Hi all,

I know we had a big discusion last week about my tenants and the letting agent, the wife and i have decided that we would like to manage the property ourselves now as the final strw came last week when it took the letting agent 4 days to sort out a contacter to go around and have a look at the boiler in the house which has packed up.

I know a fair few of you are in rented or rent out your own houses.

what im after is some hints and tips on how to manage the property myself.

ive got until feb when new tenants are going to move in.

can you give me some help then please !!

cheers

steve

Get an Electrical Check, a Gas Check, get a Plumber to take a peek at the boiler and pipework, get the Gas and Electric supplier to do checks on in/outage, get up on a ladder and look into the loft for potential water tank issues/cladding/tiles lifting, get outside and look in your gutters, get around allthe windows and check for fitting/lock closures, do the same with any access points, make sure all the locks work and the sink too, if you are leaving any eletrical goods in there get them checked, do an inventory when the place is ready to let, take photos and type up a decent one.

Find your own tenant, doa simple check through Letsure on them (or Maras) then deposit the tenants deposit into a holding account held seperate from your own. Get the tenant to pay the rent into a seperate account so you can account for the income seperately. Keep all bills associated with repairs, hand accounts over to an accountant at the end of the term, do same until you either sell or move back in.

Sign up a 12mth lease for piece of mind, do a check 3mths in then leave the tenant to enjoy life.

thanks for the reply.

the boiler should be ok….. its having a brand new combi fitted this week.

gas safety cert is still valid from this year.

do the letting agents check everything in your list above??

with regards to credit checks how doi i do that then ??

YOu need all the right certificates gas safety and so on and a deposit must be held in a specific scheme not in a separate account of your own

you need to get the Tenency agreement right – take real advice on this as if you get it wrong you can give them security of tenure

As for tenents – I simple advertise for tenents and interview them then ask for either a landlords or employers reference – and then speak to the employer.

Inventory check and thats it

There are some pretty good one stop shop websites that give you everything you need to know to manage it yourself. Mrs FD is letting out a property and she paid £25 to some website (can find out the name of it for you tonight)

It told you exactly what you need ie itineraries, which bond/deposit schemes you can use, plus all the documents you need ie proforma contracts, itineraries etc etc. It was well worth the £25 (which goes down as an expense anyhow)

As above you do need to have a local good trusted plumber to hand or you could end up paying a fortune. I would have suggested joining British Gas’s (or equivalent) boiler insurance scheme, but its new so doesnt matter I guess.

a bit complicated ,but helpful !thanks 🙂

Renton if you are in england then I have a contract you can use in (in word format) and some other good tips. Email in profile.

As a tenant I’d agree with all of the above. Also guides for boilers, cookers etc are useful.
With regards to inspections, perhaps one every 3 months initially would be a good idea. Lets the tenant know you’re keeping an eye on the property and lets you spot a potentially bad tenant before things get out of hand.
Perhaps also get to know the neighbours, they can be invaluable in spotting problem tenants.
Be responsive to problems, nothing worse than having to chase someone to get something fixed!
Finally remember its your property, but its their home.

You can call Letsure or Maras to do simple credit checks on the prospective tenants, you’ll be charged for it but it can be done. You will need to state your case as a Landlord as credit checking individuals as a simple citizen is hard to do and you’ll need the tenants approval too (often there at the time you call the companies. Both companies I’ve suggested have been in the industry for well over 25years and are very well respected. One thing they can’t do is guarantee any prospective tenant, you have to decide on the information provided whether you want the tenant or not and it’s only based on current employment, ccj’s, and previous accommodation electoral role checks and that’s about it. It’s upto you whether you decide to take the tenant or not don’t forget.

Any new installation of Gas equipment needs a new Gas Safety Check I’m afraid. Regardless of new/old replacement, existing checks will not suffice if it’s been fitted faulty, it’ll be your responsibility as a Landlord if anything happens to your tenants whilst they are living in your property.

