Contacting your old landlord is great if you can manage it! Definitely Google him. Try to imagine if you were on the other side of it, and had a building to rent out. What would you look for? I know if I were in that position, one of the things I'd most want to see is that someone has a solid history of paying rent on time and generally being a good tenant, and has moved entirely by their own choice, on good terms with their landlord, rather than being evicted or whatever (incidentally, on this side of the pond, evictions go "on your record," and are something that prospective landlords can see... and they're far more hesitant to rent to you if you have a history of eviction). And especially if you were earning less than 2.5 times you're rent when you lived there, then your old landlord is someone who can help you make a case that you really can comfortably pay a larger portion of your income to rent than average, and it's not going to be a problem for you to pay or whatever.
Never heard of Gumtree, but I suspect it probably is something like Craigslist. The basic idea with Craigslist is that anyone can post just about anything they want (provided it's not illegal... or if it is, that they don't get caught) in areas that are relevant to the community (offering or looking for jobs, housing, domestic help, classes, childcare, items to buy/sell/give-away, even dates ... basically, it's like an online version of the newspaper classifieds, but since it's posted pretty much instantly, it all moves much faster, though you typically still several days or even weeks to respond to postings). Plus it's all completely free. And anonymous until you start a dialog with someone -- initial emails go through a site-generated temporary forwarding address, so your email address stays protected from spam and whatever, and you don't have to tell anyone anything at all about yourself (even your email address, let alone your first name) until you feel confident it is a real, legitimate, human being and you feel comfortable sharing a particular piece of information with them. It definitely originated in the US, but they definitely do have a London area site as well now (I know this for certain cause I was just on it like two hours ago), and it's definitely awesome.
In general, I try to stay away from agencies. Although this is possibly completely irrational. They just kind of scare me. I'd much rather deal with someone one-on-one, rather than as a generic relationship mediated by some agency. And I do have both special needs, and special skills (had a gone to public schools, I most likely would have been in a "gifted, learning disabled" program), plus I'm just kind of used to, well, special attention (I haven't been in the work-force all that long, and it's mainly been with "employers" who I knew personally before they hired me, or who are friends of my mom or grandma, and I went to small, private schools from preschool through university), so I'm just a lot more comfortable dealing with people on an individual level rather than an institutional/corporate/agency level. Plus I think I just look better in person than on paper right now... I'm smart, responsible, skilled, and dedicated, and a bunch of money I inherited plus a close relationship with my mom who can and will help me out financially and any other way she can... but I have very little work experience, almost no verifiable income, plus a criminal record and a suspended drivers license... so while people who know me are practically begging me to take care of their children, and are more than happy to rent space to me or hire me for work or whatever, with people I don't know, so far they've yet to give me so much as an interview before simply informing me they're not going to offer me a job (and btw, that was without even seeing my criminal record and lack of valid driver's license... and with a company that's still posting on Craiglist almost daily trying to recruit applicants for the same job I didn't even get an interview for... however, we don't have the NHS over here, and I'll age out of my mom's health insurance in November, so even though babysitting and tutoring for friends actually pays better per hour, I still need to find a "real" job with benefits and all that). So yeah... not at all sure if my advice is even worth listening to on this point, but personally, I'd stay as far away from agencies and the like as I can.
And I'd try to do a bit more research for you know, but honestly, besides that I still don't know exactly what or where you're looking for, I don't think I'm in much of a state to do much for you now anyway. I mean, today I both received a rejection letter from a job I really, really wanted (and the first one I'd ever applied to outside of academia), without so much as an interview (even though I know I'd be really freaking good at it, probably way better than whoever they end up hiring instead, and it really is their loss more than mine -- I'll find a job eventually, but it's unlikely they'll find anyone as good as me, willing to work for as little pay as I am), and found out that not only is it going to be another five months *after* I send in the IID exemption form, but there's actually a chance that they might not even approve it (even though I don't have my own car, and can't very well install an IID in my mom's car; plus I sometimes have kids in my car, who look up to me, and who would almost certainly notice and ask about an IID, and quite frankly, I'd rather go to jail than risk even the slightest chance of giving even the slightest hint to any child or young person that DUI (drunk driving) is something anyone they could possibly even consider looking up to would ever even come close do doing, since there's some chance, no matter how small, that such a discovery could make them think it's even the tiniest bit acceptable... so I can't tell them I can't drive, and I sure as heck can't tell them I can only drive with an IID), and I've pretty much been drowning that out with vodka (and peppermint schnapps as I've now run out of vodka), so I'm not fit to do much other than babble incoherently at the moment...
But if there's anything at all whatsoever I can do to help in the morning (my time... it's now midnight my time, and 8 am your time, so maybe like early evening your time), definitely let me know. And that definitely includes just searching Craigslist, Gumtree, and any other sites you know about that might be helpful... literally the only thing on my schedule tomorrow (today, for you) is helping, on a volunteer basis, to stuff envelopes for my synagog, and while I consider that a worthy cause, worth spending time on, you're totally worth it too -- you deserve the help... and quite honestly, doing even a routine task for anyone is still keeping me from doing anything potentially self-destructive, so if you have any lingering reservations about asking for help, think of it as a way of helping me keep myself occupied to avoid resorting to any self-destructive behaviors (and in all honesty, if I don't want or need to work on it, I won't -- it's something I'd be happy for as something to do when I'm bored, or as a distraction from other, maladaptive behaviors, but I'm really quite good, probably even pathologically so, at a avoiding things I don't want to do when doing them isn't beneficial to my [immediate] mental health), and hey, if you have any sort of gainful employment right now, your time is probably worth more than mine anyway, so you might as well let me look for stuff for you while you're at work... although as a disclaimer, I'm not always the most reliable person for these things, and while there's a significant chance I might come up with a long list of places for you to look at that you've never even seen before, there is also a non-negligable chance that I'll end up not even looking into it at all... but yeah...
