Advice needed on renting a house and being self employed

PufflePuffle Posts: 2,508
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Hi all

I'm self employed and due to my husband and I splitting I'm going to have to rent a house on my own. I haven't been self employed long and don't have 3 years audited accounts.

My question is, is there anyone who has done this whilst being self employed and what hoops did you have to jump through?

Thanks.

Comments

  • Keefy-boyKeefy-boy Posts: 13,560
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    why do you think you will need 3 years audited accounts?

    you're not after a mortgage, you're trying to rent somewhere.

    every landlord will have their own criteria. if you can stump up the deposit and provide references you will be well on the way, i'm sure you will be able to find a landlord who doesn't need 3 years accounts.
  • stud u likestud u like Posts: 42,100
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    All they want is the deposit,month rent in advance, references from guarantors and bank as well as a passport.
  • PufflePuffle Posts: 2,508
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    Keefy-boy - thanks for the info, I don't think I need 3 years audited accounts and I'm well aware I'm not going for a mortgage - I was just providing the information for clarification on here. Question - references, as I've never rented before what kind of references are acceptable?

    Stud u like. Thanks for the info - guarantors - any advice on who that could be? Older brother for example?
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,938
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    We used to have properties rented out before selling them in the property boom. :) I never bothered with references as mostly they were made up anyway. What I did do was get thir families details and go round and check they lived there, as a guarantor. Ask the landlord if this is OK, every one works differently.
  • Keefy-boyKeefy-boy Posts: 13,560
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    guarantors are not usually required (they are liable for the rent if you default).
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,938
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    Keefy-boy wrote: »
    guarantors are not usually required (they are liable for the rent if you default).

    Yes, but that worked for us. My tennants never defaulted this way. As the landlord it is a perfect situation.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1,087
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    Go private is my advice. If you go via an agency not only will you have to provide 100 different bits of paper, you will also have to give them approximately £1 million pounds in fees.

    Check out the classifieds in your local paper for private lettings or if you have a gumtree site for your area have a look on that. Most private landlords are happy with a months rent up front and a reference (+ maybe see your past couple of bank statements to check you've got some cash coming in). If they want any more than that, I'd tell them to go and swivel.
  • plateletplatelet Posts: 26,358
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    okay I've done this a couple of times via agencies (as mentioned private rentals are a lot easier). From memory I think they wanted two references, a personal one and a work one. In addition they'll run a credit check on you at your previous address.

    I'm a contractor so it's a bit different than being generally self employed as i was able to get my client to verify that i was under contract for the next six months.

    As long as you have some way of showing your going to be earning it shouldn't be too much of a problem, what I'd suggest is go into one of the estate agents in the area you're looking at and explain the situation - see what they say.

    From personal experience agencies are extremely helpful when you're looking to move, and will go out of their way to accommodate you - pardon the pun (of course this goes out the window when you're leaving) and can provide something of a safety net against the more dodgy private landlords (not that they all are of course).
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1,201
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    Keefy-boy wrote: »
    guarantors are not usually required (they are liable for the rent if you default).

    Sometimes they are needed if your bank statements are a bit haywire.
  • zelanazelana Posts: 4,618
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    Puffle when I left my husband I wasn't working but managed to find a house to rent through an agency.

    When I moved into my current house I was working for a company that were hopeless at doing things like providing references and I couldn't provide a landlords reference either because the house I moved from had just changed hands but I still managed to get this house through an agency.

    I've never needed a guarantor.
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