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Disgruntled/Sad Landlord!!

Me!!

I have a cottage in a pleasant village. I used to live in it myself. I would be happy to live in it again. I still live in the same village.

Sadly the young woman and her partner (they now have 2 children) who have been renting it from me have left. I had it in the hands of an agent.

But my tenants have gone, leaving the house really dirty. They were well behind with their rent, which was moderate. The laminate floors are seriously damaged. The fitted kitchen really need replacing. The fridge door won't open properly.
The oven is not operative. They have left assorted rubbish, garden chairs and a damaged trampoline.

I am sad about this because I have always considered myself a sympathetic landlord. "Please can we have a dog as my son has always loved this puppy we have'. Yes OK.

And now I am left with a property on which I will take a serious loss if I sell it as is, or will cost me serious money to get it back to as it was before I let it to this person.

Landlords are always considered as ogres, out to rip off the tenants. But it is not always like that.

Ho hum, as they say. Sadly.\
«1345

Comments

  • giraffe69
    giraffe69 Posts: 3,639 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Were you able to recover some of this by using their deposit?
  • AnotherJoe
    AnotherJoe Posts: 19,622 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Fifth Anniversary Name Dropper Photogenic
    You went into business. This is a business risk you took which it seems hasn't paid off . Cest La Vie.
    You should have occasionally checked on the state of the property, especially as you are local. Presumably it didn't get like this in 3 months. And what were you paying your agent for ?
    It was a business, you should not have tolerated the lateness with rent.
    You should be able to recover some of the damage amd rent from their deposit.
    I think it's fairly well known that not all tenants are angels.
  • agrinnall
    agrinnall Posts: 23,344 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    How often did you or your agent inspect the property? I'd guess not often enough if you were unaware that the place was getting in a bad state.

    You now have an opportunity to claim some or all of the deposit to clean and repair damage, and you can sue the tenant for any costs that aren't covered by the deposit.

    You don't seem to grasp that being a landlord is a business, take the emotion out of it and your sadness will go away.
  • Mojisola
    Mojisola Posts: 35,574 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Didn't you spot anything wrong during your LL inspections?
  • Marvel1
    Marvel1 Posts: 7,512 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Hopefully you can get it out of their deposit.
  • G_M
    G_M Posts: 51,977 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    It's always risky leting out a former home or home to which you might return. You inevitably have an emotional attachment.

    * How much were the arrears?
    * What action did you/your agent do to chase the arrears at the time?
    * did you evict or did the tenants give notice (or worse, did they just leave and the tenancy did not end?)
    * what happened to the deposit?
    * how much is the total cost of arrears & damage? More than the deposit?
    * Do you have an onward address for the tenants?
    * do you plan to re-let? If so, see

    * New landlords: advice, information & links

    * Letting agents: how should a landlord select or sack?
  • booksurr
    booksurr Posts: 3,700 Forumite
    always a mistake to let a property which has emotional or sentimental attachment for you.

    business is business
  • Cakeguts
    Cakeguts Posts: 7,627 Forumite
    Sixth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    This is an example of what I keep having to say to people that a property that you would buy to live in is not always the same property that would appeal to good tenants. If you want to rent a property buy one for that purpose. Don't try to let a property that you yourself would like to live in. Your preferences may not be the same as a good tenant would be looking for. If you want something to buy to live in you will make bigger compromises than a tenant would want to do.
  • tim123456789
    tim123456789 Posts: 1,795 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    if you live in a pleasant village


    can you consider holiday lets?
  • Crashy_Time
    Crashy_Time Posts: 13,386 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Seventh Anniversary Name Dropper
    Filey wrote: »
    Me!!

    I have a cottage in a pleasant village. I used to live in it myself. I would be happy to live in it again. I still live in the same village.

    Sadly the young woman and her partner (they now have 2 children) who have been renting it from me have left. I had it in the hands of an agent.

    But my tenants have gone, leaving the house really dirty. They were well behind with their rent, which was moderate. The laminate floors are seriously damaged. The fitted kitchen really need replacing. The fridge door won't open properly.
    The oven is not operative. They have left assorted rubbish, garden chairs and a damaged trampoline.

    I am sad about this because I have always considered myself a sympathetic landlord. "Please can we have a dog as my son has always loved this puppy we have'. Yes OK.

    And now I am left with a property on which I will take a serious loss if I sell it as is, or will cost me serious money to get it back to as it was before I let it to this person.

    Landlords are always considered as ogres, out to rip off the tenants. But it is not always like that.

    Ho hum, as they say. Sadly.\




    Not sure how damage to fittings will equate to a "serious loss"?


    People buy location and house size within the limits of the amount of credit the bank gives them (or their previous equity from a house sale) they won`t care about fittings. The serious loss will come when we have a recession or rates go up, so decide soon if it will sell or if it has rental potential (remember the government now wants a bigger slice of any profit you make from that)
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