Ok, lots of opinion here, but I want to throw my hat in. Lots of good tenants fail referencing as it’s not a perfect check. Let’s be honest, at 20 quid a pop, what can we expect from Rentguard. I ignore their recommendations & look at the report. No CCJs, tick. Credit score in the medium risk or above category, tick. Employed, tick. Wages that are good enough, tick. Employment history that’s long enough, tick. Bank account detail showing that looks ok, tick. Can I see anything that rings alarm bells, no, tick. How did I feel about the person when I met them? Did I ask the right questions & get good answers? Tick.
The thing is, gov decided we are paying all fees, no matter what. We have to live with it. I’ve retained holding deposits through openrent previously, but evidence of flouting their rules is essential. The rules are available on their web pages.
When it comes down to it, 2 tenants & a guarantor failing comes to 60 quid. It’s not a fortune & has to be factored in as a cost of sales. This gets negated as landlords get experience of questioning potential tenants. After 11 years & now being a full time landlord, I’m at my peak of spotting chancers, con artists & the downright stupid. However, we can never assume that we won’t be lied to. I actually ask the potential tenant, am I going to find something I don’t like when I run a credit & identity check on you? That usually scares off the ones that are lying.
It’s a business, we have to accept losses now and again. Even after 11 years I occasionally have one or two slip through, but taking a 60 quid hit is better than taking a potentially bad tenant. Weigh it up like this & you’ll start to see the value for money in rejecting someone that doesn’t fit.
Hi Mr T
Thanks for your prompt reply
Oooh where to start. Well yes they have my statements my savings are good I would need to get a job to make up the shortfall in my pension income about £300 per month but I would lose this property and it’s in the same complex as my daughter for whom I am guarantor will be moving onto.
I have offered 6 months rent on advance as a last resort .
Regarding neighbours I dont live near enough to pop round believe me I would have done so any suggestions I would ask for the landlords details and arrange a meeting with him. Mmm maybe I will do that
What do you think?
I’m going to email the question I will ask them to run it by the landlord they can only say no.
Thanks for your input its greatly appreciated.
Regards Alayne
@openrent Would you like to comment on the forum closing? It will be a shame if it does. We find it a very good source of help and advice and it’s another reason why we use you for our properties.
You can definitely ask to speak directly with the landlord.
Do you think because you are a guarantor for your daughter (even though I understand you are not actually paying her rent right now) it would have affected how they have judged your ability to pay your own rent?
I don’t actually know how referencing works to be honest, but do they take into account that if the worse did come to the worse and you had to pay your daughter’s rent that you could not then afford your own?
Sometimes there is a question that asks if you are a guarantor for anyone.
Don’t know if I am understanding your question or if anyone else knows about such matters?
Thanks for your kind words and support. I am used to hard work though I could do without it, you couldn’t make it up, could you.?
I’m not sure I was clear earlier as am quite put out about it, bearing in mind my earlier comments, the situation on speaking at length with the Referencing Agency prior to the bombshell, was, or seemed no problem as I actually discussed the issue and was told that he could see no reason for me to have any issues under the circumstances
However the letting agent have changed their policy regarding this. I can be guarantor that’s fine, but I need to be bringing in 2x5 the rent per month after tax which I fall short of, as their policy has changed as in other let’s down the line it was a problem, its no money left in savings.
So I offered to take a six month tenancy paying the six-month s rent in advance, the response was that they had in the past accepted rent up front and savings, but again
in their criteria had changed because it caused issues down the line. Consequently this has left me up in the air , now my daughter is moving and I will not be able to make my move too, she can not see the problem.
Double trouble…
So I suggested maybe a cheaper let would bring a smaller income expenditure gap, which she agree upon and finally said she would be happy to help as properties became available, you have to laugh tho, my pets will have a monthly rent of £25 which is okay with me , and a lot of their landlords operate the same way with pets, in this Agency… You just have to laugh… If I wasn’t so bemused I would be angry.
It is what it is, I am and always have been a problem solver so this is no different, it strikes me that not all Letting Agents will have this criteria. I will just have to approach this in a different way but I’m not going to get upset, God loves a trier, or so they say he must favour me just a little.
If as first and all that, if you can throw any light on the subject it will be gratefully considered.
(My book will be called The Life and Times of … When I get time to write it…ha!)
Kind Regards
Alayne
You sound cheerful despite it all but it also does sound like hard work. Disappointing too if your daughter is moving and you were expecting to be going too.
