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

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04th Aug2011

Landlord watch your cost in these tough times.

by admin

Unless you live in a cave somewhere, or never leave you small dark room, you will be aware of rising costs. Petrol costs, food, and utilities to name just a few.

Now is as good a time as any to analysis your costs as a Landlord, and make sure that what you are spending is giving you value for money or a return on investment.

Landlords need to make sure they are running a lean and tight machine at all times, however, in these times this is even more important.

Be pro-active in maintenance issues. £100 spent now could well save you £1000′s in the longer term

Make sure that what you are spending is essential, never forgetting that each pound you spend is off your bottomline.

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19th Jul2011

Tenants right to compensation

by admin

One of the biggest banes of modern society, which has come to prominence in the last ten years, increasingly now in the Private rented sector, is the phrase ‘what about compensation’

A recent example for  me both as a Bristol Letting agent and also private landlord, was when I wanted to partially convert my attic space. There was no need to enter the house, as no stairs were going to be installed in the first phase; scaffolding was going to be erected on the outside to the front and rear. Bearing in mind the garden is 100 feet long, and the scaffolding was not more than 5 feet wide, one of the then tenants asked how much compensation they were going to get for lack of use of the garden!  I don’t think I need you to work out the math, or where I am going with this. 

Sadly even for the least amount of inconvenience such as the boiler breaking down, and this taking three or four days to repair, some tenants feel they are entitled to compensation. Sometimes a Landlord has no alternative other than to carry out works around the tenant while they are in occupation and sadly even with the best will in the world breakdowns happen, even in the best maintained properties.

In my position as a Letting Agent, when the situation of compensation arises I often ask the tenant how much compensation they think they might be entitled to, this can often be, bordering on the sublime to the ridiculous.

Under the Planning and Compensation Act 1991, tenants are entitled to compensation if they have to leave their home due to major works.  Often though this situation is rare and a tenant is little more than inconvenienced for a short period of time.

The classic example of compensation is lack of a boiler and heating. “We had to use the electric heaters because the boiler was not working, and now our bill is so HIGH” Tenants then think a Landlord should pick up the whole bill. WRONG!  If the tenants average bill for heating is £12 and the extra they incurred was £5, they may be entitled to the £5. Not the £17 as so many think.

If it was taken to court the similar rules apply as to the deposits schemes in place. A landlord is not entitled to anything greater than his loss and likewise often the tenant the same.

The tenant may well be entitled to some form of rebate, however this then comes down to the real loss of facilities, as an example:- The loss of the facility of using a lounge. Some tenants think they would be entitled to the rebate of the whole days rent, not so as they still have the full use of the other facilities of the property. So when you actually begin to break it down the amount of the entitlement is quite small.

As a rule of thumb I use the following breakdown.

In the event of any of the items listed below the tenant would be entitled to a rebate on their weekly rent after the first two days without facilities. The rebate would be a maximum of 80% of their weekly rent and any reasonable expenses incurred.

  • Living room unusable 20%
  • Bedroom unusable 25%
  • No access to cooking facilities 30%
  • No access to washing facilities 30%

 

These figures and formula have come about through years of experience, research, and precedent being set by housing associations. I have never had them contested either by the tenant or the law courts.

Often Landlords and Managing Agents are too quick for their own good in such situations, like all claims for compensation, the facts have to be considered more than the emotion and what people think they are entitled to.

In my personal case with regard to the scaffolding, it in the end cost me nothing in compensation. But there again, should it have anyways?

Category : landlords, tenants, Uncategorized
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26th Apr2011

Reduce Tenant Turnover 3 Top Tips

by admin

One of the biggest expenses for Landlords, whether they employ an agent or do it themselves, is tenants changing.  Firstly the renewal fees, if they use a Letting agent as most charge a fee, even if you do it yourself you still have advertising fees to consider, which ever medium you choose to use, even Gumtree is now charging. Also in most cases of tenant change over their will be minor repairs or decorations to be carried out, just to keep the property up to the standard tenants now expect, and often in most cases demand, prior to signing a tenancy agreement. Not forgetting of course lost rent if the property is empty. If the tenant stays put, all of these costs can be avoided, and this is the main reason Landlords try to avoid tenant change over as much as possible

As a Landlord you may well find the following tips useful.

