Calling all Landlords!

Dumbledore55

sm9ai wrote:

Not really the fault of the tennants though.

I'm in the reverse situation. Being a tennant I get annoyed at the landlord for not fixing anything.

Generally as a tennant I will always leave a property in a better condition than when I find it. But speaking to other people, if its in good condition it will stay that way. Bad condition and it will get worse.

Being a good landlord I repair as many of them as I can but I have to say they are VERY picky and list things we would probably not worry about too much or at least not in a hurry. My house is not in a bad condition but when you're struggling with 2 mortgages you don't really need or want to pay for every tiny scratch, tear and mark to be instantly repaired.

And vice versa I understand a bit of wear and tear when someone has lived in a jouse for 9 months especially with young children. I don't complain about the crayon marks to the walls but I do expect the toilet to be clean and if they spill something on a carpet to clean it up.

Verbatim

Hi
I check out prospective tenants myself with
1) employer's reference
2) landlord's reference and
3) bank reference. With this the tenant pays £10 to the bank and signs a letter giving permission for the bank to give info to the L/L. It's just basic along the lines of Is x good for £y rent per month plus council tax of £r and water rates.

The last time our tenants changed our leaving tenants found us our new tenants by posting ads on free internet sites and the new ones moved in the same day the old ones moved out.

Despite problems over the years we have always had good relations with tenants and hold the opinion that an easy life is good: if tenants are good we don't ever put up the rent so generallly have long term tenants. When we have a change we put the rent at about the market level, usually a little less so we have a lot of interest. All our tenants would give us a reference to new prospective ones and we have always paid back the deposit in full and been understanding about late payment of rent in times of difficulty. Basically most people are trustworthy. That's not to say that any late payment is just left. It's better to chase up the rent immediately before any arrears get to be a problem and to agree how they are to be made up. But even when I've been owed 3 months by someone who had problems with his bank the money was paid in full eventually. I've usually felt our trust was not misplaced.

One thing to watch, which I've slipped up with sometimes, is to make sure that leaving tenants arrange to have all their rubbish removed at the end of the tenancy. There's a tendency to leave what is no longer required in the cupboards or garden and then you as the L/L end up paying to have it removed!

Sujamjen

This has been a very interesting thread and as I hope to be letting out a property soon I feel I've learnt a lot. I have one question that I'd like answered if poss. Do any of you do a credit search and if so who do you use and how? I ran a check on the web and came up with a company called TenantVERIFY who offer searches etc (and look quite good) but they are just a name to me! Any advice pls??

ps If I'm violating any rules by posting this I apologise but am not clear what is allowed and what's not.

Sujamjen

Oops sorry if this has appeared more than once - post keeps appearing and disappearing.

amboy

Sujamjen wrote:

This has been a very interesting thread and as I hope to be letting out a property soon I feel I've learnt a lot. I have one question that I'd like answered if poss. Do any of you do a credit search and if so who do you use and how? I ran a check on the web and came up with a company called TenantVERIFY who offer searches etc (and look quite good) but they are just a name to me! Any advice pls??

ps If I'm violating any rules by posting this I apologise but am not clear what is allowed and what's not.

we mainly rent to students but are taking more working people etc, a lot has to do with gut feeling, however as a landlord i have received calls from these reference companies.

i was very suprised that they called me on my mobile and asked if the rent was paid on time, were they in my opinion good tenants and did they leave the property in good condition.

I dont know what other checks they make, but I could have been a prospective tenants friend.

Homelet are another big reference agencies so check them out to. I personally dont use any of them.

Verbatim

I too have had agencies calling me for references and once when I said that a tenant had owed for 3 months, (see previous post) the woman doing the check just said "But otherwise he is a good tenant, yes?". I got the impression she wanted to hear a positive response. I fully expect she ticked the relevant box and gave him a clean bill of health. Therefore not sure how accurate they are. I think Homelet sells rental insurance too but again I'm not sure how this works in practice, what is excluded etc. I have other properties elsewhere in the country managed by an agent and they make commission on selling this but when a tenant left owing rent it seemed to pay for a few letters from a firm of specialist solicitors who were impossible to contact(voicemail and never returned calls) so again not sure it's of much value.

Evie_P

kingshir wrote:

Are there many landlords reading these boards?

Is it worth it or does the hassle outweigh the advantages?

An EA has been telling me horror stories today and as a very new landlord, I am now very, very nervous about the whole renting out thing!! :eek:

i think it depends on the tenants/landlords. I have a dog and have had rented accomodation previously and never had any problems, i have always left spotless and dog is not messy or destructive. I think word of mouth is best way for finding a good letting agent. As a tenant i have had problems with some agents as to what they feel is ok, particularly if it is not the same agent that does the move in checks.

I think 6 monthly visits are good too cos you can keep tabs on the whole condition and raise issues then.

I don't know if that helps

all the best

us,thecat&thedebt

hi were not ll but tenats

i think the best thing for a ll to do is not to pester the tenant unneccasarly...

our first landlord came round everyday checking stuff...

new place moved in dec 05 only saw the LL on weds when he came round to do a property check

we arranged a time for him to come was here 5-10 min told him blind was broken as is towel rail (has been since i moved in) told him doesnt bother us and he said if we wanted in fixed he will do if not dont worry..

i think check put him at rest (his first time letting) as he said wouldnt do a check for 4 months!

i think if your reasonable with tenats you can genuinley have a smooth ride

as for tenats giving list of broken things we have never done this!!!
like i mentioned i told LL about towel rail ect but only cos he came round

Verbatim

Blimey I only go round once, usually after 6 months!

Old_No.7

I rented through an agency once, and every month they'd send a letter saying they would come in for the monthly inspection at this and this date. Only they never showed up, not once in over a year.