Why is a Credit Check Essential for Both the Landlord and the Tenant?

Whether you are property investor or a tenant, a credit check is something that you should be accustomed to and you should understand exactly how they work and the things to look out for. This article will give you the low down on credit checks for rental properties, from both the tenant and Landlords point of view.

The Tenant Credit Check

If you are a landlord and you have a letting agent managing the property for you, then the letting agent would normally take care of any credit checks. However, you should not take this for granted and you should check their procedure and whom they use to do their credit checks.

If you manage your properties yourself you should still make sure that you get the tenant credit checked. It doesn’t matter if the tenant is a close family friend, relative or someone you have just met, you should still get a credit check done of them.

There are many companies that offer to do credit checks on tenants; however, you should aim to use one with a good reputation for high standards. http://tenantverify.co.uk has a solid reputation amongst property investors and they should be able to provide you with everything you need.

The Landlord Credit Check

If you are planning on becoming a landlord for a living they it is essential that you keep on top of your own credit rating.

The first thing you need to do is to check what is actually on your credit file about you. The websites listed below are the main credit reference agencies in the UK and they will be able to give you information about what is on your credit file.

1. https://www.creditexpert.co.uk/
2. http://www.equifax.com/home/en_uk
3. http://www.callcreditcheck.com/

Credit reference agencies like the ones listed above, will provide you with details of what is held about you on your credit file. There is normally a small fee to pay to get access to this information. They can also help you amend any mistakes and give you advice on how to improve your credit rating. We highly recommend Experians service at: https://www.creditexpert.co.uk/, especially if you are on a budget but need help with improving your credit file.

An alternative is to use a company like http://www.checkmyfile.com/ who checks all three credit reference agencies.

Being a property investor for a living normally requires you to take on huge amounts of debt. You will have mortgages that can total millions of pounds. The banks will have the mortgages secured on the property itself but they will normally still want to see evidence that you have a good credit history. This is why they will do a credit check on you. If you do not have a good credit history, you might find it very difficult to get going started.

Even with a bad credit history, there are still many ways for you to get started in making money from property. We reveal some of the basic ways for free on this website and through our property investment newsletter. We also go into much more depth in our property investing guide

What about Companies That Claim They Can Help You to Improve Your Credit Rating

Over the years, many different companies have sprung up, claiming that they can improve your credit file for a fee. This fee is normally well over a hundred pounds and sometimes can be several hundreds pounds.

Using these companies is a waste of time and money. Why would you want to use a middleman when it is quicker and easier to go directly to the credit reference agencies themselves? Despite the promises they make, these companies can do nothing for you that going direct to the credit reference agencies can’t. In fact, by going direct, you will normally get things done quicker, with a lot less hassle and for a fraction of the cost.

The bottom line is that if you need to have an important credit check done on you, for any reason, then it would be wise to invest a few pounds to check what is on your credit file first. There may be errors on there (such as the wrong spelling of your name etc.) that would stop you from getting credit. These errors maybe things that you can put right before you apply for credit in the first place.

return from this credit check page to the home page of investment property guru

Return to top