Tip # 1 – Fairness

Every tenant wants a fair landlord. Just put yourself in their shoes and you will understand what is meant by that. If the tenatn is having problems and the landlord is offering a helping hand, this will always be in the back of their mind and something they will remember at the time the tenancy agreement is due to expire. If you are fair to them, they would much rather stay with you since they wouldn’t want to lose such a landlord who is nice and reasonable.

Tip # 2 – Play by the rules

Outline the details of what you expect from the tenant at the onset of the tenancy agreement. Where the agreement states a certain date for the payment of rent and any late payment have a certain fix charge, then stand by it and charge that fee. You should never look to relax your own set rules because if you show relaxation once, the tenants won’t take any of your rules seriously

Tip # 3 – Take care of the Repair work

The best thing any landlord can do is taking care of the repair requests. This is something which is given a lot of importance by most tenants because this can be a big hassle and therefore, tenants are far more unwilling to move out of a property where the owner is taking care of this part. Tenants would even be willing to pay more in terms of rent at other places if that means that the landlord will take care of the repair requests on a timely basis. If you do this, there is a great chance that your tenants will stay with you and renew their tenancy agreement when it expires.

The above 3 tips really work and are something that is expected of a good landlord. So be one.

 

 

 

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21st Apr2011

How to apportion your Income from letting your property

by admin

Now that you’re a landlord and are in receipt of rental income, you may well be tempted to start buying those little extra luxuries you always promised yourself. But before you rush out  and go buy the new car or big-screen tv, STOP and  think of what your aims goals and objectives are:

Do you really need to spend the income as shortly after you have actually got in —or are your investment ambitions greater than that?

Think about splitting your rental income into separate accounts that can assist in growing your investment property business enterprise—and your following rental property may well be closer than you imagine!

Account 1: Expenses

All of your immediate payments come out of this account, like the mortgage, insurance, taxes, and property management expenses. Look at and consider a goal of holding on to, at any rate three months’ worth of these disbursements in this account at all times.

Account 2: Maintenance

Into this account, you will carry-over cash to address regular maintenance and everyday repairs. Whenever you are able to keep back a month of gross rent in this account, you ought to be in good shape. Naturally, whenever the property is in need of upgrading, you will be expending more from  this account for the short-run.

Account 3: Long-Term Expenses

Every few years rental property calls for expensive repairs. A new, boiler or roof covering or even tree removal can hit a big dent in your profits. it is a lot more beneficial to put away a set amount of money each month to address the disbursements that appear every 10 or 20 years. And if your roof appears that it will need rrenewing  in, say, 3—5 years, start putting away a greater monthly amount.

Account 4: Emergency Expenses

This account should be as large as you feel comfy with. A lot lof landlords feel that  three months’ rent is adequate, others like a six-month buffer or more. There will be with out  a shadow of a doubt,  periods  when your rental property is empty and you will need to make the mortgage payment out from this account. Or, you might access it when a  plumbing emergency causes an insurance claim and your excess or premium comes due.

Account 5: Future Investments

As often as you lay aside for disbursements and emergencies, save for your future investment, also. After all, the additional hard cash you have, the earlier you will have the deposit for another investment property—which leads to greater cash flow.

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24th Mar2011

Tenants struggle as rents continue to rise.

by admin

Tenant arrears have increased rapidly, as rents continued to rise in February. Rents are now 3.9% higher than this time last year.

Rents overall rose throughout England and Wales by 0.2% to an average of £684 per month.

12.6 of all UK were either unpaid or late at the month end. This was a rise of 11% on the previous month.

Unpaid rent totalled £296m across the UK in February, up from £258m in January.

Latest figures from the LSL Property Services Group, the largest Buy to Let index in the UK, said that the average yield from property increasd to 5%, as the rent increased at a quicker pace then rental property values.

With London recording only a modest increase in February in comparision to previous months, however rents overall in the capital have increased by 7.7% overall.

Wales saw the biggest monthly incease where they rose by 1.9% in the north east rent actually fell by 1.4%. in the South West we saw rents fall by 1.%

 

Category : landlords, tenants
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17th Mar2011

How to market and present your property the easy way

by admin

As a Bristol Letting Agent, I have seen numerous good and bad properties, and when tenants want to rent in bristol, they have quite a wide choice, so you really do need to get the fundamentals right.

