mad_maz Posted April 1, 2010 Report Share Posted April 1, 2010 Hi I have used an agent to advertise a property, and they have found a prospective tenant. The tenant is unable to pay a deposit until his next pay day (which will be after he has moved into the property) so the agent has suggested setting up an insurance with tenantdeposit.com. I have never accepted a tenant without a deposit before and wondered if anyone had any experience with this type of scheme, and how it works in the event that the tenant doesn't pay rent etc. All of the checks have come back in favour of the tenant, so hopefully it will be a long, trouble free tenancy. Thanks Maz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mortitia Posted April 1, 2010 Report Share Posted April 1, 2010 HI Maz, Look if he hasn't got the deposit then how is he going to pay the rent? Agent is trying to sell you insurance he not doubt takes a commission on. That is the downside. Have you checked the tenants refs yourself carefully? - why hasn't he got a deposit? - I would want to know that and I would not trust the agent to give me full chapter and verse. I think you need to do a bit more investigating to understand what this guy is about before accepting the agent's offer of insurance. Don't you think it sounds too good to be true? What about getting someone to stand as guarantor for him or lend him the deposit? Cheers, Mortitia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyndon Posted April 2, 2010 Report Share Posted April 2, 2010 How long has the property been on the market? Is the property the type that appeals to the lower end of the market? Did the agent mention this scheme when you first intructed them? Should you make it clearer to the agent that you are after a higher standard of tenant from them? As an agent my first duty it to my client, the landlord. I would not put someone into a property that I would not be willing to put into one of my own. There are rare occasions where a landlord wants a tenant desperately and will accept a "less than ideal" tenant just to get some rent in. I tend to take Mortitia's line in those cases, namely can they provide a Guarantor? Why do they not have a deposit. Moving someone in just to stop a property being empty can be a wrong decision. It is not just mariage where you "marry in haste and repent at leisure"! Perhaps the landlords' version would be, "Let in haste, Evict at THEIR leisure"? From a brief look at their website and from recalling similar schemes that were offered to our company just when tenant deposit legislation came into being. The principle is not that the tenant cannot afford a deposit, rather it is an option where the TENANT pays an insurance company who then reimburse you where you would normally make a deduction from the deposit. You need to go into this very carefully. See a sample policy and check the exclusions and terms very carefully. In short, unless you need this tenant that badly, choose another tenants and make it clear to the agent that you expect a more professional tenant next time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melboy Posted April 2, 2010 Report Share Posted April 2, 2010 Simple......don't do it! If the person is struggling to raise a deposit then how are they going to manage the monthly rent eh! ? Let the prospective tenant have the problem of raising the money and not you, Mel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mad_maz Posted April 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2010 Thank you all for the responses Maz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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