Liveaboards treated like tramps

[julia]

Time has come for me to return to land after 13 years of living on a narrowboat. But estate agents don't seem to deal with people of no fixed address who are off the grid etc. Or rather the landlords they represent don't want to know, even if they are offered 6 months rent in advance. They want proof that you pay your utility bills on time, and that your credit rating is good. To rub salt into the wound, estate agents require a £250 deposit before they take matters further and contact landlords etc. If the deal doesn't go through, ie the landlord says no, you lose that money. Seems like we liveaboards are destined to dieaboard!

[GUMPY]

A couple of years ago I had to guarantee everything so my daughter could rent a flat and she has never lived on a boat.

OH and I had no land base at the time and was living on a boat....

Its not just people living on boats.......

Edited March 30, 2013 by Loddon

[Jim Batty]

Time has come for me to return to land after 13 years of living on a narrowboat.

 

My deepest sympathies.

 

... estate agents require a £250 deposit before they take matters further and contact landlords etc. If the deal doesn't go through, ie the landlord says no, you lose that money.

 

This sounds like a scam, or taking the pee. The time for putting down a deposit is after someone has offered you a lease on a flat that you have looked at and like. Estate agents aren't doing you some type of special favour by contacting landlords for you. They are taking an opportunity to gain a nice commission. I think most estate agents now hold deposits at arm's length with clear paperwork so that they can be straight forwardly returned when you leave a premises (minus the cost of any damage you do to the place).

 

Does the fact that you live on a boat need to enter the conversation at all anyway? If you have a month's or six-week's deposit available and can show some type of income (if it's not a housing authority place), that should be all that's needed.

 

Or have you been CCing without an address and that's the problem. Could you not use a friend's or family member's? Or hire a postbox address in the nearest town for three months or so?

 

In our experience most people - even estate agents - are kind of thrilled by the notion of someone living on a boat, and you possibly need to find a more sympathetic estate agent. They're not exactly thin on the ground!

[Starcoaster]

This is normal with most estate agents, or something similar. Most of them also/instead charge a £100 fee to credit check you... That is non returnable if they don't like what they find.

 

As someone who has lived abroad a few times and deliberately avoids having anything on credit that would build me up a credit history, I never even bothered tried to rent via a letting agent after I found out how they work. You may find that a private landlord will be the way to go. If I ever have to move off the boat, it would be the same. (Though to be fair I'd have to be pretty near to death to consider moving back to living on land at some landlord's whims, for as long as I have two legs to carry me on and off the boat).

Edited March 30, 2013 by Starcoaster

[Joshua]

First house my partner and I bought (a very long time ago )the Halifax mortgage Co charged us a £400 'first time buyers fee'. What the hell is that I asked, what it says they replied, in other words you're a first time buyer, you're desperate to buy your first house and we have you over a barrel, we know you will pay just about anything we ask, "stand and deliver"!

 

When the shit hit the fan they still had the nerve to ask me (the British public) to cough up so that the directors could maintain the lifestyle they had grown accustomed to. My heart bleeds for them.

Edited March 30, 2013 by Joshua

[Greedyheron]

That happened to my parents, both in their 50's, they decided to move from one rented house to another- the letting agent wanted a guarantor and then didn't like the guarantors credit check result and kept the non refundable deposit- watch out. I'm happy to say they are happy in privately rented accommodation. Local papers are usually good for finding a private rent. You could try using evidence of having paid insurance and licence on time, I've lived off grid for quite a while now but find private landlords to be pretty accepting of unusual circumstances.

[MtB]

Time has come for me to return to land after 13 years of living on a narrowboat. But estate agents don't seem to deal with people of no fixed address who are off the grid etc. Or rather the landlords they represent don't want to know, even if they are offered 6 months rent in advance. They want proof that you pay your utility bills on time, and that your credit rating is good. To rub salt into the wound, estate agents require a £250 deposit before they take matters further and contact landlords etc. If the deal doesn't go through, ie the landlord says no, you lose that money. Seems like we liveaboards are destined to dieaboard!

 

 

Not quite sure what you mean here. It's illegal to charge potential tenants for simply viewing properties, but not illegal to charge application fees etc once you apply to rent a specific house. What exactly are you being charged £250 for?