If  you really want to make a profit in the letting business, you need  to show your properties to interested people. It’s just the same as if you’re selling your property, you need to make certain that your home is the preferred choice of potential tenants.

Bristol letting agents

Kerbside appeal can also be a crucial aspect for prospective tenants, just as it is for buyers of homes.

Just how does your property really look, when you stand at the gate, peeling paint, dirty window sills, rubbish strewn about, grass that need cutting or borders over grown with weeds. If everything look like it is in disrepair and the house is not taken care of, it could potentially run off quality tenants.

Rental properties need to make a good first impression before they even walk into the door.  The cheapest and most simplest of things can make a BIG difference to the front of the property.

Often just a good brush up and a bottle of weedkiller, is all that might be needed. If you have harsh concrete that is crazed and cracked, put down chard flint, which is a gravel that always looks clean, and does not attract dirt. Apply strong weedkiller, annually to keep weeds at bay.

Wash of your paintwork with a pressure washer can often look as if the property has had a fresh coat of paint. If you have borders in the garden often they can be more trouble than they are worth, if you can actually make then bigger they are more manageable as you can apply annually  a covering of woodchip, which again suppresses weed growth. All of the above take little time or are high cost tasks.

Make sure that the property is very clean. Pay special attention to the toilets, kitchen and bathroom. Make sure everything is picked up and the house is tidy. Again, you want to make sure you make a good first impression to your prospective tenant. Never show a property that is in the process of being repaired or renovated, or even cleaned. Wait until everything is completed before you start showing the unit to potential renters.  A fresh coat of paint to the walls can re-energise a room. If there are numerous chips of the paintwork, especially on stairs and architraves just use an artist brush and touch in those areas. It makes a difference and the eye is not drawn to the overall condition of the paintwork. One useful trick is to just paint the handrails up the stairs, again the eye is drawn to the rail missing the other areas.

Make sure the temperature is set in the property to take the chill or dampness out of the air, so that they are not uncomfortable when they arrive. If it is too cold chances are they will not stick around long enough to see what the property has to offer. You may also want to stop by the property before your appointment, perhaps 10 -15 minutes before, to be certain that everything is in order and that there are no problems. Pick up the post and hid it in a draw, mountains of old post, makes prospective tenants think the property has been on the market for a long time, and then begin to wonder why.

Make sure the lights are on and if during the day the curtains are drawn back to fully let in all the natural daylight, and please have a lampshade, for goodness sake they only cost about £1.50  for a paper lampshade and believe it or not give the house a lived in look, more so than just a barren light bulb holder.

Be sure you have the right key, etc. You would not believe what could go wrong before the potential tenant shows up. If the lock is stiff a quick squirt of WD40 makes all the difference, and avoid embarrassment of a sticky lock, which is difficult to open.

Finally, have the paperwork ready such as applications if the tenant is interested in the property. You want to be prepared in case they want to take application to the property. You do not want them to lose interest while you are looking for the applications. It is very unprofessional and is never a good idea.

Category : landlords, tenants incentives
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24th Feb2011

Property lettings Finance appears to be improving in 2011

by admin
Those seeking  to invest in buy-to-let property lettings this year could discover obtaining financing a great deal more easier than in 2010, a mortgage group has found.
Research by Paragon Mortgages discovered that 46% of mortgage agents are expecting to provide a far greater  selection of mortgages for more buy-to-let landlords this year.
Additionally, 51% of those appraised found more availability of buy-to-let funding in the final quarter of 2010 and 46% said they expect additional gains between now and March 2011.
It appears that agents are feel more confident they have gain more ground and have hit the ground running this year.  Paragon are energized about the year forward and see that 2010 was a corner for the buy-to-let residential lettings sector with John Heron, Paragon Mortgages’ managing director, saying the buy-to-let market is entering “a more buoyant phase”.
In associated news, the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) carried out a survey which strongly indicated growth in the property rental market.  The survey found that, in the final quarter of 2010, 71% of landlords reported that renting a house rather than buying was more fashionable than this time last year.
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21st Jan2011

South west avoids rent falls.

by admin

Interesting  news for the South West Landlords today rents bucked the national trend with rents increasing across the region in December 2010, according to research from LSL Property Services. Average rents were £637 for the month – 1.7 per cent up on November. Rents were 2.3 per cent higher than at the same time during the previous year.

