Have you met your Landlord?

Callie22

We met our landlord on the first day of the tenancy when he decided to let himself in as we were unpacking. Actually, he gave his kids the keys and they came in first ... We weren't impressed and he got very annoyed when we asked him not to do that again.

chuckley

I dont really think u need to meet em. mines private landlord and only does text and email.

rev_henry

Counting_Pennies wrote: »

I have been both tenant and now landlord

As a tenant I have had a mixed experience. The first landlord we never met. Just saw the letting agent once on arrival. Paid the money and left after 6 months agreement.

Then bought our own house, and carried on life as owners for 12 years.

We then had a 6 month gap between house purchases so rented a house. It was an introductory via an agent, then landlord management. We were stalked from day one. The landlady came round daily for the first week. Then there were issues with fridges, cookers, cupboards. Basically they had not been right at the point of our arrival, so kept needing to be fixed. She would arrange to come round to measure something up, then wander around the rest of the house. Thankfully we just had to put up with it for 6 months, but it gave me the resolve never to be like that.

We now own a few buy to lets. I aim to have each property as up to date and clean and fresh as we can before the tenants move in. We advertise ourselves for tenants, so we get to meet them and know they are the right people for the property and for us to deal with. We have an independent inventory carried out before their arrival. On arrival we meet them go through the inventory and ask them to make any changes they are not happy with. We give them a bottle of wine as a house warming, then provide them with a folder with all our details in, bank details for monthly payment, payment date. Day of bin collection, utility company details etc. We then leave them to it. If there is an issue with rent we will contact them. If there is an issue with the property they will contact us.

When a tenant leaves, we have the same inventory lady return to the property and go over the inventory. She will advise us what is any of the deposit is necessary to keep back to pay for any repairs, so far nothing has had to be kept back. We then pay the deposit back to them.

I believe it is important to try to get the right tenant in the property and to meet them and ensure you are all right for one another. Then leave them happy in a home that is up to scratch, and fingers crossed everyone will stay happy

Can I be your tenant please?

quidsy

Callie22 wrote: »

We met our landlord on the first day of the tenancy when he decided to let himself in as we were unpacking. Actually, he gave his kids the keys and they came in first ... We weren't impressed and he got very annoyed when we asked him not to do that again.

The first thing we do, pretty much as soon as we are given keys, is change the locks, we keep the old barrels & keys & put them back when we move out but there is no reason for anyone except the people living in the house to have a key. I would have gone mentals had my LL done this, good for you for not losing it.

toneeb

Yep, met my landlord last year. He did some work on the property (bit of painting here and there) He lives abroad. We had a chat about the property, discussed a few things (the heating which is awful and the fact the double glazing is shot) He agreed that it can be a cold house but he seemed happy with us and we have quarterly inspections via an LA with no issues.

Bit miffed that he tried to jack up the rent by £100 per month a few months later (which we negotiated down to £50 a month increase!)

He has sorted issues (via the LA) pretty quickly however.

LEJC

bjbyorkshire wrote: »

I have a house which is let through LA. I have met my tenant once and spoken to him a couple of times on the phone when he needed some work done, otherwise I have left him well alone. . BUT.... Big problem now.
Thanks

I wanted to respond to this quote...although I dont see the point in re quoting the whole post...but essentially I dont want to turn into this type of landlord...sorry bjb if that sounds harsh but my view is that a tenant rents a property for a set time ...its handed over in a particular condition which is documented in the inventory...and returned in the same condition minus wear and tear....in my mind how the tenant manages the bit inbetween is up to them.

My house that I currently live in has what can be described as a lived in feel...there are muddles and if im homest maybe some dirt and dust...but its how we live as a family and we are happy. if someone comes to stay or we have visitors yes we tidy,we clean,we vacuum etc etc ...an no one is none the wiser that we sdont live in a "show home" all the time!!!!!

My point is isnt it a bit harsh to judge how someone chooses to live whilst they rent your property...and the point at which you should become concerned is when they dont hand it back in the same condition as when they took it over.

Its not your job as landlord to pass judgement on how they live in the property....those tenants may well invest a lot of time and money in deep cleaning prior to leaving...and you are judging them on a snap shot of one essential visit.

I am a first time LL...and believe me there is no one more passionate about my rental property than me...Its been in my family over 80 years and was originally built by my grandfather,so essentially I really do care about it and those who now live in it...I dont want to become the overbearing LL or indeed the aloof one....I belive they have a right to enjoy the home I've created....and hope they are !

Time may prove me wrong and of course ive no idea how things will be in 8 months when check out happens if my tenants do move on...but we chose a reputable LA who I trust to manage the property well.

DragonQ

I've had 4 private landlords in my life so far:

1) Shared house with other university students: we met the landlord in person when signing the contracts and no letting agents were involved. We saw her a couple of times throughout the year, she paid to fix a few things and we got our full deposit back.

2) Lodging with a co-worker: no agent, no deposit, no bills, just a very good flat rate.

3) Shared house with co-worker: everything through the agent initially but we spoke to the landlord on the phone a few times when the agent was lying to both parties. Got most of the deposit back.

4) Flat: everything through the agent, landlord inherited property and knows nothing about letting so I will likely never communicate with him directly.