Providing references when flat hunting

Not a pressing issue for me yet but I was wondering what you give for previous landlord references if you have been a homeowner in the US? I would be glad to write myself a letter telling my future landlord what a wonderful tenet I am but somehow I don't think that will fly.  Anyone been in this situation?

 

I most recently stayed with my parents....maybe I should get a letter of reference from them!

Hee hee! I will be sleeping on a friends couch for a few weeks. Didn't think about her! 

I haven't but in this situation I would get a letter of reference from your bank if you can saying you always paid your mortgage on time. The thing landlords are most interested is whether you pay the rent on time.

That's a great idea! Never occured to me. Thanks!

I wasn't asked by my letting agent or landlord because I told them I was a homeowner in the US.  I did have a copy of my payments from my mortgage company but no one ever asked for them.  If you don't have references, you may have to have a guarantor.  I did but I think that was because I was a full time student without a job instead of not having references.

Hmmm. I wonder if having a letter from my employer stating that I am full time with X salary would work?

It might help, might not.  It just depends on the agent and the landlord.  Different agents want different things.  It's probably better to have more evidence than not enough.

That makes a lot of sense. I will see what I can scrape together. Thanks for the input!

i supplied my letting agency with a letter from my employer (on their headed paper) stating my salary.  however, they wanted my employer to fill out their specific form.  to each their own.

We had the following as references for the letting agency:

Letter of offer of employment with salary for DH
Letter of reference from bank saying we had X number of accounts with them all in good standing
I called the last place we rented (5 years prior) and got lucky - the manager was still there and remembered us. So even though their records were no longer available from that time, she wrote us a letter. I was shocked that she remembered us (I think it was because DH had long hair) but she even remembered the apartment number! So you might give it a shot at the last place you rented. Had that not worked we were going to use statements from our mortgage showing the monthly payments being made in a timely manner.

Good luck

Hmmm. I wonder if having a letter from my employer stating that I am full time with X salary would work?

I gave this and they okay'd a letter from a friend in the UK who has known me for 2 years (agent's idea... just so they had it in the books that they checked me)... as a character reference

Courtney, even though I'm not there yet, the letting agent I have been dealing with had me send her my employment offer letter (showing salary), a letter of reference from a former landlord (five years ago), a letter from my current landlord (who also happens to be my brother  which probably doesn't count for much as we have the same last name so it's pretty obvious we're related), my FBI background check, and my letter of confirmation from my UK bank stating that I have an account with them.

FBI background check!!! Even the Home Office doesn't ask for that!!

whoa paula! better be a goooood place!!! that's a lot of info to ask for!!

just another example that different agents will ask for different things!