Letting? Your top tips please.

MarianKendal

Myself and my partner have a couple of property investments and I would most definitely recommend having a gardener come in (even if it's just once every couple of months) - leaving it to tenants has always (in my experience) led to a unusable overgrown garden - especially in the summer months. But I guess it all depends on the quality of tenants that you get, some look after properties as if they were their own.

Again in our experience though this has not been the case - they just use the gardens to dump in - but that could be the fact that all of our rental properties are in and around the city center.

MissMoneypenny

MarianKendal wrote: »

Again in our experience though this has not been the case - they just use the gardens to dump in -

Blocked toilet?:D

Eton_Rifle

One house I rent out has a gardener and it's a condition of the tenancy agreement that they allow him access and pay for his services (£700 pcm)

I've often wondered what would happen if they refused this gardener access to the grounds (as I assume they technically could) but so far no-one has refused and they've always agreed times and paid him directly.

Just something to bear in mind as they could refuse, quiet enjoyment and all that.

G_M

How big is the garden? And what the h*ll does the gardener do to justify £700 pcm?!

:eek:

Oh, and can I have a job please?

clutton_2

always remember that a VOID is preferable to a bad tenant

always remember that a VOID is preferable to a bad tenant

always remember that a VOID is preferable to a bad tenant

Tenant checking is THE most important part of this business... by far.......

Eton_Rifle

G_M wrote: »

And what the h*ll does the gardener do to justify £700 pcm?!

I don't know, I've never been able to figure it out myself.
Seems like money for old rope to me but it's the going rate apparently.

Editing - I meant to add : If you're not managing the property yourself, the agent you choose is absolutely vital but be aware there are two sets of staff within the agencies you need to consider. The tenant finders and the property maintenance staff.

I fell for the pitch from the sales crew once and made the mistake of thinking all the staff would be of a similar calibre. They sent a very competent senior sales agent round but the actual rental management staff were a truly appalling bunch of teenage airhead girls who only left off their nail-filing to do some work when cornered like a rat in a trap.

They made my life and that of my tenants stressful beyond belief and handled one difficult tenant so badly, they provoked him into being most unpleasant indeed.

So my tip is:

if you're using an agency for letting management, go to the office and interview the actual staff because that's who both you and your tenants will be living with day-to-day.
Those staff are an entirely different set of people to the tenant finders whom you meet up-front and who are presentable and slick.

The maintenance staff lurk unseen under a rock in the background and you'd do well to prise up that rock and have a good look at them. They are the people who will be representing you when things go wrong, they are your interface, not Ms Glossy Sales Brochure who's long gone.
Take it from me, you need to make sure they're the kind of people you want to be your front line of defence.

tbs624

If you are thinking of using a Letting Agent remember that *anyone* can set themselves up in business as an LA - no training, no qualifications, etc required. Some of them have an over inflated sense of self importance, a poor grasp of the finer points of LL& T law ( for some even a basic grasp of it is beyond them) and a lack of common courtesy that can cost you the loss of decent tenants.

Check the small print of LA's Ts and Cs, in particular what "admin fees" are likely to be charged to both you and your T and remember that they work for you, not the other way around.

Have a search on here for the Evict a Rogue LL thread and there are some "fine" examples of letting agents in there.

G_M

Eton_Rifle wrote: »

I don't know, I've never been able to figure it out myself.
Seems like money for old rope to me but it's the going rate apparently.

So you contract the gardening out, at an exhorbitant rate, and have no idea what they do? And then have the gall to force the tenants to pay this exhaubitant rate for an unknown service?

And your tenants meekly accept this?!!!!!
Editing -
So my tip is:

if you're using an agency for letting management, go to the office and interview the actual staff because that's who both you and your tenants will be living with day-to-day.
Those staff are an entirely different set of people to the tenant finders whom you meet up-front and who are presentable and slick.

I agree with the importance to evaluate all aspects of the agency's set up.
Another tip is to get a friend to pose as a potential tenant and see how he's treated AND what charges he's asked to pay. Tenants exploited by the agency will be disgruntled, and don't differentate between the agent and the landlord (rightly - they shouldn't have to).

Also ask to speak to other current landlords AND tenants on their books. In other words, reference your agent just as you would your tenant!

Eton_Rifle

Don't worry G_M, I frequently and sorrowfully jest about how little you get for your money nowadays! Sadly, the market deems it a fair price.

sarajames101

Put it in the rental agreement that access must be permited for gardener etc.

It's pot luck sometimes with renting, really can get lucky, or unlucky. Agents fee's vary but I would try and batter them down as much as possible.

One not do avoid, friends or friends of friends. Only causes problems.