MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
After a bit of advcie really(again)
Basically after our last lot of tenants messed us around we issued them a s21 and they left on time.
We now have a new tenant and when my wife met her at the house she got the impression she was a nice girl and was looking for somewhere to rent longterm.
we initally signed her up for a 6 month term(all this is done through a letting agent btw) with the proviso that if the rent etc was on time then we would look at long term renting to her.
Now at the time she asked if she could reduce the rent by £25 a month but we said no to this and she was ok.
The first months rent went in ok but since then we have had nothing but problems with late payments etc and this month the rent is over due by nearly 3 weeks now.
The excues have ranged from late payments due to bank holiday, been paid late by her employer, incorrect standing order details from the letting agent?
This month she said the rent left her account on the 1st but was returned to her from her bank on the 4th ?? she then wnet on to say last week that she would clear the rent yesterday (17/07) the letting agent asked her why she couldnt pay the full amount when they first contacted her on the 10th as she would have had the full amount sat in her account as it had been apparently returned to her??
Anyway the letting agent have phoned today and informed me she still hasnt paid(even theough she emailed me to say that it had left her account yesterday) and that they will attempt to get the rent from her guarantor if it does not reach them tomorrow.
Do you think she is playing us and messing us around or due to the fact we got messed around pretty badly by our last tenants we are reading more into it than is probably needed.
thanks
Renton
I'd start eviction proceedings now.
It's not going to get any better, anyone who doesn't pay their rent on time more than once will do it again and again.
Same question as last time - you need to get de3cent lettign agents who will a) guarantee the rent and b) get off their arses to collect it on time.
Maybe its time to call it quits on the renting front.
I 'd say sell the property but the buyer would probably pull out, pay you late or not pay at all.
Best course of action is probably to burn the property down(with no one in it) and hope you can con the insurance company.
I 'd say sell the property but the buyer would probably pull out, pay you late or not pay at all.
😀
If I could sell the bloody house for what I wanted for it then I would.
Totally sick and tired of it all now, 2 lots of tenants and both messing us around.
just not worth the hassle
The joys of neg eq
Your going to love this .......
Indeed, it should be you're 😉
Your going to love this .......Indeed, it should be you're
Doh !!
frustration kicking in !!
[i]If I could sell the bloody house for what I wanted for it[/i]
you may have to accept what people are prepared to offer.
I was in negative equity and let a property for nearly 10 years until it was worth selling it (from my perspective).
I do think that I'd have been better taking a loan for the gap and selling it at a loss rather than letting it.
And I never had problem tenants.
She signed an agreement.
She defaulted on the agreement.
It's your property.
This is difficult for you? 😯
Letting agency: "she's not paid her rent"
You: "that's very unfortunate for you, where's my money?"
I know nothing about renting, but I'd have thought that the whole point of a letting agency was to avoid exactly this sort of problem, non? Is it normal practice for an agency to be able to withhold their payments to you on a whim?
Same advice as before
Ditch the letting agents. they are not helping. seriously get rid of them ASAP
Advertise it for rent yourself and interview yourself at below market rent - this way you will get lots of potential tenents to choose from
Start eviction proceedings now. Not tomorrow, do not stop if the rent is paid.
It isnt difficult apart from the fact Im off to afghanistan again in 2 weeks and dont really want to leave it all to my wife to sort out....Again.
she got the impression she was a nice girl
How old is the tenant out of curiosity?
the get an agent who guarantees the rent even if they take a bigger commission and avoid the problems.
Same advice as beforeDitch the letting agents. they are not helping. seriously get rid of them ASAP
Advertise it for rent yourself and interview yourself at below market rent - this way you will get lots of potential tenents to choose from
Start eviction proceedings now. Not tomorrow, do not stop if the rent is paid.
was doing this after the last lot of tenants Tj, advertised on gumtree and got loads of people interested. lots of them sounded really dodgy though with comments like, I dont have any references but ive been paying my mom rent for the last 3 weeks etc.
one bloke offered to pay 6 months rent in advance, but as I was in afghan at the time we though it was safer to stay with an agent.
hindsight eh!!