 

MtB

[jelunga]

Time has come for me to return to land after 13 years of living on a narrowboat. But estate agents don't seem to deal with people of no fixed address who are off the grid etc. Or rather the landlords they represent don't want to know, even if they are offered 6 months rent in advance. They want proof that you pay your utility bills on time, and that your credit rating is good. To rub salt into the wound, estate agents require a £250 deposit before they take matters further and contact landlords etc. If the deal doesn't go through, ie the landlord says no, you lose that money. Seems like we liveaboards are destined to dieaboard!

Where are you looking to rent? If East Sussex we could help.

Edited March 30, 2013 by jelunga

[john6767]

Time has come for me to return to land after 13 years of living on a narrowboat. But estate agents don't seem to deal with people of no fixed address who are off the grid etc. Or rather the landlords they represent don't want to know, even if they are offered 6 months rent in advance. They want proof that you pay your utility bills on time, and that your credit rating is good. To rub salt into the wound, estate agents require a £250 deposit before they take matters further and contact landlords etc. If the deal doesn't go through, ie the landlord says no, you lose that money. Seems like we liveaboards are destined to dieaboard!

 

I just think the issue is credit history/rating. Anyone who has kids at university will probably have had to stand a guarantor when they rent through private agents in their second year, well I have had to for both ours anyway.

 

 

 

[sueb]

Gumtree advertises flats & houses to rent. There are probably more sites but I am only familiar with letting rooms.

[MtB]

I just think the issue is credit history/rating.

 

I agree. Even so, there is nothing stopping an agent contacting the landlord of a property you wish to rent, putting your case to him and asking him/her to 'take a view' as they say, other than laziness. I have rented to people in the past who have looked awful on paper but turned out to be excellent tenants. Trusting someone who is getting constantly turned down through not conforming to the norm usually sets the tenancy off really well in my experience.

 

Where are you looking to rent?

 

MtB

[Homer 123]

First house my partner and I bought (a very long time ago )the Halifax mortgage Co charged us a £400 'first time buyers fee'. What the hell is that I asked, what it says they replied, in other words you're a first time buyer, you're desperate to buy your first house and we have you over a barrel, we know you will pay just about anything we ask, "stand and deliver"!

 

When the shit hit the fan they still had the nerve to ask me (the British public) to cough up so that the directors could maintain the lifestyle they had grown accustomed to. My heart bleeds for them.

 

Halifax are the worst. It's because of them that I'm now living in a boat. Their mortgage rates went up when nobody else put theirs up. I am now mortgage free ( since Wednesday) and living in a boat. I think the Halifax did me favour in the long run!!

[lynalldisocvery]

Dont forget most private landlords are still going to credit check you, most dont want any troubles and are going to avoid anything that doesnt seem 100 percent right, ie best way to avoid trouble is to avoid anything that looks suspect in the first place.

 

 

Lynall

[Starcoaster]

I rented from private landlords, a total of eight of them, and was never credit checked. None of the other places I went to view with private landlords asked for one either. I know of one landlord who used to say he credit checked, but didn't, and just said it so that anyone dodgy would just not bother applying!

[Arthur Brown]

Living off the lists and of no fixed abode does get you into problems. A listing on the Electoral register helps, as does any set of paid bill history.

 

Where are you looking to live?

[lynalldisocvery]

I rented from private landlords, a total of eight of them, and was never credit checked. None of the other places I went to view with private landlords asked for one either. I know of one landlord who used to say he credit checked, but didn't, and just said it so that anyone dodgy would just not bother applying!

 

How do you know you werent credit checked?

Maybe they did something like this? http://www.experian.co.uk/background-checking/tenant-check.html

 

 

 

Lynall

Edited March 31, 2013 by lynalldisocvery

[nebulae]

If you are dealing with an agent of a private landlord,they are ripping you off if they are taking a deposit before entering into a tenancy agreement.Any private landlord will require a credit check,a reference and posibly an interview with the landlord himself.A key deposit will be payable,together with the first months rent.It is illegal for landlords to hold this key deposit.It has to be held in one of the approved schemes.Remember,the landlord is giving you the use of many thousands of pounds of their money.Having said that, private landlords can be more flexible than social housing landlords.If you can convince them you will look after the property and pay the rent and preferably be a long term tenant,there is no reason why you cant find somewhere.I hope you are lucky in your search.

[Lady Muck]

How do you know you werent credit checked?

Maybe they did something like this? http://www.experian.co.uk/background-checking/tenant-check.html

 

 

 

Lynall

Yep. I credit check new clients - there are plenty of websites that allow you to do so.

