26th Oct2011

UNFURNISHED PROPERTIES – Why Landlord still need an inventor

by admin

It is a popular misconception among Landlords who own unfurnished properties that there is no need to have an inventory.

How wrong they are.

A property consists of more than furniture or what is known as loose contents, without stating the obvious, there as walls, ceilings, doors, windows, carpets, curtains, kitchen units, worktops. All of these have a condition when the tenancy commences.

Failure to have a comprehensive form of condition, can leave the landlord with expenses he did not expect, due to damage to doors, walls, carpets and worktops etc. Landlords can avoid these costs by having a professional check-in and check out.

So your walls were magnolia when the tenant moved in and now they are mauve. The carpets were new and now they look like a car engine has been dismantled in the middle of the lounge.

It’s easy to just take it from the deposit right? WRONG….. Long gone are those days, when it was up to the outgoing tenant to argue. These days the boot is firmly on the other foot.

It is no good just having a sheet of A4 paper just saying Magnolia Walls, beige carpets, without any form of condition or description.  Many landlords loose the arbitration case, due to lack of firm evidence of the original condition, leaving the Landlord having to cover all of the costs himself. It requires no imagination as to the cost of extensive cleaning, repairs and redecoration that is often needed.

According to the Association of Independant inventory clerks, the most common damage found in unfurnished properties includes the following:

  • Doors and walls – Damage/holes from impact, walls – nail and screw holes, drilled cable holes, impact indents from door handles, general excessive dirt and marks,
  • Painting and redecoration – Tenants repainting without permission in outrageous colours.  Often redecoration is required before the property can be let again
  • Carpets – Stains, burns, tears, sometimes whole sections cut out due to tenant damage and replaced with off cuts of a similar carpet found inside cupboards or wardrobes
  • Light fittings – Tenants take bulbs and lampshades, sometimes whole fittings and the bare wires are hanging from the ceiling
  • Kitchen worktops – Damage, burns to worktops, knife marks in worktops and chips
  • Kitchen appliances – Damage to ceramic hobs, one recently was cracked right across, fortunately the inventory was professionally compiled and the tenant was made to pay for a new hob. Broken shelves in fridges, damage to washing machines and dish washers
  • Bathrooms – Cracks in sinks toilets and baths – bathroom suites are very expensive to replace and sometimes hard to match when replacing only one item
  • Windows – Common damage are chips and cracks, broken window fittings
  • Gardens – If the condition is not clear at time of check in, gardening is very expensive – £20 per hour is normal – and the landlord, without any firm evidence, will be picking up the bill. Every area of a garden needs to be listed on an inventory, not just the grass, but the condition of the borders, weedy or not, patio – weedy, mossy, stained etc. Loose or broken flagstones – as always detail is needed to be able to judge what additional damage has occurred
  • Cleaning – if the inventory does not categorically state the cleaning condition of every area, then the landlord will be stuck with the cleaning bill after the check-out.

On average a check in and checkout costs little more than £50 on each occasion with the Landlord either paying for the check in or checkout.  Which has to be a bargain when you consider how much the costs could be otherwise

If you have found this blog useful, please comment below or better still share it with others. Feel free to look at some of the other content.

If you are considering investing in Bristol or need assistance with your existing portfolio, I have over 15 years experience in Letting and Property Management in Bristol, letting properties from studios to Penthouses. Feel free to call me today on             0845 652 1428       or contact me at www.igloolets.com

Category : landlords, move in, tenants
Tags : , , , , , , , , , ,
0 Comm
01st Sep2011

Why Do I Need an Inventory?

by admin

One of the top ten questions I am asked by a prospective Landlord when I go to look at a property, is “If I am going to let out my property unfurnished Why do I need an inventory? Quite simply the answer is always yes.

Even when the property is going to be let unfurnished, you will still be providing some things that can potentially be damaged such as a fitted kitchen, a bathroom, and even such things as walls and carpets.

An inventory or schedule of condition is increasingly fundamentally important, now that deposits are protected. When a tenancy comes to an end and there is a rather noticeable mark on the light cream carpet, no doubt as a landlord you will expect some form of compensation. Without an inventory, you chances of success are limited, as often the tenant will say “But it was like it when we moved in”

Statistics have read that over 80% of deposits are returned to tenants and not landlords because they fail to have a professional inventory prepared at the commencement of the tenancy. In the past a Landlord has been able to deduct money from a deposit and the tenants has to fight their case not to have deductions made, with the changes in the deposit rules, this has now changed and the onus is on the Landlord to prove a case for deposit deductions.

What was then is past what is now is the present, still often many landlords feel it is a false economy to have a professional inventory prepared., or simply they didn’t know how to do one. Sadly just making a list of items present without pictures or descriptions is no longer good enough.

Even if as a Landlord you still choose to do your own inventory, here are a few basic steps to consider

List the rooms in your property in a logical order

List the contents and everything you can see from top to bottom

Remember things such as curtains, curtain poles and alarm sensors

Make a note of any marks/stains as you go

Take a series of photographs of each room and any large or noticeable stains/marks

Photo the inside of ovens, toilets, baths and washing machines etc.