Cougar - unfortunatly thats not how it works - they are your agents acting on your behalf
Letting agency: "she's not paid her rent"You: "that's very unfortunate for you, where's my money?"
^^ This.
Cougar - unfortunatly thats not how it works - they are your agents acting on your behalf
^^^^^^^^ This
tenant is a single mom of around 33 years old
[i]I do think that I'd have been better taking a loan for the gap and selling it at a loss rather than letting it.
And I never had problem tenants. [/i]
actually, can I retract that.
my (now) wife was my first tenant so I'm pleased that I didn't just sell 🙂
Cougar - unfortunatly thats not how it works - they are your agents acting on your behalf
Or not, it seems.
Fair enough. Like I say, I know nothing about the process, but from what the OP has said here and previously it sounds like all the agency does is take a percentage in return for doing the square root of sod all. I'd be a bit vexed about that if it were me.
cougar that is exactly right !! the agent only got their arse in gear when I chased them yet again !!
Whiuch is why several of us advised renton to ditch the useless agent
[i]it sounds like all the agency does is take a percentage in return for doing the square root of sod all.[/i]
it does look that way.
everyone told him they were crap last time and he should switch.
There are agents who will gaurantee the rent payment to the landlord so they accept all the risk of the tenants they find.
This lot just seem to do a gallic shrug and say 'booffff' when there's a problem.
Its pretty much the same with the other letting/estate agent in the town though, a friend rent his house out with another agent and they are as bad if not worse than mine~!!
my (now) wife was my first tenant so I'm pleased that I didn't just sell
Some people will do anything to get out of paying rent.
If he's still renting, couldn't you join forces and manage the two properties between you? You'd almost certainly do a better job.
BTW - as advised, start eviction proceedings and line up the next one. It's only going to get worse with this tenant.
In the tennants defence it's taken me 3 months for the rent to sort itself out in the past.
Month 1 - genuin mistake, we'd intended to pay it as a one off before getting the S.O. sorted, took more days to process than anticipated
Month 2 - S.O. set up, but cleared funds didn't arrive on the right day
Month 3 - all's well, well actualy it's not but we've an agreement with the agent that the rent will always be 3 days late as in theory it leaves my account on payday (which is the last working day before rent-day) but then doesn't land in their account for 3 days so is late, but there' wasn't much way arround that to start with, could now bring it foreward a few days with savings but CBA.
I'd give her the benifit of the doubt as long as the money shows up ASAP, and next month's is on time.
There are agents who will gaurantee the rent payment to the landlord so they accept all the risk of the tenants they find.
They usualy charge a hefty premium over the usual agents fees for this 'insurance' though, and the one I looked into only gaurenteed it after they found the first tennant (i.e. they reserved the right to be picky so potentialy taking longer to let), and only after each tennant has been in for 6 months (i.e. the tennant loses his/her job rather than they've picked a bad tennant).
she is going to have to pay next months in 12 or 13 days time and I just cant see it happening~!!
she is going to have to pay next months in 12 or 13 days time and I just cant see it happening~!!
Depends if she's badly organised and/or lying about when it was paid then this months cockup souldn't affect next month. If she's genuinly skint then serving the evition notice is probably just going to result in her not paying anything.
tenant is a single mom of around 33 years old
Could she not pay in other 'services'?
I think you are lacking imagination.
Thanks for the replies,
We have tried talking to her and the excuses above are what she has give us too.
She has also been asking me quite a lot to get rid of the letting agent and reduce the rent and also let her pay fornightly.
We would of consisdered this if she had paid on time for the first 6 months but there is not a chance now.
If I pay someone from my bank account using the faster payment option it is usually there instantly or within a maximum of 2 hours. Not sure how a payment takes 3 working days to arrive. That is unless the payment was sent after close of business on a Friday and sloshed around the banking system all weekend. I thought online banking had stopped all these hassles.
She doesn't bank with RBS/Natwest/Ulster Bank does she?
Inside the months you cannot start eviction prceedings for late rent unless they are three months late. Outside that just use your 2 months notice.
[i]We would of consisdered this if she had paid on time for the first 6 months but there is not a chance now[/i]
Given that the agent seems to be doing nothing for their commission other than pass the problem on to you and if you aren't going to evict her then why not give it some thought?
