Landlord wants to sell!

Hutch100uk

Guest101 wrote: »

Conversation evolve and we've dealt with the photos... keep up


My point isn't about creating an agency, its the fact that an agent is unqualified and has zero accountability in this situation. It's worthless

Haha sorry, I just feel like I have started a whole other debate now. I also apologise if I offend anyone with this statement but..... I have no respect for estate agents in general. The request of reference is another way to extort money. My last agent actually said they would charge me £50 to write me a reference!! I mean, can you actually believe that? Not to mention the charge of £50 to renew a lease, which involved changing the date on a word file and printing it out.

Now look what you have started.......

Pixie5740

Hutch100uk wrote: »

Because its the details of an actual letting agency.

And the next landlord/letting agency knows that you rented the property through a letting agency how? Doubtful they'd know who you rented from. In all the years I rented not once did a landlord ask to visit my current home and references were variable. Some just contacted my landlord and asked if I had been/was still a tenant there...that's it. Another letting agency ended up phoning my friend for a reference (duplicitous behaviour from me) because my landlady at the time was batshit crazy and who knows what sort of reference I'd have got. The letting agent was none the wiser that my friend hadn't been my landlord and was satisfied with the reference, did Pixie pay her rent on time, did Pixie keep the property in good order....blah blah.

Hutch100uk wrote: »

I'm not sure why everyone is getting hung up on the reference. I had wanted to know about letting my landlord in to take photos!!!

Yes you can stop your landlord coming in to take photos. Whether or not you want to depends on a) what impact that might have on getting a reference from your landlord and b) how important the reference might be, if you end up renting from Miss Samantha or western promise for example.

Guest101

HappyMJ wrote: »

I can quite honestly say I have no idea either. Lucky I don't provide them as I'd be accused of lying.

My tenants have broken the terms of the tenancy agreement by painting a wall without getting prior permission so if I did write a reference telling a future landlord the truth as it stands that my tenants have no regard for the terms in the tenancy agreement and have wilfully breached it then they will never find a new property and never move out.....oh and they consistently pay the rent 2-3 days late every month. I will not be able to truthfully say the rent was paid on time every month.

I'll write their reference for them.


X and Y are a lovely couple who made regular rent payments throughout their tenancy. They have even redecorated the property to above average standard.


I'll be emotional when they leave and wish them luck in the future.


It's truthful and worth... nothing.

Hutch100uk

Well if push comes to shove I can use my previous letting agent although the thought of paying them £50 does not sit well.

We are going to stress to the landlord that its a matter of security. We rented a house a few years ago that was on the market. A few weeks after a viewing, we were burgled. I'm sure this was unrelated but, how do you know??

HappyMJ

Hutch100uk wrote: »

Well if push comes to shove I can use my previous letting agent although the thought of paying them £50 does not sit well.

We are going to stress to the landlord that its a matter of security. We rented a house a few years ago that was on the market. A few weeks after a viewing, we were burgled. I'm sure this was unrelated but, how do you know??

You don't.

Maybe you could ask to approve the pictures so the pictures they get just shows the front and rear of the property, the garden, the kitchen, the living room without the TV pictured, the dining room, the bedrooms without any valuables on view (put everything away) and the bathroom.

You should be able to get a set of pictures that show the stuff you have isn't worth anything.

I would though if you do own small items of value change the locks and put things such as passports, jewellery and currency into a small fire proof safe and then bolt the safe down to the concrete floor so the safe itself can't be stolen. When you're renting property others have keys. If there is no evidence of a break in your insurance may not pay out for those stolen/missing items. You can suspect someone may have had access to the keys but you won't be able to prove the LL's dodgy friend or even a previous tenant took the keys, burgled your house and returned the keys.

If you're allowing access for viewings you will also have no idea if someone was allowed to roam around your house without the agent accompanying them and slipped a item of jewellery into their pocket whilst "viewing" the property.

Hutch100uk

HappyMJ wrote: »

You don't.

Maybe you could ask to approve the pictures so the pictures they get just shows the front and rear of the property, the garden, the kitchen, the living room without the TV pictured, the dining room, the bedrooms without any valuables on view (put everything away) and the bathroom.

You should be able to get a set of pictures that show the stuff you have isn't worth anything.

I would though if you do own small items of value change the locks and put things such as passports, jewellery and currency into a small fire proof safe and then bolt the safe down to the concrete floor so the safe itself can't be stolen. When you're renting property others have keys. If there is no evidence of a break in your insurance may not pay out for those stolen/missing items. You can suspect someone may have had access to the keys but you won't be able to prove the LL's dodgy friend or even a previous tenant took the keys, burgled your house and returned the keys.

If you're allowing access for viewings you will also have no idea if someone was allowed to roam around your house without the agent accompanying them and slipped a item of jewellery into their pocket whilst "viewing" the property.

In that case they can use the original photos they used to rent the house!!

westernpromise

HappyMJ wrote: »

I can quite honestly say I have no idea either. Lucky I don't provide them as I'd be accused of lying.

My tenants have broken the terms of the tenancy agreement by painting a wall without getting prior permission so if I did write a reference telling a future landlord the truth as it stands that my tenants have no regard for the terms in the tenancy agreement and have wilfully breached it then they will never find a new property and never move out.....oh and they consistently pay the rent 2-3 days late every month. I will not be able to truthfully say the rent was paid on time every month.

Except that you don't provide a tenant with a reference until after they've given notice. So at that point they're leaving anyway.

HappyMJ

westernpromise wrote: »

Except that you don't provide a tenant with a reference until after they've given notice. So at that point they're leaving anyway.

Sorry to be pedantic but you've just contradicted yourself.

You said earlier you would consider it a "red flag" if a tenant had committed to moving without finding somewhere else to live first.

So I'm now a little confused. The tenant has to find somewhere to live (bigger, smaller, whatever reason they have), can't get a reference without giving notice, I then potentially give a truthful reference (I don't but let's assume I do), the potential landlord then turns them down as a non reliable tenant and now as a tenant they are committed to moving out and therefore intentionally homeless and living on the street.

nkkingston

Are references a regional thing? I've never been asked to provide a reference in over a decade of renting in Yorkshire & Humber. Beyond "does this person have a history of paying rent" and "does this person appear to have the ability to pay rent ongoing" I don't think either landlords or agencies have given a fig about my rental history. I've only been asked why I was moving on viewings, as part of the awkward estate-agent-conversation-to-distract-you-from-the-mould-growing-up-the-walls, so whether that was ever recorded or passed on I don't know. To be honest, it's just as well, because god knows we had enough trouble getting in touch the some of our landlords over emergencies, so how long they'd have taken to respond to reference requests is anyone's guess.

Guest101

HappyMJ wrote: »

Sorry to be pedantic but you've just contradicted yourself.

You said earlier you would consider it a "red flag" if a tenant had committed to moving without finding somewhere else to live first.

So I'm now a little confused. The tenant has to find somewhere to live (bigger, smaller, whatever reason they have), can't get a reference without giving notice, I then potentially give a truthful reference (I don't but let's assume I do), the potential landlord then turns them down as a non reliable tenant and now as a tenant they are committed to moving out and therefore intentionally homeless and living on the street.

I don't think WP likes tenants very much.


Must like their money though...