jonny180 Posted March 9, 2012 Report Share Posted March 9, 2012 Hello, I am going on a holiday and have decided to let my room out so as to cover the costs while I am away. I have had a nice, and seemingly genuine, reply from someone on Gumtree who will not be arriving until the day after I leave (they do not know I am leaving the country, just the dates of the available room). I guess I am just worried about not meeting someone in person before letting the room out. Are there any acceptable solutions to leaving a deposit or paying rent in advance? I don't want them to feel like I am trying to scam them. Any advice or precautions I should take to protect myself in these circumstances? I'm not sure what kind of traps I should be looking out for, in case this is some sort of scam.... Maybe this is the wrong forum for these kinds of requests but I would appreciate any advice you might have, Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mortitia Posted March 9, 2012 Report Share Posted March 9, 2012 Does your landlord know you are going to sub-let like this ?- I'll take a punt they would not be happy at all. This person may do damage, be a thief or belong to an international terrorist cell - I could go on - are you getting the message? Your poor landlord's insurance will no way cover him for anything that could go wrong. Grow up! Gumtree is full of dubious persons I find - how do you know this person is genuine - have you ID'd him, credit checked him?. Mortitia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melboy Posted March 9, 2012 Report Share Posted March 9, 2012 There is only one word for what you are proposing to do and that is DON'T! You are going to give yourself a big headache if it all goes wrong and as mentioned.....what about your Landlord then? Mel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonny180 Posted March 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2012 Does your landlord know you are going to sub-let like this ?- I'll take a punt they would not be happy at all. This person may do damage, be a thief or belong to an international terrorist cell - I could go on - are you getting the message? I live with my landlord in a 2 bedroom flat. We have discussed it at length and it is beneficial for us both. I get more money to travel with and he gets the rent paid. Happy days. They could be an awful person... or they could be a really nice person... Based on my own law of averages, I have met more nice people than nasty, so i'm happy with those statistics. Grow up! Gumtree is full of dubious persons I find - how do you know this person is genuine - have you ID'd him, credit checked him?. Grow up from what into what? I found this flat on Gumtree myself and have been living here for a year now... I'm grown up, thank you Mortitia I haven't credit checked or ID'd her yet but that is a good idea, I will do that. tough crowd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lolainuk Posted March 9, 2012 Report Share Posted March 9, 2012 Hi Jonny, I'm not sure to understand your request... Are you asking if it's a good idea or do you just want confirmation and support in your choice? It looks to me like you've already made your choice, but when people do try to warn you, you throw that back in their faces... That the thing I don't get... As I understand it, you think the risk is minimal because your landlord will still be living in the property but what if this new person and your landlord don't get on? you'll be away so your landlord will have to deal with this person and the associated problem. so yeah, the risk is minimal for you, but not for your landlord... It's nice that you want to believe in human condition, but if you go through the forum, you'll see a lot of people have had bad experiences with random people who seemed really nice at first sight.... so Mortitia and Melboy are just trying to warn you, they're not a tough crowd... they're just a wise crowd :0) It looks to me that you've made your decision, so good luck whatever you decide to do, but if something goes wrong, you would have been told so... and if it goes right, you can come back and tell us we're a bunch of suspicious pessimists ;0) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonny180 Posted March 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2012 Thank you, I will Really not trying to throw anything back in people's face, I just feel like there have been some wrong assumptions, and hostile engagement, with my situation.. I was also asking if anyone had any recommendations of how to handle the deposit and money up front. Is there any acceptable third party companies that can handle this kind of thing? or is it as simple as just asking for the money upfront? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melboy Posted March 9, 2012 Report Share Posted March 9, 2012 Well put Lolainuk..... You see Jonney Hydro you only gave us half a story on your proposals. It's your Landlord who should be on here because he will be the one who will be picking up the pieces in the event of anything going wrong.....not you. You might be homeless if he or she decides they don't want to move out when you come back. If it was me, I can tell you, I would not go down this route as a Landlord. Mel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lolainuk Posted March 9, 2012 Report Share Posted March 9, 2012 Yes, you can ask money upfront, but to avoid any surprise I would do a written agreement, make sure I provide receipt for deposit etc. all the paperwork in place. You should also have a clause stipulating that it's ok with you but your lanlord should have the final say. I don't think for Lodgers the deposit has to be protected so you won't need a third party. I agree with Melboy if she refuses to move out when you return, what are you gonna do??? We're not hostile, don't be mistaken, it's just... a lot of weird people out there... and a lodger from hell could be just around the corner. it is just to warn you, that doesn't mean IT WILL go wrong, we're just saying, It CAN go wrong, and by all the people's experience on this forum, we can tell you It WENT wrong in many cases... but the future we can't predict. we're just assessing the risk, that's all, and remember you're in the landlord section, so most of the people here own properties, and from a landlord perspective, I wouldn't be impressed if one of my lodger turned around and say 'I'll go on holiday for a month, but don't worry, a total stranger found on gumtree will replace me, but no worries I have a good feeling about it' ... you see where I'm coming from? why your landlord should put his property at risk based on your good feeling... credit check and ID her, find all the info you need to be sure SHE's not scaming YOU, wrtie everything down, and make sure she knows no matter the arrangement she made with YOU, it will be down to your landlord to have the final word. You would at least reduce the probability of bad surprises. and again, I wish you Good Luck :0) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonny180 Posted March 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2012 Perfect, thank you for the advice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caffiend Posted March 10, 2012 Report Share Posted March 10, 2012 As others have said, lodgers have very few rights under law. If your temporary replacement doesn't want to move out, then the landlord has no need to go to court to evict her. By the same token, if the landlord is happy for her to stay, well, that could well be you out on your ear as you'd have no rights to stay/return - it's all entirely up to the landlord. My advice: either keep the room as empty and keep paying rent while you are away or move out, find storage for while you're away and somewhere else to live when you come back. or don't go away at all / for so long if you won't be able to afford either of the above I'm at a complete loss to understand why you are finding someone to live in your room while you are away anyway. As a live-in landlord, there is no (expletive deleted) way I would allow my lodger to find some random person off Gumtree to live in my house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lolainuk Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 I agree with Caffiend... have you thought about: _ What is this person is scamming you, and rob your room, your landlord house etc? What are your prepare to do to deal with the consequenses? _ What if this person doesn't leave when you return? have you got elsewhere to live? _ What if something goes horribly wrong when you're away and you landlord ask you to deal with the situation, are you prepared to shorten your travel plans? _ What if everything on paper looks fine, but the reality is different and this girl is nuts/weirdo/psycho, is your landlord fully informed about what he/she agreed to when allowing you subletting your room? _what if this person doesn't pay? or bring more people in the house ... _ ... ... just horrible thoughts, I know, I'm from the school of having a plan B, and be prepared for the worst. But I try to put myself in your shoes... if I'm going away to travel, I wouldn't want to have any worries regarding the room, or my landlord or anything like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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