Have the tenant check and sign the inventory to say they agree with it, before they move in

These tips are not exhaustive, but taking them into consideration will certain benefit you in the longer term

At igloolets.com we are able to provide the full services of qualified and accredited inventory clerks as part of our Managed and Letting only services. So you can be assured and confident that this has been taken care of before the commencement of the tenancy.

For more information why not call us today on 0117 230 5056 or email us at admin@igloolets.com

Category : Uncategorized
Tags : , , , , , , ,
0 Comm
25th Aug2011

Does your Landlord have a BIG one or small one – Why size does matter

by admin

Photographs which are no larger than thumbnails creates problems when it comes to damage disagreement at the end of the tenancies

According to Pat Barber, of the Association of Independent Inventory Clerks, inappropriate and often inadequate sized photographs are regularly used in both the inventory check-in and check-out.

The practice leaves the owners subject to potentially costly litigation and time consuming disputes over wear and tear, with tenants winning their case if it goes to arbitration, because of the use of thumbnail undated pictures, where it is extremely difficult to see the details of the alleged damages

It is not just a small low-resolution photos, which cause problems.

Recently a case was lost, because the Landlord felt that all that was needed was to take a few photographs (sadly all undated) and provide no other written evidence as to the condition of the property at the commencement of the tenancy. Unfortunately the landlord had to finance some expensive replacements

Barber, president of CNA, said: “The inventory reports must contain a complete description of a building and its contents, with details of each bit of damage and its exact location at the beginning of the lease. This can be supported by photographs – but they must be of high quality printing up to A4 or A3, so that damage can be clearly seen, or supplied on a disc

“The photographs can not replace an accurate statement and properly detailed inventory . A landlord has no evidence to prove that the property has been damaged in any way during the tenancy if he / she must rely on the thumbnail images of poor quality, and therefore may find it almost impossible to retain any of the deposit from tenants. ”

Barber points out that the evidence presented to the arbitrators to resolve disputes with damage must include both “before” and “after” pictures, with a clear narrative of what the image is displayed, for example, colour, description of ‘ object, marks on the surface.

Photographs must include something to show the scale of the image, and should clearly show the condition of the property at the time.

Although the images are to be included in the inventory as a further mark of reference, they should be a decent size.

The photographs must be dated, most modern camera can be set to automatically do this

If the photographs to be printed, the printer needs to be good quality. Too often, inexpensive printers distort the colours. Even good quality printers distort the colours when they are starting to run out

Category : landlords, move in, tenants
Tags : , , , , , , , ,
1 Comm
14th Apr2011

Is it better to let furnished or unfurnished?

by admin

As a Bristol Letting Agent the perpetual question I am so often asked by prospective Landlords is. Shall I let the property furnished or unfurnished?

Often the reply is, either furnished or unfurnished does not radically affect the rental achieved.  So one could argue that one might just as well leave the property unfurnished and save the expense of buying furniture and having to replace it over time.

One should also consider that in the void periods, an unfurnished property is exempt from council tax, whereas furnished is not. At the most one might receive a nominal discount from the Local  Authority, if a property is vacant but furnished. All councils vary.

What one must consider is what the market demands. It could be said that generally smaller properties are left furnished and larger houses are unfurnished, the reason for this is simple, people in smaller places often only stay for shorter periods, but settle for longer in houses.

You might also like to consider that if you are renting out your own home, you might choose to leave it furnished to avoid the cost of either storage or transportation to your new place, using the money you have saved on purchasing new furniture as necessary.

So what is your tenant likely to want? First and foremost they won’t want your tat! Any furniture you leave should be in good condition and not stuff that realistically should be at the local tip. One of the biggest turnoffs to prospective tenants is knackered furniture.

Tenants want enough but not to be overloaded with all the items of furniture that has no other place to go. Also if letting furnished make sure the furniture complies with The Furniture and Furnishing(Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988

Unfurnished property should be let with all kitchen appliances present, such as Cooker, Fridge freezer and Washing machine. Along with carpets, curtains and lampshades. Paper lampshades are pennies to buy and make such a difference, to a bare room, than just seeing a piece of cable and a bulb, depending on the size of the room, a large shade can make a statement just on its own

Tenant expectations will depend on the type of property that is being offered.  Lets say if you had a purpose built flat to rent in the centre of Bristol, I would probably suggest that you furnish the property, taking into consider the cost of the furniture and over the period of 5 years encompass the cost in the rental figure. Bearing in mind at the end of 5 years it will probably mostly need replacing.

Property let furnished should have the basics essentials for normal living, but should not look cluttered, include double beds, wardobes, side table, dining table, coffee table and sofa. I would also suggest you supply a vacuum cleaner, but not go as far as kettle, iron and toaster, those sort of things are reasonable to purchase and easier to dispose of by the tenant at the end of the tenancy.

 

 

Category : landlords, Uncategorized
Tags : , , , , , , , ,
4 Comm