Nationally, rents averaged £684 – a 1.2 per cent drop on the previous month but 3.8 per cent up on a year ago. It was the first time that the cost of being a tenant fell in nearly a year.

The highest average rents remain in London at £969, with the North East being the cheapest place to live at £519.

The biggest month-by-month drop in rents happened in Wales with an average of £537 – reflecting a decrease of 2.6 per cent.

David Newnes, estate agency managing director of LSL property services, said: “December is traditionally a slower month for the rental market.

“Many prospective tenants are either away from home, or prioritise Christmas spending over budgeting to move. This year, the added Arctic weather temporarily dampened demand, deterring many renters from hitting the streets and viewing properties.

“Nevertheless, with the supply of mortgage finance to both first-time buyers and would-be landlords still constrained, we are likely to see rents restart their upwards march before the spring.”

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09th Nov2010

Are your new tenants getting up your nose?

by admin

As a Bristol Letting Agent with, over 15 years experience, letting all types of property through out Bristol, from studios to Penthouses, one would like to say I have seen it all, but I know that life (especially in this game) is an education every day.

With regard to cannabis farms, I have seen them in the process of being made, in full growing mode, and also the devastation after the growers have left.

According to a recent report, there were at least 6,886 farms found in the Uk last year alone, That’s not taking into consideration the undetected ones.

Naturally most landlords would not even consider, for one second that their property could be used as a cannabis farm. However, the largest percentage of these farms were set up in typical rented properties. Such as houses in cul de sac’s, terraced house and semi detached properties.

Typically a landlord or letting agent is duped into renting out his property to a front couple who start off the tenancy and then hand the keys over to a gang of organised criminals. Once the gang have moved in and begun the conversion process the damage to your property can be severe.

What is most likely to happen?

Cannabis farmers are known to be quite ruthless in the alterations they make to gain the maximum growing potential from the properties they rent. The damage can vary from moderate to extreme but it’s common for there to be a combination of electrical, structural and water damage after a property is used as a cannabis farm.

Internal walls are often knocked down, doors and partitions removed to make additional growing space for the crops. Elaborate, badly built irrigation systems are used to feed the plants, often leading to serious water damage. Damage to the electrical systems are common as farmers try to bypass the meter or overload capacity with the high-powerd growing lights they deploy. in a recent case, a gate at the side of a property was wired directly to the mains, am extreme DIY security measure that could have killed anyone trying to get access to the property.

How to take steps to avoid it happing in the first place?

Fortunately there are a few tell-tale signs to keep a look out for.

To begin with, it highlights the alarms bellls that should make a landlord suspicious of a tenant:

  1. A tenant’s willingness to pay rent months in advance in cash
  2. A tenant’s tendency to pay in cash without any visible means of financial support.
  3. Repeated requests from the tenant for the landlord not to visit the property.

They also outline some steps a landlord should take that should deter criminals including cannabis farmers from renting a landlord’s buy-to-let rental property in the first place:

  1. Use a form of photo identification of potential applicants such as a photocopy of their passport or drivers licence.
  2. Ensure identification is genuine.
  3. Watch for telephone, water, gas, and electricity accounts in different names
  4. Require more than one type of identification for joint applicants.
  5. Check prospective tenant’s current address
  6. Obtain prospective tenant’s mobile numbers and car registration.
  7. Properly reference and credit check the tenant.

Tell tell signs at the property?

  • Blacked out or tin-foil windows should raise the alarm. If your tenants aren’t keen on anyone looking into the property you should be concerned.
  • Unusual patterns in electric usage are a good indicator of improper use. If the meter suddenly starts whirring you may have grounds for suspicion.
  • Keep a nose out for odd smells. No matter how hard you try, the pungent aroma of a hundred budding cannabis plants is hard to hide.
  • Unusual alterations are another giveaway. Has the tenant suddenly installed a load of bolts, alarms and deadlocks? What are they protecting?
  • They try to keep you at arms length. If your tenants do all they can to avoid a visit from the landlord it might be time to get suspicious.

To be a victim of this crime, it is not only just the damage to the property, but also to the fact that you have been duped!, I am never sure which has the most devastating affect. It’s an ongoing and increasing problem, with over 20 farms being detected every day.

It is important that you have comprehensive insurance in place, and to make sure you follow the above precautionary measures. Or at least check up that your agent is making the appropriate measures.

None of us like to be a victim of crime, as there is always a cost to pay.

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