Applying for a rental property with a large or extended family?

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My objective here is to help you get your rental application approved.

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Firstly I should point out, there are so many factors an agent takes into consideration when reviewing your application however essentially they need to prove you can pay the rent and look after the property.

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This blog only focuses on getting your application approved if you are applying for a property as a large or extended family meaning there are more than two adults and more than likely children looking to move into a rental property together.

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If you're not sure how relevant this is to you click here. ‍

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It's a free tool that tells you what you need to do to get approved based on your own situation. If you have not done that already I recommend you stop reading this and click the link above before reading this. You will get taken back here if it's relevant.

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The Challenges

When you rent with a large group you pose greater risk in the following areas:

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Time to screen

This is the big one. When you apply for a property with 2 or 3 other adults it takes a lot longer to screen your application. For example, if they need to verify 3 or 4 lots of income vs just one or 2. That's double the time to screen.

Why is this a problem: You may not even make the shortlist if a Couple with good renting history also apply for the property, this is because an agent will approve the best application they can in the shortest period of time. It's a business.

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More wear and tear

Naturally if there is more of you there is more wear and tear on the property. Meaning higher costs to maintain for the landlord.

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Recommendations

Make sure everyone completes their part of the application straight after the first person.

Make sure the application is fully completed. No questions unanswered.

Consider offering a higher rent to reduce the landlord's risk of additional maintenance costs (eg 3%), if you feel your application will be compared to other applications with only two adults.

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Badges

In addition to the above you should consider adding the following badges to your application to reduce the time to screen your application:

Rent Affordability - Show bank verified information that you can afford the rent in 5 seconds. Learn more.

Verified Tenant - Most agents will want to check you on the National Tenancy Database before they approve you. Save their time. Learn more.

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This next one will help the agent build an emotional connection to you.

Video Introduction - This is really powerful to help agents see how genuine you are. Takes 1 minute. This is a free option. Learn more.

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