Is this acceptable, tenants left flat

NervousHomeowner

want2bmortgage3 wrote: »

I agree, I don't think there should be a financial incentive to keep things clean! It's just your own personal standards of hygeine and self-respect!

Except that people don't always do what they should, hence why there is a deposit - because even if it doesn't work as an incentive to leave the place in a decent state, it should go someway towards paying for any damage they might cause.

I don't want to be a landlord in terms of dealing with tenants or maintaining a property, but I do want some sort of investment which will pay me back later on. This could still be property, just let an agent do the work I don't want to and take their cut?

Then I'm afraid you don't really want to be a landlord! You want the payout that it can provide but you don't want to do any of the legwork that goes with being a landlord and that's just not how it works. If you want a risk free venture that'll definitely give you some sort of pay back, visit an IFA and come up with a long term savings plan for your money.

An agency is not necessarily a fool-proof idea either - The best scenario ends with them taking a massive cut and therefore reducing your profit to a pittance. The worst scenario ends with them putting unsuitable tenants into your property, not taking care of any repairs and leaving you with hundreds of pounds of repairs that need doing. This isn't that unheard of either, in fact it seems to be quite common.