calling all landlords & tenants (AGAIN! lol)

CB1979_2

hi guys right I've got a few people coming round to view my flat in the next couple of days and just want to ask for some advice.

the place is up for £800pcm

if a couple say yes "we'll take it" what should I do from there?

offer them a holding deposit?
if so how much?
also what should the receipt say?

obviously before I accept them I want to get them credit checked, ect and have the forms for them to fill out.

then what?

cheers

Doozergirl

Have you looked at landlordzone.co.uk, I think the address is? Lots of information there on exactly what to do and how to avoid the pitfalls of DIY letting. I'd go through everything there and then double and triple check I was doing it correctly. It's fine saving money by not using an agent, but you must make sure you do things correctly to save you money in the future too if they cause problems.

Print off copies of the credit check forms and take them with you for the prospective tenants to fill in. Ask them for a holding deposit and the fee for the credit checks there and then. Simply itemise the receipt and sign it 'received with thanks'. I'd also give them a breakdown of the total amount they will have to come up with before they move in, minus the holding deposit. Just so there's no shocks.

clutton_2

get them to fill in the complete tenancy application form from the site mentioned above by doozergirl - its one of the best. If they cannot fill it all in, or baulk at some of the questions, i would be very careful about giving them a tenancy.

NEVER ever ever ever ever hand over the keys until the first months rent, deposit and credit check fees have been paid - preferably in cash, or if by cheque not until the cheque has cleared.

Never give more than a 6 months term for the first time.

my advice would be to use an agent for the first 6 months, as this will give you time to learn the ropes, and you can learn from the agent at the same time. IT is far more complex than folks imagine.

A_Nice_Englishman

I presume you have calculated your likely profit (as opposed to income )making allowance for things like agents's fees, void periods, bad debts, possible increases in interest rates, legal costs for evicting bad tenants and repairing damage by same?

I did that and decided I'd rather sell the property and put the money in the bank.

CB1979_2

cheers guys yes, have been doing quite a bit of reading and research just wasn't sure how much to take as a holding deposit.

@ A N E - yes have done the sums, and I'm only doing this to fund the mortgage whilst my g/f goes into hospital.

should i tell them in advance, that when they come round to have the ID documents, (bank statement, driving licence, Passport & a utility bill) with them?

obviously i don't have a photocopier, so I was thinking of photographing all their docs, would this suffice?
alternatively get them to bring the originals with photocopies of their own?

barnaby-bear

clutton wrote:

get them to fill in the complete tenancy application form from the site mentioned above by doozergirl - its one of the best. If they cannot fill it all in, or baulk at some of the questions, i would be very careful about giving them a tenancy.

NEVER ever ever ever ever hand over the keys until the first months rent, deposit and credit check fees have been paid - preferably in cash, or if by cheque not until the cheque has cleared.

Never give more than a 6 months term for the first time.

my advice would be to use an agent for the first 6 months, as this will give you time to learn the ropes, and you can learn from the agent at the same time. IT is far more complex than folks imagine.

I wouldn't handover keys until AFTER the credit check has cleared...

clutton_2

I wouldn't handover keys until AFTER the credit check has cleared...

goes without saying !!!!!!!!

i had one family approach me and they filled in all the forms, ticked all the boxes, gave me credit-check fee money, and i had i visited them unexpectedly at their home (very nice too), and having phoned their current landlord discovered they were 10 weeks in arrears with rent, and owed nearly £1000 on the previous property they had lived in. They never contacted me again when i wrote to say that i was unable to offer them a tenancy - they were obviously hoping that i had not done such thorough checks.

mystic_trev

I have to say I use an agent for my two BTL's (Leaders) as I'm often out of the Country for long periods of time. I find it worth the cost of paying someone to sort any problems out.

CB1979_2

cheers everyone, reason why I'm doing this myself, is i have it on with 3 agents as well, and begrudge giving them £500 for finding me a tenant and that's it, so I thought I'd give it a go, trying to find me a tenant myself.

don't need them doing a maintenance package as my dad is an electrician and my brother is a plumber.

clutton_2

its not the maintainance issues that will screw you its the legal issues - they are highly complex. If you do not get the right tenancy agreement set up, and if you have not done the best checks on prospective tenants before they move in, you can be shafted SO easily !!!

i know a couple of dozen folks who have been screwed by professional non-paying tenants.

My builder had a tenant who paid him not one single penny - it took him 10 months to get him out - can you subsidise a mortgage for that long if it happens to you ? It cost him nearly £7000

Learn the business first - £500 is a lot less than £7k.


There are 70 different acts of parliament which cover rental properties.

CB1979_2

but yep, getting the checks carried out to rentguard standards, and taking out a policy with them to insure myself as well.

and also got an AST agreement all sorted out.

hopefully have everything covered.