How to find somewhere to rent?
 

I would really love some advice, please, as to how long term expats returning to the UK can find somewhere to rent when they first arrive.

In planning our return, we would like to find somewhere to live (using savings) then find work... but I gather many homes are simply not available to people who do not currently have a job.

I would love any advice from others who have encountered this problem and solved it.

Re: How to find somewhere to rent?
 

Hi,

We have just secured a rental whilst still in NZ. If you can pay 6 months rent up front they wont do a credit check. If youve paid upfront I don't see if it matters to them about a job.

Re: How to find somewhere to rent?
 

Hi Spacecake - how did you find your rental? was it via rightmove.co.uk or somewhere like gumtree?

Thanks :)

Re: How to find somewhere to rent?
 

Hi,

It was on Rightmove. We had the dissadvantage of having picked a small village and needing 3 bedrooms. There really was only a couple to choose from. We got the MIL to take a look at them and then we paid the fee to stop anyone else seeing it.
We then let them do a credit check and it just came back with a green light. My husband picks the keys up on the 25th July and pays the first months rent and bond.
The estate agent got more helpful as time went on but we did have to rely on emails.

Hope that helps

Carole

Re: How to find somewhere to rent?
 

Hi, We had no problem finding rentals without work at the time. We did have to put a deposit down of two months on the first rental and had to supply two references (my sister in law and mother in law did this for us). Good look

Re: How to find somewhere to rent?
 

I am currently trying to find a rental too.....

There were a couple that looked promising on Right Move so I asked my sister to contact the agent and find out what would be required, given that initially we wouldn't have employment, or any credit history! We were willing to pay 6 months rent up front, but the agent said they couldn't accept that....partly because of money laundering laws, and partly to protect us if the agency should get into financial difficulties. They said it would be no problem if we could have a home owner act as guarantor.

My sister is going to contact other agents in the area to see what their requirements are and we'll go from there.

Good luck brissybee.

:angel:

Re: How to find somewhere to rent?
 

We had the same problems when we moved back, however we had olny been away 4 years, and contacted the agency that had sold our house when we moved away, so had no problems, however we did have to pay 6 months up front.

Re: How to find somewhere to rent?
 

Hi, We stayed with my Dad until we knew roughly which areas we wanted to rent in, we had a good drive around, got to know the area as well as we could and also called into the local Estate Agents, gave them our contact details and answered any questions they asked, of the 5 agents we contacted we were never once asked about credit etc (in fact since we have been home we have never been asked about credit ratings etc) we had brought our Australian Police Clearence letters with us just in case we needed to and also our bank in the UK were more than happy to supply references for us if required but in the end all we needed was a reference from two people who knew of our good characters (there excellent by the way lol) each case may be different but I think it does help to call in and have a chat etc with Agents. Good luck

Re: How to find somewhere to rent?
 

I am a landlord and my agent will ask if I am willing to accept 'xxxx'....people with pets, people with credit defaults, people with no rental history.

Depends on the background but if was asked to let to a returner, I would ask for rental history in their other country.

Of course you still have to provide references etc and some agencies are less fussy than others...but it depends on the buoyancy of the market.

Re: How to find somewhere to rent?
 

It does depend on what part of the country you are looking at, if looking for property in London they make you jump through hoops, other parts of the country they are more lacks as they want good tenants.

If you have decided what part of the country you are looking at we may be able to give you more specific information.