Yet another needy 'advice wanted' thread on London renting, I'm afraid; having never gone through the arcane, convoluted process of applying to a landlord (I've always bought, stayed in NHS accommodation or lived in less formal flatshares), it's all a bit scary.
ZoCher and I looked at various Saarf London flats over the weekend and decided unanimously on a gorgeous little Barbary Lane place in SE11 (roof terrace, cat-friendly, good for Tubes, good for his job and mine, good for clubs, some evidence of homosexualism). Expensive - over what we'd considered the top end of our budget - but, given Z's salary hike and my own recent explosion of overtime (and the fact that we won't be running up the same huge commuting/mobile 'phone bills), just about affordable. Viewed it on Saturday, trekked down to the estate agent and paid the holding deposit this afternoon.
Problem is, we've been asked to provide loads of work and financial references - last three bank statements, payslips, that sort of thing. Given that our financial situation's been up and down over the last three, four months, and I've always had a tendency to hit my overdraft limit before the end of the month, I'm concerned our application's gonna be turned down. I'm not sure how much credence they're likely to place on our assurances that both our salaries are on the rise and our future outgoings decreased.
Has anyone been in this situation? Any idea whether those bounced cheques at the end of the month are gonna count against us? How do landlords/estate agents decide who's a good bet and who isn't? |
