Landord Emergancy Cover

tourist4ever

I work in property management and whenever we hear BG there is a cold shiver down your spine. For a tenant/LL BG is awful if something goes wrong, most times their response times are slow and half the time they dont fix the initial problem. It could be that you never have repairs and i'm sure if you would compare local contractors with BG prices BG comes in cheaper but at what cost in the long run.. Recently one of my colleagueas had LL with BG cover and we lost count how many times they went out, probably six and still didnt fix the issue, that does not count the no shows.

AnotherJoe

"emergEncy"

:-)

UltraSoul

@Grumpy_chap I'm goming to do it unmanaged and do it myself. I’m still not ready to let it out, need to get a few things in place first. But the hopes are to have it rented out July/Aug As for white goods, there is a new built in oven and dishwasher. Though my understanding was a unfurnished property didn't have to include white goods. But i do have a firdge and dishwasher in there that i was planning on taking out.

 

@Slithery I'll have to have a look at the BtL agreement. Or even ask if they'd allow it.  But ideally i don't want to do the scheme. 

 

The reason i am doing this unmanaged is because once there is a tenant in "most" things should run smoothly and not need managing every day. As long as i have money saved aside for problems and the right insurances. I'm even happy to find contractors as and when they are needed. The only reason I was looking at the local authority guaranteed rent scheme is so i don't have to worry about chasing tenants for rent. But the rent guarantee from a management service does appeal to me so they can chase tenants and sort out problems like that.

As renting properties is not going to be my main source of income, I know it'll never make me masses amount of money. It'll just be a top up of my current earnings and will probably just all go into savings.

I found Howsy.com and they have a Howsy protect which is a fully managed service for £128 per month. Which may be worth exploring and looking into further, as they have a rent guarantee scheme.

UltraSoul

BG don't seem to be highly recommended from this thread.  maybe best to avoid them. 

Grumpy_chap

UltraSoul said:

@Grumpy_chap I'm goming to do it unmanaged and do it myself.  

The reason i am doing this unmanaged is because once there is a tenant in "most" things should run smoothly and not need managing every day. As long as i have money saved aside for problems and the right insurances. I'm even happy to find contractors as and when they are needed. The only reason I was looking at the local authority guaranteed rent scheme is so i don't have to worry about chasing tenants for rent. But the rent guarantee from a management service does appeal to me so they can chase tenants and sort out problems like that.

As renting properties is not going to be my main source of income, I know it'll never make me masses amount of money. It'll just be a top up of my current earnings and will probably just all go into savings.

It is entirely your choice if you choose to do this self-managed, but it may prove to be a false economy.

Have you ensured you know all the rules and regulations you need to meet?
I am not sure that "most" things are easy once there is a tenant in place.  "Most" of the time there is a tenant in place.
If you find contractors as and when needed, will you be able to get the contractors to respond in the timescale a tenant will require?
Have you checked that the rent guarantee policy you might get actually do the chasing and sorting out of problems?
Will your main source of income be employment?  Will you be able to "drop everything" to respond to a tenant's call-out?

Self-managing a rental portfolio is, IMO, better suited to LL's with sufficient properties that they can consider the rental income their first priority.  I will give you one example from my rental properties:

• I flew into Heathrow overnight on the Saturday before Christmas 2019 - as I progressed through the airport, the LA called (10 am) to say there was a problem with the bath
• I instructed the LA to attend the property that day and advise the solution required. 
• The LA called around lunchtime and said "need a new bath".
• I accepted the solution and instructed the LA to get it sorted.  
• I flew out of Heathrow for Christmas, Saturday evening 
• On Tuesday afternoon, the LA messaged to confirm the new bath had been installed, taps all sorted, new bath panel and tiles made good.

I had no disruption to any plans and the tenant had the issue sorted ahead of Christmas, so everybody happy

I don't think I could have arranged that at that time of year to be done that quickly even if I had been in the country and dedicated all my effort to the task - the LA can make that happen because they give a lot of work to a network of reliable tradespeople who then get things done.  

"Most" things happen at the most inconvenient time.

I am not saying it is never the correct decision to self-manage, but the benefits of a fully managed service extend beyond the financial costs to maintain that service.  My ethos is to prioritise the happy customer above all else, it has served me well.

Mutton_Geoff

AnotherJoe said:

"emergEncy"

:-)

TenAnt ;-)