There are far too many Tenancy Agreements out there for all to see and modify. The Landlords Association is a professional body looking after the interests of Landlords and Tenants alike, they publish free T’Agg’s and they are all underwritten by them and approved by the Gov’t. There are a few to choose from, you alone will have to decide which T’Agg fits your purpose.

All Letting Agents are not like the ones you have encountered. Most are very professional and trustworthy indeed and cater for a market that is often fraught with unhappy people caught in an unhappy environment, .What they can’t do is cater for Human behaviour.

There are schemes out there that will guarantee rental incomes, they are costly but if you need that service it’s there, so too Landlords Insurance. This is a particular bugbear of Landlords, for some reason they expect tenants to pay for buildings insurance and that is simply not the case, it’s your property, you should look after it. The tenant is only responsible for any fixtures and fittings inside and any damage can be claimed for unless it’s fair wear and tear.* You can not insist a tenant takes out their own insurance, that’s for the tenant to decide upon, it’s the same as you deciding whether you take contents insurance out in your own home.

Disputes between Landlord and Tenant should be dealt with by an independent adjudicator and not fisticuffs between aggrieved parties, don’t forget the vast majority of the Law is on the tenants side in situations like this and for that reason it’s there to prevent Landlords oppressing tenants, Landlord must provide adequate notice to enter the proerty whilst the tenant is in situ, written only with a date of entry, it’s upto the tenant whether they are there or not, but you can not enter the property without the tenats consent. If any service notices are issued then the Law changes and you do have certain rights of entry. Look into this as S21’s can be hard to issue as a single Landlord, you may need legal help to clarify what you can and can not do.

* this is moot but in most occasions it’s light fittings, door handles, sinks, toilets, baths etc. but even these can be over ruled by a sympathetic Judge.

>>> This is the last bit of advice I give, I’m not getting into arguments or explainations, if you need further information I’d suggest those with questions seek out thier own answers from reputable sources. <<<

Why don’t you use a letting agent to find you the tenant then you manage it after that. I think the agent I use charge 50% of first months rental income for the service. This service usually includes inventory, tenant checks, lease signed, etc.

I use a fully managed service but that’s only because my property is 170 miles from home, if it was close by I’d definitely manage it myself.

renton – Member

I know a fair few of you are in rented or rent out your own houses.

what im after is some hints and tips on how to manage the property myself.

I’m in renting at the moment and getting royally pissed off with the LL now.

Mainly on timings and doing things when he says he will. Therefore what i’d say do things as quick as you can, always contact the tenant and keep them upto date etc… So if your a good Landlord then I don’t think you’ll have a problem.

Were both landlords and tenants. I echo what TJ said get legal advice over the agreement, the CBT looked over ours. Get good references off potential tenants and be polite with them.

(sorry for slight thread hijack)

Gary M, i’m in a similar position with a house a long way away from home that i want to rent out using a fully managed service. Any words of wisdom? How much of your time does it take up?

Letsure references are hardly rock solid! My existing tenant asked me to give him a reference for a new property that he is going to be renting. They called and basically said “is he all right”, I said yes and the conversation was over. I could have been his best mate or partner in crime!! Calling the employer would give me the most comfort.

wow thanks for all the replies so far.

the house is 100miles from us and my father in law and all our family are well within 10mins distance from the house so if anything was to go wrong then they can step in and help.

the new boiler is going to be signed off correctly so i take it the gas cert will cover this too.

current tenants are going to be advised in the next day or so that we are not renewing their tenancy so will have to vacate at the end of the 6 month term.

we have possibly found new tenants already, their situation is that they own their own home in solihull, but he works in droitwich where my house is and the commute is getting quite expensive so they are renting thier own house out and then moving into ours.

are the electrical checks mandatory now or still just advisable?

we already pay for landlords insurance and building insurance on the property so thats covered.

