Newbie landlord advice please

Werdnal

Kynthia wrote: »

No, don't do it. It sets a precedent that you don't want.

The only time my flat took that long to find a tenant was because I let a new agent convince me to price it at a higher amount. That extra £50pm cost me a month's rent which makes no financial sense. I know a private landlord that deliberately prices his house below the going rate because that way it generates a lot of interest. He then gets to pick the best from a selection of possible tenants, they are grateful and therefore treat the property well and stay long term meaning less voids. All of this makes good financial sense to him.

I would agree totally with the above. My flat could let at £25'ish more a month (the one next door goes for that), but I keep it lower to secure long-term tenants, whilst the other flat gets 6-12 month fixed terms and tenants seem to move on. One of mine stayed for over 5 years!

Making the most of your letting investment is not about getting the most rent you can each month, it means getting the most rent you can EVERY month, and sometimes that means setting yours a little below the competition!

People selling here are often asked to post a link to their advert for us to critique and comment on the presentation and improvements they could make to market the property better. Would you care to tell us where you ad is, so we could look at it with a view to whether you could make any changes? Be warned, members can be blunt, but in the long run, viewing something with impartial and fresh eyes might just point out something you have totally overlooked which is putting people off viewing!

ACG

Dont do it.
I had a lovely lady come visit my house with her 2 kids who were very polite aged about 6.

I thought, what trouble am i going to get from them so never even went to view the property periodically - when she moved out she left the house in a tip, had a 6inch hole drilled through the basement wall and she had been growing cannabis down there!

You need to be business minded - rent and deposit or no property! If the rent doesnt come in on time then you go down the official routes. If you cant be like that then i would get a management company in.

mumlady1

Thanks everyone for taking the time to reply. I have done the whole landlord thing properly so far, registration, association, deposit scheme, etc etc but I'm sure you'll all agree that nothing beats experience in the field.
In my heart I knew it was a no go but trying to balance that with being a decent person and remembering what it was like when I was just starting out
BUT. You are absolutely right, I need paying tenants who know that I'm not a doormat. I'll definitely have another look at my advert & pricing. I'd like to post a link so you can see it but I haven't worked out how to yet
Thanks again everyone

Werdnal

To post a link, go to the advert page, and hover over the address bar at the top - right click your mouse and it will come up with a little menu box. Click on copy.

Then return here, post a reply and within in, click the mouse right button again, and it will open the menu. Click on "paste" and it will drop the "link" to the advert address into the reply.

mumlady1

Thanks Werdinal, much appreciated :T

mumlady1

Hi everyone
I was on a couple of days ago asking for advice regarding a young couple who wanted to rent my flat but didn't have both deposit & 1st months rent. As it now turns out they don't have references or bank statements either so I've wished them well & sent them on their way
As a separate issue I happened to mention how little interest we have had in the flat & a couple of you asked for a link to the advert so you could offer advice or comments.
The link is posted below but whilst I'm a big girl & don't need comments sugar coated, I don't want nasty, brutal comments either please :eek: so keep them to yourself !
I am thinking carefully about re-pricing although my flats are not the most expensive in our area as it is.
However, if you have the time, have a look & let me know what you think
Thanks again

http://www.gumtree.com/p/flats-houses/2-bedroom-flat--newly-furnished-freshly-decorated--alva/1006953582

*miaomiao*

One of your images is showing the 'thumbnail image' rather than the full-sized one. I think it's a garden.

Datolite

I'd also recommend Spare Room to list your property.

RAS

Starting point

2 bedrooms -single, double?

Ground floor, top floor, What?

How do you access the garden?

Blackpool_Saver

Can I be very honest? I don't want to offend you but it looks very dark and gloomy. The kitchen is very dated too. Why not pull it off and re-list it after putting some modern kitchen doors on, a more hygienic toilet seat and pictures with the light of day in them. Open the curtains and let some light in. As it is I am not surprised you have no viewers to choose from. Sorry but you want it to go and at good price and that will help. Also one of the pictures doesn't open.
There is no such thing as DSS, and you need to proof read the text in the description, room dimensions would also be helpful.