 

Sharp practise is rife in the rental sector atm. Nothing like a shortage to make lettings agents behave like this.

My link

[Starcoaster]

How do you know you werent credit checked?

Maybe they did something like this? http://www.experian.co.uk/background-checking/tenant-check.html

 

 

 

Lynall

 

Because no landlord ever asked me for all of the information that they would need to check against that list of info, such as any previous name history, prior addresses, employer details etc.

Also because I assume they would need my permission to run checks like that legally, which I was never asked for.

And also because I know that had I been asked for that kind of info, and given it, then at least half of if would have back as unverifiable or with no history to show, and I wouldn't have been rented to, wheras in reality I have never asked to take a place and been turned down; I can only think of one prior landlord who asked for a prior landlord reference from me, even.

Edited April 1, 2013 by Starcoaster

[cotswoldsman]

As a landlord I do not use a letting agent why pay someone to do what is so easy to do yourself!!! I find that you get a feel for a tenant and have rarely credit checked. By not paying a agent I am able to offer a fairer rent and work with tenants when maybe they hit hard times.

[boathunter]

This thread title is trampist. Tramps shouldn't all be tarred with the same brush. A word in defense of (some) tramps.

 

For many years I used to work with a "tramp" every autumn picking hops in Kent. He lived in a hedge, drank cider and only consumed solid food at the weekends. He was fiercely proud of being a few steps up from meths drinkers and wino's who hung about in towns. He ended up living the hedge life after WW2. He was conscripted and ended up in Crete where he lost his marbles. The last straw was finding he'd been shot through the chest - right through and out the other side. He hadn't noticed until someone pointed it out because he was too busy gibbering.

 

He was up at the crack of dawn and worked harder than anyone, though by the end of the day he was a wee bit wobbly after several bottle of cider when he wandered off to his chosen spot in the hedge.

 

When life gets a bit awkward I like to remember him and some other people i've met struggling along life's rocky road. Life's a breeze for me in comparison even when it seems upside down.

 

Good luck with the land moving, as others have said, find a landlord direct? Letting agents are just another bunch of leeches who have postioned themselves risk free to cream off a slice of a deal that would happily go ahead without them. People put up with it while their capital asset was rocketing, but I think they'll struggle to justify their existence in years to come.

 

[Edited as I remember... it was 30 years ago...

He wasn't conscripted, he volunteered. He was 15 or so and thought it would be exciting. His solid food consisted of a carrier bag full of meat every Saturday]

Edited April 1, 2013 by boathunter

[rubblequeen]

As a landlord I would be suspicious of someone with 6 months cash rent in advance and no proof of previous address or utility bills. Why because where I am this is how the cannabis gangs work knowing full well they have 6 months to set up their organisation. The house is a complete wreck when they move out or the police find them.

 

However, in the circumstances I personally after meeting you and understanding your situation, including how you propose to pay in future would probably go ahead. I think though that you have little chance through an agent as they have to tick boxes and can't afford to take a chance. You might have to take something that doesn't suit to start with until you can build your credit profile.

 

Whether we like it or not credit profiling is how the world works these days - so use your credit card much safer than any other form of payment.

 

Good luck.

[MtB]

Good advice from Rubblequeen. Any landlord thinking properly about his business is immediately spooked by offers of six months advanced rent in return for no reference checking. I certainly am unless the prosepective tenant can explain their circumstances satisfactorily to me and convince me they are a) not cannibis farmers, b ) able to start paying rent normally after their six months advanced rent expires, and c) also able to pay a security deposit approximately equivalent to 1.5 months' rent at the start of the tenancy.

 

Curiously on every occasion I've been offered six months rent in advance, I've ended up not accepting their application - often failing on point C. People offering six months in advance often seem to be angry at the world and/or feel their six months' rent in advance should excuse them from paying a proper security deposit, in my personal experience as a landlord.

 

And people who are angry at the world often do not make ideal tenants.

 

Just sayin'...

 

MtB

 

 

(Edited to change the smiley into "b )" )

Edited April 1, 2013 by Mike the Boilerman

[cotswoldsman]

I would be happy to take 6 month in advance on the basis of my earlrir post.

[lynalldisocvery]

Maybe 6 months rent would work if you personally visited the tenants every month to get a feel for what is going on?

 

 

 

Lynall