed to rent places from estate agents and then not paying rent and trashing the place leaving the agency screwed whilst they hop on a plane back to their own country. I know this is not the case here but the same still stands - if there's no evidence of a credit history in the UK then the same applies and I would imagine estate agents are being cautious.

I do agree with the fact they could be offering you a little more help with this. I'm surprised they wont allow you to have a guarantor. But that's their loss, they've lost your business, go else where with an agency willing to offer you a little more help or advice.

Also a good point about a private landlord, have a look at www.gumtree.com or the local newspaper.

Good luck with it all, I'm sure you'll figure out a solution. There's a few options available and hopefully one will work for you.

vikingsail

Pomster, I agree - by jobsworth I did not mean to lump them all together. just it would seem the essence of business is to make customers/clients happy and try and please them not to 'stonewall' and say 6 months take it or leave it. That would seem perhaps lazy to me at the very least. After all there are always horror stories like you mention whatever the industry but being able to differentiate between good customers and bad is surely the very 'being' in business. Which is why I suggested that perhaps getting a different estate agent is in order as it does not bode well for my confidence at least regarding the experience or ability of an estate agent if they are unwilling to 'work' for a client in such circumstances. Just saying....

KevinS

Hi, It very much depends on the landlord. We had been out of the country for 8 years - my bank account had been closed, therefore no credit history. I had proof of my contract and had a good long chat with our landlord and they waived the credit check with the agency.