Toys19… Im currently at work so cant send you an email however if you can pop me one to my email addy in profile with all the good info that would be most appreciated !!

Gary M, i’m in a similar position with a house a long way away from home that i want to rent out using a fully managed service. Any words of wisdom? How much of your time does it take up?

Pick your agent wisely. I’ve been renting my place out for 15 years and had three agents in that time. 2 good ones and one very poor one. When I used the crap agent they had the same tenant in for 5 years and they cleary didn’t do any checks on the property. When he left it was in a very poor condition.

Current agent is good but communication is a wee bit poor. Apart rom that I’m happy with them.

Doesn’t take up any of my time at all. Met with them for the initial property valuation and everything else since has been done by email/phone. I just get the income straight into my bank on a monthly basis.

thats the thing with my current agent the communication is ****.

my tenant phoned them to inform them that the boiler had packed in.

this was a monday, the letting agent gave the details to their contracter on the thursday !!

i only found out the boiler had packed up when i contacted the letting agent about the rent not being paid, their comment was “oh by the way your boiler has packed up what do you want to do about it ??”

I’m a tenant, my landlord looks after the property himself (he’s got one other house too). Thing is he’s a mate anyway so it’s all pretty informal. He’s a carpenter by trade so he did a lot of the renovation work himself, he’s got plenty of mates in the building/plumbing trade so they helped out and he’s got professional guys for the gas/electrical stuff.

Last place I was in was done through an estate agents and they were utterly useless.

None of that is really helpful advice for you though!

Thanks Gary M. I’ll try and get a local recommendation for a management company (Derbyshire anyone?)

Three things that make a good landlord (from a tennants perspective)

1)Communication
2)Communication
3)Communication

1) I dont want to hear from you ever, I don’t want a christmass card, I dont want monthly letters telling me about your cat and I don’t want sob stories about other tennants. On that last note, there’re two sides to every story, so if you’ve had a string of bad tennants I’m probably right in assuming that your a crap landlord. I want to hear from you about as often as you hear from your mortgage company (so maybe an annual statement to check I’m still alive and paying the rent).
2) If I contact you get back to me quickly and sort out whatever the problem is/was. This is the one exception to rule 1.
3) Let me know if you want to do an inspection, after years of getting stressed over spring cleaning the house in 24 hours I’ve given up, if you’re offended by dirty dishes and a bike in the living room, don’t inspect it, simples. I don’t want a 30 page follow up the next day detailing every unwashed dish, underpants on the bedroom floor or that the extrator hood filter needs cleaning. And if you hear the beast with two backs banging arround upstairs, assume it’s an inconvenient time, dont let yourself in then knock on the bedroom door and be suprised when I’m not civil.

The exception to these rules is the landlord we had in our final 2 years of uni. The inspections simply involved her bringing round huge chocolate cakes, checking we’d not burnt the house to the ground, having a cup of tea then leaving.

Thanks Gary M. I’ll try and get a local recommendation for a management company (Derbyshire anyone?)

If it’s south Derbyshire HomeLet have been Ok in my experience.

deposit must be sent to those indipendant deposit handling people (who charge for it), you can’t keep it in your own bank account.

I’d reccomend taking *lots* of photos with a paper (to prove the date) before you let them in the door so you can prove the condition of the property later

Derbyshire anyone?

Sorry can’t help, my rental property is in Aberdeen and I use a local agent. I would try to find a decent local agent rather than a national one though as my experience with a national agent wasn’t great – high management fee, not in any rush to push your property

Its not hard to be good landlord, its extremely easy to be a bad one.
Be careful where you read both you and yours tenants rights, I would avoid at all costs the landlords forums, they are littered with mistruths and misunderstandings of the private rented sector.
If it starts to go wrong and your tenants are not what you want, Go and get a Solicitor.
If it were me, I would consider serving a Ground 1 or 2 notice at the beginning of the tenancy obviously if applicable. You can buy a tenancy in WHSmith, Be very careful about just using a tenancy that you pick up from a friend or that a friendly landlord gives you. It may contain unlawful terms.

