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New Landord Question
Comments
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Thank you all for the advice, really helpful. Our plan is to have the agents manage for a year whilst we get our heads around all the intricacies of being a landlord then self manage. I think I was a bit frustrated because when I cleaned the property prior to the tenant moving in I switched the oven mains switch on to check it. There were no appliance instructions available but that’s something I will certainly make a note of to make available going forward! I think we will ask that in future prior to any tradesmen being instructed to let us know the issue first.November 2022 - £46,626.96 / February 2025 - £13,020.00
Debt paid off so far - £33,606.96 (72.07%)
Current Challenges:
#10 DFBXMAS25 £2100 / £15120 (13.88% paid off)
Completed Challenges:
#15 DFBXMAS24 £16972.80 / £14000 (121.23% paid off) COMPLETED!
#41 DFBXMAS23 £14751.96 / £12000 (122.93% paid off) COMPLETED!
MissPennySave's Debt Free Diary - DFW Diary0 -
MissPennySave said:There were no appliance instructions available but that’s something I will certainly make a note of to make available going forward!
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I have folders for all the appliances in my rental properties. It didn’t stop the tenant calling the letting agent to say they can’t get the oven to turn on who then in turn contacts me (why was I paying them for a fully managed service?) to tell me the tenant can’t turn on the oven. I asked the agent, “remember I told you there is a folder with containing the manuals for all the appliances in the kitchen, has the tenant tried reading them?”The same letting agent also contacted me because a light had stopped working in one of my rentals. I asked if it needed a new bulb. Never heard about the matter again. Total mouth breathers.The fact the letting agent you’ve engaged got an electrician out instead of checking the oven was switched on is a red flag to me about the level of service you can expect from them. I hope the contract you signed with them makes it easy to exit said contract without too much financial penalty.2
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Your tenant may be muppets, but who left the cooker switched off at the mains?
(my oven also has the curious requirement of then having to set the clock before it will heat up - a quirk that you would only know about by reading the manual...)0 -
When I self-managed our former rental property we had no end of 'problems' such as these reported by tenants. I really think there should be some form of test you can ask them to complete to find out how incompetent they are in advance!
My ones were:
'The toilet is blocked' - her son had flushed one of those plastic toilet block case things down, then loads of paper
'The electrics are broken' - using a faulty fan heater had tripped the fusebox
' The locks are broken' - doesn't know how to lift up/use a UPVC door handle
'The windows are broken/ draughty' - didn't realise you could slide the vents (in the modern UPVC windows) shut1 -
I have a tick-list I use to "re-set" the property before a tenant moves in. It's also an opportunity to do (hopefully) minor repsird. I check things that should be ON and ready to use eg the oven, the cooker hood fan, any built-in appliances, all these items have separate isolating spurs/switches in "hidden" places. Then I tell the incoming tenant that these appliances are ready to be used, and I demo the fact by switching the oven light on, pressing the fan button on, etc. I apply the checks to stuff all around the property to avoid these costs. Please remember some of your tenants have never had control of a property before - they aren't idiots, just zero experience. If your property is local to you, but you want to use agents, then do your pre-let checks and handover to the agent, but don't expect them to demo anything. You will know your appliances work and as already suggested make it clear what you expect from your agent. Obviously I am hands-on with my tenants, I dispair of agents!0
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silvermum said:When I self-managed our former rental property we had no end of 'problems' such as these reported by tenants......
My ones were:
'The toilet is blocked' - her son had flushed one of those plastic toilet block case things down, then loads of paper
'The electrics are broken' - using a faulty fan heater had tripped the fusebox
' The locks are broken' - doesn't know how to lift up/use a UPVC door handle
'The windows are broken/ draughty' - didn't realise you could slide the vents (in the modern UPVC windows) shut
OK, the way to deal with this "stupidity" - plan ahead.
1) It's a fact that a lot of people treat the WC as a rubbish bin. If they block it, the tenant pays to fix it! I show the WC is working by flushing it, on my tick list. I also provide a small pedal-bin in the bathroom it has it's own listing on the inventory and a comment beside that says "Do not flush rubbish down the WC, use the pedal bin provided, and empty into the Council waste system as appropriate". The paperwork I leave the tenant in the "property manual" includes the Council's waste system, including what can and can't be recycled. Tell your agent to make tenant aware of any manual.
2) If the tenants say the electricity is OFF your agent should be advising on what to check, if a call-out is required then the tenant should be billed if their own appliance is causing the trip, maybe on a first instance maybe let the tenant off, but advise them for next time and tell them to buy a new fan. I assume your property's electrical installation is OK and you have the Periodic Test Certificate?
3) Door locks broken, the agent should have "demo-ed" that in my opinion, that's basic security (oops, take back what I said about "demos"!).
4) Window vents, as a hands-on landlord I demo that plus any additional vent latch on the opening window. I also provide close-up pictures of window locks and keys, so tenants know which way up the key goes (sometimes hard to tell) and which way is locked/open (before-and-after). These are in my "property manual".
All the effort up-front saves hassle and is a tool to train the tenant! Do your prep during the current tenancy so that all these issues are fresh in your mind, get it typed up at least as a draft and keep under review, and issue to any new tenant. I am guessing you have this one trained now? Reckon if new landlord laws come in you might find this prep useful, depends on what is being asked for.0 -
user1977 said:Your tenant may be muppets, but who left the cooker switched off at the mains?
(my oven also has the curious requirement of then having to set the clock before it will heat up - a quirk that you would only know about by reading the manual...)
If there is a power cut, the manufacturer feels it is safer for the oven to fail to safe, ie., not just switch back on rather than fail to danger, ie., switch on unexpectedly perhaps during the night or the following day which might lead to a claim for injury.0 -
In the grand scheme of things, I wouldn't worry too much about £65. I would, however, speak to the letting agents and make it clear what your expectations are, as others have said. Make it clear that you won't entertain invoices in the future where the issue is down to the tenants mistake or the letting agents not doing their job properly.
The main reason we don't let a letting agent manage our property is because we can often deal with issues much quicker than they will do. You'll also find repairs can end up costing more through the letting agents than finding a good trades person(s) to turn to when things go wrong.
We've had to spend around £4-5k on repairs to our house since August (a long story) but one complaint in particular was that an appliance wasn't working. We did some troubleshooting with the tenant and ultimately bought a new appliance. In between the new appliance arriving and me getting to the house to fit it, the original appliance started working again and has worked since, so now we have a 'spare' just in case....frustrating, but a letting agent would likely have still fitted the new appliance and billed us for the privilege.
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Anyone new to being a landlord, I recommend joining NRLA a trade body, annual fee about £90. Free legal advice; training courses; template documents; a landlord forum; trade discounts; etc.1
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