And sorry for the drunken rambling!
Emily
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Thanks Emily. I really appreciate your thoughts and kindness. :)
I'll give things a bit more of a ponder before I get back to you.
I have sort of an opposite thing re agencies, because to me I'd rather something that was official, regulated, etc. Even then, there can be some really dodgy goings on, as I experienced in relation to a place I backed out of hurriedly before even moving in, in Hackney Wick, East London.... I jumped in there first of all because I was desperate [I'd sold my house and had to move before the new folks moved in], but then needed to stay with a friend for a couple of months while I found something much more ok. Which is why I'm being super cautious this time.
For a start I'm going to email the lady I know who may have some connections in the local housing department. I also need to get an appointment set up soon with the local council private tenants help place, and email Shelter....
I think that you moving alone is probably the best thing for you, because although you could end up with lovely people you could also end up with complete twats and I dont think that you could cope with that.
I realise that sounds rude, I think you cope very well with your situation but I think if you ended up living with people who were even louder than your housemate now or who did worse things like took your stuff without asking or used all your things if would be horrible for you.
So I understand what you mean RE wanting to live on your own, I think theres only so long you can share with people who arent partners/family before you start to feel a bit closed in.
There are times to stay put, and what you want will come to you.
But there are times to go out into the world and find such a thing for yourself.
I aint no abacus but you can count on me.
Liv, you are totally right and spot on. Thank you so much for understanding.
My problems are
a) getting up the courage to get the process started
b) getting a letting agent/landlord to believe that I would be able to manage financially with the rent price/s I am looking at
c) finding a place in the right area that fulfills the essentials that I am looking for.
I can try to help you with c if you let me know where and what you're looking for. For a and b though, there's not much I can do except tell you to go for it.
Emily
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I know this is a month old thread. But I'm right now ready to start the process.
There's still the income issue.
And an ID issue. Though I'm going to renew my hugely out of date passport asap.
One letting agent at least only takes certain things as POA, and I have none of them [except I will have passport, but that's not address]. Everything's in my landlady's name, obviously, and for some strange reason this one letting agent I read doesn't have bank statement on the list...
I can't even give my parents as guarantors any more, I gather, as they're both retired.
I have emailed Shelter. And when I have some privacy I can phone them if need be, too.
Can any other Londoners [preferably, but other UK is ok, but I know London can be it's own thing..] let me know what their experience has been with letting agents etc and the above?
It depends how 'nice' the place is. I'm living in really cheap accomodation, and my landlord let me move in on the basis of a two minute conversation, with rent paid cash-in-hand. If you're living somewhere nice, they're going to be aprehensive about you not being dodgy and wrecking the place. Perhaps you could ask about alternatives, or providing a reference from your current landlady?
It doesn't matter where you come from; it matters where you go.
No-one gets remembered for the things they didn't do.
We won't all be here this time next year,
so while you can take a picture of us.
We're definitely going to hell,
but we'll have all the best stories to tell.
Would it be worth getting a provisional driving licence for proof of address? I know it costs but at least it would help.
I'm a landlord and I use a letting agent and she's really good. I also think they can be wary due to past bad tenants as I know I am. Also could your current house mate/ landlord write you a reference?
I had a provisional licence once upon a time. Had some lessons but was told would never make a driver [true, due to my squiffy sense of space/distance]. They wouldn't issue another, would they?
My landlady would provide a reference. [Unless she's really peeved with me for some reason.]
It's more a problem that letting agents use referencing agencies that use strict criteria for income.
I've been a homeowner before, as well as renting on my own privately [but the letting agent branch I used has now closed... in East London. I tried finding my old landlord online but no luck.] I'm trustworthy and everything.
I got an email back from Shelter, but it wasn't really that helpful. I was hoping that they'd be able to offer more specific and less generic advice. I guess I need to phone them. I just don't know where to start, or quite how to approach a potential letting agent/landlord about my situation without undermining myself. I also don't want to get ripped off or anything - I really need support to find a reputable place which would also accept me and my financial situation.
I've just discovered that Gumtree = either cheap cruddy places [e.g. no lock on door, obvious damp on walls - clear on ad photos!] or expensive out of my range totally places [£360 a week for a studio for goodness sake!]
what area are you looking for and what's your budget? I can have a look for you if you'd like (I've moved house in London like a billion times so I'm good at finding stuff)
I'm pm-ing you, Jodie, as I don't want to stick the info so public.
If there's anything out there, it would be awesome, thanks Jodie. :)
Mind you, I do have to wait until I get my new passport before I can approach any potential LA/LL. But getting a sense of things, and whether things are realistic is important at this stage.
To be fair, a 'houseshare' could be considered a studio if the room was fully self-contained. Of course, the advertiser could be just trying to attract more traffic, but you could possibly report it and tell them that it is not a studio.