Here are some websites for you to have a look round.

Communities.gov.uk
directgov
Shelter

If you got any specific questions, feel free to email me.

I bought a book off amazon for about £8 which guides you through most aspect of being a PL. I advertised the property through Visum (which gets you on rightmove for about £39).

I can send you a recommendation link to visum which will net me £15 if you want? 😀

Renton – Ok this is me being very cynical. Are you sure the boiler has packed up? Was it your plumber that has said that, or the plumber employed by the management co? When I had a property let out through an agent he wanted to use his ‘recommended’ plumber/electrician etc. When some work needed doing their quote was way in excess of what I got quoted.

I’ve done all this off my own back. Websites I used are:

PropertyHawk – has the Tenancy Agreement (which I changed a bit) and allows you to keep details/inventory.

Gov website on allowable expenses.

Info on Tax. Use in conjunction with the above site to pay as little as possible!

A website that was a book (which is better to look at) but is no longer a book, just a website…..

Deposit scheme – free.

I’m undecided about using an accountant as I’ve just a single property, and once I get the info from the mortgage company on interest/capital (as it’s only interest you can claim back) then it’s just a simple money in ‘minus’ money out = taxable pay…..

DrP

Britsh Gas home care cover especially for Land Lords I think.

You dont need an accountant for 1 property, especially if you are on PAYE. You do need to register for doing an online tax return though, its far easier than doing the paper version.

As above just read the gumph on direct.gov

“Britsh Gas home care cover especially for Land Lords I think.”

Its just the same as the standard policy in every way, they just ask who you want as a contact number and billing address.

I ment CAB earlier not CBT. Dont let a bike test give you legal advice on letting your home…

the boiler been ‘signed off correctly ‘ isnt a gas cert.. get the installer to give you a cert when the job is complete its no skin off his nose its a sheet of paper with the same figures he ll have just written on your bench mark documentation.

Britich Gas Home car cover includes a gas certificate as part of the deal, and compared to just getting a “certificate” it’s pretty damned good.

Beaware, as I’ve ‘just’ found out, letting agencies are only so good at managing your property. I’ve just found out I have no gas certificate (2nd year), even though I arranged a visit from British gas, they seviced the boiler and didn’t certify it…FFS.
I’ve only just found this out, as I still hadn’t had my safety certificate come through, the letting agency weren’t even vaguely aware (though they insisted on it before taking on the property).

“Britich Gas Home car cover includes a gas certificate as part of the deal, and compared to just getting a “certificate” it’s pretty damned good.”

Really? All BG do once a year is a ‘safety’ check. They charge over £100 for doing a proper certificate, in addition to the normal monthly payment

Not my experience FD, certificate was part of the contract..

Ok, one last piece of helpful advice.

Use a Letting Agent off here, they are the Association (of) Residential Letting Agents, all Letting Agents signed upto them abide by thier codes of practice, it’s the only one the Gov’t recommend. Has all sorts of information incl a Letting Agent Find/Search facility.

http://www.arla.co.uk/

Best of luck.

thanks for the info everyone.

just one last thing then, i dont ever remember siging a contract to use the letting agent, so how do i go about not using them anymore??

is it just a case of saying i dont want to use them ??

Not sure about that but I don’t remember signing an agreement with an agency I’ve been with. I would imagine a months notice or something as they would then have to give the tenant notice.

would then have to give the tenant notice.

I’m not sure I understand this – are you saying that if you sack the agent then you lose the tenant?

Well with my agent the lease agrement is with between the agent and the tenant not the agent and the landlord. So there would need to be some notice given to the tenant regarding change of circumstances. If the agent ‘finds’ the tenant there may be isues there too.

I’ve only ever sacked agents once the tenant left the property and it was a simple ‘I’m not using you anymore’.