A Few Things Students Should Know Before Becoming a Tenant

The student experience is without question one that which will stay with you for the rest of your life. Chances are that some of the friends you make are the friends who will stand alongside you for years to come, and the experiences, whether good or bad, will help to forge you into the person you will end up becoming. It is probably one of, it not the truly defining chapters of your life.

Moving into your first student house will be an integral part of this experience of course, but it can all be a bit of a minefield because of inexperience and the number of unscrupulous landlords out there. It is therefore important to employ some common sense and know the basics so that you can protect yourself from being exploited or scammed. Follow these rules, pay your rent on time, don’t get into debt, and enjoy the journey.

Think carefully about who you move in with

This may seem a little obvious on the surface but it is worth pointing out first and foremost; choose carefully who you move into your student house with. Even for those moving into a place with their best friends and closest comrades, shared living will be a bit of a rollercoaster and there will be ups and downs, not to mention your fair share of awkward silences, arguments, or maybe even conflict. However while with friends you have a good relationship to carry you through the hard times, you won’t have this with people you do not know so it is important to find out if you are compatible housemates before you sign on the dotted line of your tenancy agreement.

Interview a potential housemate

If you are thinking of taking on a housemate who you don’t know, it is definitely worth meeting them for a coffee or a drink so you can informally talk about their attitude to household cleanliness, what time they go to bed, are they partial to a party, what music they like, do they smoke, can they afford the rent etc, because you will quickly be able to determine if they will be a good match up in your household. You could save yourself an awful lot of headache in the long-run by doing a bit of scouting in this way.

Getting thumped with a £1,000 fine for not having a TV licence

Fair enough, your chances of being caught out for not having a TV licence are slim, and with money at a premium, you will no doubt be very unwilling to fork out money each month so that you can watch Jeremy Kyle or Murder She Wrote in peace. However, you can really get caught and fined £1,000 for not having one and it does happen more often than you might think.

Check your inventory or create your own

Some landlords are quite happy to take your deposit payments but are less helpful when it comes to handing it back at the end of your tenancy. Some unscrupulous landlords have been known to withhold deposits under the pretext of damage to the house and furnishings that came with it; this is a bit of a joke, bearing in mind the terrible condition of many student houses in the first place! To avoid being scammed in this way, digitally photograph with times and dates all furniture in the house, any damage you may find to walls or carpets for example, and anything else which you or your housemates could be accused of responsibility for as soon as you move in to the property.

Check your contract and ensure that deposit is protected by Tenancy Deposit Scheme

You should always look carefully through your contract and check how much rent and deposit you are expected to pay, when it is due, and whether you and your housemates are signing individual contracts or a mutually liable joint tenancy agreement. It is important to know where you stand if one of your housemates suddenly stops paying the bills. Also, make sure that your landlord notifies you that your deposit payment is safely tucked away under the Tenancy Deposit Scheme. Your landlord has a legal duty to notify you of this within 14 days, otherwise they will face a fine.

Discuss bills

The subject of bills and money can quickly turn ugly in a shared house, so it is important to talk and communicate. Usually housemates will take on a bill each, or alternatively, everybody will agree to have their names put on the bills so that all are liable. To avoid disputes about who will pay for the bills, set up a communal house bank account from which direct debits and bill payments will be paid.

My Guarantor is a Tenant – What Now?

You may have heard a lot about guarantor loans recently, as they've become a very popular way to borrow in the last couple of years. When the recession began in 2008, the banks went into a near-meltdown and stopped lending money. The problem that set off the financial crash was the fact that they had lent out too much to a lot of people who couldn't actually afford to pay it back. Ever since then, many financial institutions have been afraid of lending to people who do not fit into certain strict criteria.

Payday lenders moved in to fill the gap for those who wanted small amounts of quick credit, but as the product was completely new there were not enough regulations in place to control the more unscrupulous lenders. This left a lot of people in trouble when they took out payday loans which they couldn't pay back, so they then took out more payday loans to pay off those ones, and so the cycle continued.

Guarantor loans were borne from the need of lower cost, higher amount loans for people who couldn't get credit from their bank. The more people who have taken on guarantor loans, the more variances guarantor lenders have been able to add into their lending criteria. Nowadays, there’s a lot of choice when it comes to loan term, loan amount and who your guarantor can be. One of the fundamental aspects of getting a guarantor loan has always been that your guarantor must be a homeowner, but you can now get a guarantor loan if your guarantor is a tenant if you know where to look.

A couple of the main guarantor lenders are offering this option, as it helps those who need a loan find a suitable guarantor. Widening the criteria like this has allowed many more people benefit from a guarantor loan rather than having to turn to more risky or expensive means of credit, which is a good thing. However, it’s important to note that a tenant guarantor loan is usually a little more expensive than a homeowner guarantor loan. This is because there is slightly more risk associated with a tenant guarantor as they don’t have their own property. This doesn't mean that the lender sees it as a risk because they can’t repossess the property (they shouldn't do this anyway) in the case of a loan default, it’s simply about stability.

If you’re not sure which lenders offer loans to those with a tenant guarantor, you’ll need to do a bit of digging. The ones who do offer this option are not likely to keep it very hidden, as it’s something to be proud of and which will ultimately get them more customers. Check the homepage and/or FAQ sections of the guarantor lender’s website that you feel most comfortable with as a company. Their tenant guarantor option should be clearly labelled, but if it isn't then it doesn't hurt to ask them directly. 

Poor Credit? Consider a Guarantor Loan

If you are one of the millions of people in the UK who has a poor credit history and is need of a loan, you may have found that you are between something of a rock and a hard place in terms of the options that are available to you. Once upon a time the whole business of having a loan or credit card application accepted was a much simpler business, and the chances were that if you suddenly found yourself in a bit of a pickle because of an unexpected expense, you could simply pop into your local branch for help. Nowadays credit is a much harder thing to come by and with many finding the doors of mainstream lenders closed to them, millions have been forced into borrowing from payday lenders. Fortunately however there is in fact a third, middle option between the mainstream and payday lenders which consumers can turn to as an alternative.

Guarantor lending is the key to getting the money that you need

Guarantor loans have become an increasingly popular method of borrowing money since the financial crisis began in 2008. Whether you desperately need a loan so that you consolidate your high interest payday debts, replace your car, do that building work on your home, or simply go on a much needed holiday with the family, guarantor loans have given millions of people the opportunity to get the money they need. And what’s more, there are no fees, no brokers, and no dubious business practices in place to fleece you out of money; getting a guarantor loan is simple and straight forward, and all you need to be eligible for a guarantor loan is to find a friend or family member who is willing to act as a guarantor and back up your loan agreement.

All about guarantor lending

Although guarantor lending might seem like a relatively new concept, it is in fact a bit of a throwback to a time when borrowing was conducted on a more traditional, trust based system before credit scoring was introduced. Upon finding a guarantor to co-sign your loan and back your application, you can borrow up to £7,500 and if your application is approved then the money can be in your account quickly and with no fuss. A guarantor loan will offer you the opportunity to borrow between £1,000 and £7,500 over a one to five year period, which means that the loan can be paid back flexibly over a time period which suits you. And what’s more, a guarantor loan is a much more affordable way of borrowing in comparison to the other borrowing options which are out there. If you are looking for a loan of £3,000 to be paid back over three years, you can pay it back in monthly instalments of £143.98, which is the equivalent to 47.9% APR. This is much, much less than a payday lender would charge you for the privilege of a loan, and it is not unheard of for borrowers to pay £25 interest for every £100 borrowed from a payday lender. So if you have poor credit and need some money in your pocket in a jiffy, why not get a guarantor loan?