Concerned Mum trying to help her daughter

Concerned Mum trying to help her daughter

13:38 PM, 12th August 2013, About 11 years ago 31

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This Facebook discussion between a letting agent and a concerned Mum is well worth sharing in my opinion. Please feel free to discuss. Concerned Mum trying to help her daughter

Concerned Mum – I wonder if you could give me some advice what documents would a 21 year old student would have to show to rent a house after university and would they need a guarantor to sign for them I would be very grateful if you could let me know this because we don’t plan on signing as guarantors for our daughter and she has no documents to show

Letting Agent – Sorry Kay but your daughter is very unlikely to find a decent home on that basis then. If you can’t trust your daughter to the extent of providing her with a guarantee then why would you expect a landlord to trust your daughter with rights to their property?

Concerned Mum – Thank you very much for the information that you have sent to me. My Daughter also has three hamsters, three mice, two gerbils, a rabbit and a guinea pig so I am guessing a landlord would not except all of those animals?

Letting Agent – Some landlords take a view on pets, I’m one of them. However, I do so based on logic. I like to see proof of current residence then take a look for myself. I also consider a persons ability to put right any damage caused at the end of a tenancy. Therefore, the amount of deposit paid, the finances of the tenant and the credit rating and income/assets of the guarantor are all taken into consideration.

Concerned Mum – Thank you for that but My husband and I just wont be signing for guarantor so that she can stay down in Southampton my husband said a long time ago that we would not sign for her after she has finished university and anyway I have all of her documents at home can you tell me what she would have to show you

Letting Agent – Always proof of identity and proof of residence, e.g. passport and driving licence. Many landlord also request to see six months bank statements and copies of utility bills. Guarantors are regularly expected to provide similar information. It is usual for landlords and letting agents to insist on seeing original documentation. Make sure that any agent you deal with is registered with The Property Ombudsman, you can never be too careful when handing over documents of this nature due to identity fraud.

Concerned Mum – my daughter has not got a passport and she has not got a driving licence and all of her bank statements come to my address the only thing she has got is her ID card from university would that be enough for her to rent a house without the other documents?

Letting Agent – I must refer you back to my initial response “Sorry Kay but your daughter is very unlikely to find a decent home on that basis then. If you can’t trust your daughter to the extent of providing her with a guarantee then why would you expect a landlord to trust your daughter with rights to their property?”

Concerned Mum – would her student ID be enough for her to rent a house after university?

Letting Agent – That’s at the discretion of the landlord. We certainly wouldn’t recommend our landlords to accept that as the only form of ID and proof of residence, especially without a guarantor.

Concerned Mum – so that means that she will have to come back home and live with us again as we will refuse to sign as guarantors for her. You have been very helpful thank you. We wont let her have any of her documents down at Southampton as I said before all of her bank statements come to my addresses and she has no documents to show other than her student id card. I hope that would that be enough for her to rent a house.

Letting Agent – You are very welcome. Whether your daughter moves back home or not is a matter for you and your daughter to decide. I wish you well 🙂

 


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Comments

Puzzler

16:46 PM, 14th August 2013, About 11 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Adam Alexander" at "14/08/2013 - 14:43":

I stand corrected then.

andrew townshend

19:06 PM, 14th August 2013, About 11 years ago

sounds like mun is a nightmare, this is one tenant i would not want at any price

Joe Bloggs

9:33 AM, 15th August 2013, About 11 years ago

i wonder if the thing about the animals was made up and mother was asking other agents in the area to also bar her daughter? surely the existing LL would probably have something to say about any animals if that were true? i used to know people who are manipulative and overbearing like this to 'protect' their only child daughter. after initial resistance the daughter just resigned herself to her highly controlling father. very sad. i feel for the daughter in this case as she has probably suffered from psychological abuse all her life and its heard to break the pattern. i would try and help if she was my potential tenant.

9:52 AM, 15th August 2013, About 11 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Joe Bloggs" at "15/08/2013 - 09:33":

I did think about taking a look at the Mum's Facebook profile to see if she was "friends" with her daughter. I could then have altered the daughter to the thread. However, I don't know these people and decided it was not right for me to stir things up and get involved in other people family matters which might have made things much worse.
.

Joe Bloggs

10:55 AM, 15th August 2013, About 11 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Adam Alexander" at "15/08/2013 - 09:52":

i think you responded very professionally and what i would do if i were an agent for someone elses property would be different to how i would act as a landlord of my own property.

10:58 AM, 15th August 2013, About 11 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Joe Bloggs" at "15/08/2013 - 10:55":

Why is that Joe?

Thanks for the compliment BTW
.

Joe Bloggs

11:05 AM, 15th August 2013, About 11 years ago

when you are a LL you can take risky illogical gut instinct decisions whereas this could get you into trouble with your client, boss, trade association etc when acting as an agent.

11:20 AM, 15th August 2013, About 11 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Joe Bloggs" at "15/08/2013 - 11:05":

Letting agencies build or reduce their client base as a result of reputation and the quality of the advice they offer to their landlords. Our policy is to advise our landlord clients to do what we do in terms of letting our own property portfolio. We also explain the reasons why we do what we do. It is up to our clients whether they follow our advice. In this case, if the daughter was to apply for a property we were listing, our advice to the landlord would be identical to what we told Mum on Facebook.
.

Mary Latham

12:09 PM, 15th August 2013, About 11 years ago

Having let to students since 1972 I have seen parents like this many times. I have often have correspondence from parents that should actually have come from their children - my tenants - and I always point out politely that it is the person who has signed the AST that I am contracted with and that I cannot discuss anything with them because of Data Protection - this is the one time when I love this piece of legislation.

The best student tenants are those whose parents are hands-off and allow them to make their own mistakes and deal with them. The students who go home at the end of the first or second year are often those who have been kept on a short leash while they lived at home and once they are free they go off the rails.

How often I have been told "I don't understand he was always a grade A student". I understand but I would not dream of telling them it is probably their fault.

I am speaking as a parent who learned from my tenants parents that it is best to let them sow their wild oats while they are living at home and you can support them rather than when they leave home and have to sink or swim. Forbidden fruit tastes sweeter so I didn't give them any. It worked for me.

This mother has a BIG problem and it is not her daughter.

Follow me on Twitter@landlordtweets

My book, where I warn about the storm clouds that are gathering for landlords is here >>> http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1484855337

andrew townshend

17:03 PM, 15th August 2013, About 11 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Mary Latham" at "15/08/2013 - 12:09":

well said mary, when letting to students it is nearly always the parents that are the problem. as a parent of 3 it has always been my policy to encourage my children to make their own decisions in life, when they get it wrong i never never say i told you so, i just help them pick up the pieces. we learn best by our mistakes, i certainly did, and sometimes still do. never be afraid to admit to making a mistake. those who claim never to make a mistake are delusional.

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