Landlord advice on fuel tariffs when flat is empty

KarenT1978

What's the best fuel tariff to be on if you are landlord getting your flat back. My circumstances are that I've been left with a bit of a major redecoration project having been let down by the rental agency not carrying out inspections on my behalf. I can't afford to pay to get all the decorating done so will have to do the bulk of it myself. This will probably take me in to January as I have a full time job. I am disillusioned with renting and now want to sell the property, so obviously I could have the property on my hands for a few months yet as the beginning of the year is, I guess, probably a fairly quiet period when trying to sell. I won't be living at the flat so fuel usage should be minimal. I put what I thought were low figures into the MSE low energy club tool and it came back with schemes which had exit fees if you don't stay for the 12 months. I would hope fingers crossed I don't have to wait 12 months to sell the flat.

All advice gratefully accepted, thanks.

Pixie5740

Energy supplier Ebico has no standing charges and no exit fees.

https://ebico.org.uk/energy-plans-homepage/

Apparently Boxing Day is a popular day for people to search on Rightmove and Zoopla. New year new home I guess so your property might not be on your hands for as long as you think. Price it right and anything will sell.

How big a redecoration job are you talking about? It might not be worth your time, effort and money to redecorate prior to selling.

KarenT1978

Unfortunately my bathroom has been trashed after 4 years of neglect by the tenants. I had an agency who were managing it on my behalf who never alerted to me there was any issue. I attended the flat to arrange a replacement central heating boiler and at that point discovered my wrecked bathroom. If not for the broken boiler the damage would still be ongoing. The bathroom walls and ceiling are black with mould. The chrome fixtures are badly corroded broken or missing, the plasterwork in areas has been washed away where the tenants have allowed shower water to persistently wash against it and the Wooden vanity unit has warped and buckled due to the dampness. In short I need a new bathroom as in its current state it's unsellable.

It's interesting what you say about Boxing Day I had assumed January and February would be dead due to everyone having spent their money in the run up to xmas.

martindow

At this time of year you will need some heating to avoid frozen pipes and working in an icy house is no fun. You will also want it to feel warm and cosy for prospective buyers.

I wonder if it is worth changing suppliers for just a few months. The standing charge is going to be peanuts compared to the costs of selling.

theartfullodger

Indeed: Utility costs are the small item: Lost rent, council tax, insurance whilst unoccupied etc etc etc much more.

Crack on with the job, keep it warm

G_M

Borrow some money? Pay to get the work done asap by professionals then get the property sold asap.

Quicker it gets done, the more you'll save on utilities, on council tax, on lost rent, on mortgage payments, on insurance, on.............

[Deleted User]

I'd be wondering if there is adequate ventilation in the bathroom.

Shouldn't it be impossible for shower water to fall on bare plaster walls unless a tenant stands there for hours directing the water at the plaster i.e. shouldn't areas around the shower except perhaps for the higher reaches be tiled and was waterproofing done?

So damp a cupboard rots?

It sounds like your tenants have had a hellish four years to be honest.

KarenT1978

RE deannatrois Comment.

Prior to renting out the property I lived at the flat myself for 14 years. In those 14 years there was never an instance of mould in the bathroom because I had the common sense to know that on finishing a shower you need to do a bit of tidying up afterwards and keep the bathroom aired otherwise you get mould. My only maintenance required in the 14 years staying there was replacing the silicon and repainting the walls and ceiling every few years. Also prior to renting out I had fitted a new expensive powerful ceiling extractor fan which was set to run for twenty minutes after the bathroom light was switched off. I paid extra for one that ran quietly so it wouldn't disturb my tenants if they got up to use the toilet in the night. My tenants were two mid twenties males who prior to going in to my flat had lived in either their parents homes or halls of residence were someone else would be cleaning their toilet/shower facilities for them. University it seems does not teach common sense. On discovering the mess my bathroom was in I spoke to the tenants on the need to keep on top of tidying up after themselves and keeping the bathroom aired when they have had a shower. I arranged a few days later with the tenants to visit the flat with a tradesman to asses the damage. On arriving at the appointed time we found there was no one in. After a mobile phone call, one of the tenants then turned up at the flat 15 minutes later and let us in. On entering the flat I discovered the bathroom door had been left closed and the tenants had had a shower that morning and left the bathroom soaking wet including a puddle of water on the floor where they had got out the bath and dried themselves. The bathroom had been left like this for the whole day whilst they were out attending university. They had completely disregarded my plea to put a bit of effort in tidying up after a shower and airing it.

Sometimes when you rent out to people, the people you end up renting to can be naive at best and ignorant at worst. If its not your property why should you bother spending time tidying up after yourself when you'd rather be down the student union.

So deannatrois be a bit more careful when placing your cheap shots in future.

G_M

Then you have o problem. Charge the tenants for the reapirs.