I don’t really know what to suggest. It seems you have done everything there is to do.
I just wonder where all this is going to end up. The criteria is going up and up normal people aren’t going to be able to get anywhere soon.
Let us know when the book does come out! You sound a character so am guessing it will be a best seller!
Hi Mr T
Yes you will be the first to know when the book comes out …if manage to write it, mind you if I have this much hassle I wont get past the Title.
Thanks again for your comments ,it seems I can do no more but practice patience now …hmmm…well it’s back to the Drawing Board phoning Agency’s up.
Alas I have no choice but to check it all out as we did back in the dark ages before texting etc.
I have prepared a list of questions to keep it accurate so Iet’s hope I make some progress.
Then there is Covid , and the possible issues with moving I dare not think about through.
You know… I might find it easier to come out of retirement oh…and as being cheerful if I couldn’t laugh it of I’d go bonkers.
Thanks again I will let you know how I get on
Kind regards
Alayne
I learnt very early on when I was new to open rent what works best for me as a landlord, having had lots of failed referencing at a cost to me and
even one couple who signed their tenancy agreement and then pulled out and refused to pay me any costs towards trying to re-let the property to enable them to get out of the legal tenancy which I though was very generous of me.
I now talk to all prospective tenants and ask and share lots of info with them before they even view.
Job situation, occupation, salary, current situation, reasons for move etc etc - if they can’t converse well initially I don’t arrange a viewing - once they have viewed I then ask for them to complete a tenant application. If I am happy with that I then ask for their last 3 month bank and wage statements and ID. Once I am happy with those- and that can reveal a lot (some even £0000’s overdrawn -) gives me an idea if they will pass referencing and if I want them. If they won’t offer this information they have something to hide (this hasn’t yet happened). If this seems all ok I will then move forward to referencing. I ask that at no point they put down a holding deposit as this takes your property off the open market and stops any further interest whilst they are being referenced. It also ensures they act swiftly with getting info back to Rent-guard, info you will already have received so this should be a simple step for them to forward on to Rentguard . Most of this happens within a couple of days and then you can make a decision on the referencing once received. It seems so far to be working well for me after my initial hiccups and learning curve. It’s better to have people walk away initially than feel embarrassed about asking some difficult but fundamental Information. Time and experience is a BIG leading curve. Emotionally it’s not worth the effort of worrying over the lost referencing costs. Just learn going forward.
I had only one out of hundreds of tenant enquiries ever get seriously off with me for dare asking why they were moving/motivation. The call was terminated quite swiftly. I have wonderful properties, conform legally and go over and above to be a great landlord so won’t put up with any nonsense any more.
Somewhere and i cant now remember how… I saw something implying the forum would be closed… No one from open rent has denied it up to now, and they do monitor this site.
I prescreen with a question and answer sheet by e mail. If they fail because of a lie, they loose the holding deposit. Sounds harsh, but when you consider the rent one is loosing because of their deception, it is nothing but fair.
I thought I’d post my question here instead of in a new post…
I’ve got a decent sounding family interested in renting my property but unfortunately one of the applicants has failed Openrent’s comprehensive referencing service. She’s self employed and despite approaching her accountant, they weren’t able to confirm proof of income. The family have shared recent statements from their bank account and I’ve seen money coming in sporadically - so I know she’s earning on a monthly basis but it varies in amount and date.
p.s. no CCJ’s and the reference from their landlord has come back ok. It seems the lack of proof of income could be the reason for failure alone? I’m not sure?
On the other hand, the second applicant (spouse) is employed and earns a very good wage (£4k+ / month). I’m still awaiting the referencing to come back for this applicant, but having seen wage slips, all looks ok.
The question is, would you guys consider tenancy for them based on the first applicant failing? Would it be a safe bet to have the mindset of “well, the second applicant earns more than enough to cover the rent so the other (failed) applicant doesn’t matter” …?
I would take them most probably. I’d put the big earner as the lead tenant. It’s pretty much the same as the traditional family of yesteryear, when mum stayed at home. She wouldn’t have passed either. However, as there’s always the possibility of a relationship breakdown, I’d request a guarantor, if only for the low earner. Ideally for both though. Remember that guarantors rarely pay until a magistrate tells them to. So it’s all about having another person to put in court. It’s a small risk to take them, but is there a perfect tenant out there?