Evict them asap. If they are genuine they are still a plank and will be no end of trouble but se sounds like a financial disaster.
Call your agency every hour and ask for a progress report. As a nation we are too polite and moan at the wrong people, constantly moan at the right ones and things happen. Go and knck on the door and ask where the rent money is and do not deviate from conversation line of where is my money. Cause your tenant the same stress they are causing you. And no I have no idea if this is legal but so what.
I would say you have been very unlucky a I rent properties and so far have only had good tenants. If you have no real choice of agencies self rent it.
Also without being rude is the house in tip top condition? Shabby houses attract shabby renters.
house is in tip top condition Marin, she was over the moon with it.
when the boiler packed up I went out of my way to get it sorted for her in less than 3 days !!
seems like she is taking the piss out of me now !
I rent properties
...
I have no idea if this is legal
Call me Mister Crazy here, but it might be an idea for you to find out.
She has also been asking me quite a lot to get rid of the letting agent and reduce the rent and also let her pay fornightly.
Is she a good tenant in all other respects? (ie looking after the place, not constantly asking for minor maintenance work etc). If so, as a landlord myself, I'd sack the agent, reduce the rent by the amount you were paying them and let her pay fortnightly.
She's suggested this solution, so presumably it works for her and if there are no other issues it could work out for both parties.
Offset this against the cost of evicting & finding a new tenant = 1 months lost rent plus the agency's finders fee - last time I did it, it cost me close to £1k. You need to be pretty sure you want rid to justify spending this kind of money.
Also if you think she might be a long termer... this has value. As I've said, changing tenants always costs money so it's worth perservering to find a solution.
There are agents who will gaurantee the rent payment to the landlord so they accept all the risk of the tenants they find.
These are not Agents. They are businesses who take out a long term leases on properties and then sub let.
Inside the months you cannot start eviction prceedings for late rent unless they are three months late.
During the term of an AST then once 2-months rent is owed then proceedings can start. However, if the debt is paid - partially or fully - to below 2-months owed then proceedings automatically cease.
unfortunatly thats not how it works
True.
There is no Professional standard or requirement to be a letting agent. Many know little of basic landlord and tenant law and procedure.
There are more bad tenants than bad landlords however, that does not give the right for a landlord to run their let(s) in a lax manner.
Assuming the tenant is not going to improve. If there is still time to run on the AST then I would serve a S21 notice so that possesion procedings can commence upon expiry of the AST. If 2-months become due then serve S8 as well.
Be warned though that if the tenant is seeking council housing then they will not leave untill the Bailifs are removing them.
Letting agency is letting you down. They need to more thorough checks. I would find another agency. I have used Black Hourse over a number of years and never had late payment or dispute. Tenants were always well vetted.
it has just gone over the time frame for issuing a s21 at the 2 month point so she would have another month in the house!!
Cause your tenant the same stress they are causing you. And no I have no idea if this is legal but so what.
It is not legal and landlords have gone to jail for it.
Harrassment is a serious offense and taken seriously.
Is your 30 something single mum tenant working or is she receiving housing benefit?
she works !
Glad to hear it. I was going to jump on my soap box ranting that rents should be paid direct to land lords by the benefits agencies.
I'll get my coat.
Legoman is making a lot of sense to me 🙂
But we still don't know how attractive she is.
Why is nobody asking the really important questions?
The big question that seems to be being avoided is; is she a yummy mummy or a munter?
If she's a single Mum, this is what I'd do...
Call her (or get the agent to do it), say she needs to pay everything owed straight away and pay on time from now on or you'll evict her.
Last time I rented, the landlord had a few flats in teh same apartment block going spare, they were already cheap, but I made a cheeky offer (£75/month less) and they accepted it so long as I didn't get late with payments.
The whole year I was there I was at that letting agent dropping the cheque on time or a week before (whenever I had it), never late, because they were doing us a a deal on an already good deal, I was happy, they were happy, everyone wins (especially the letting agent who had to do absolutely SFA for quite a bit of money).
IMO if the letting agent is so slack that you as a fee paying landlord have to worry to this extent, they don't deserve to be in the business. Burn them, and make a google review of them to that effect to warn others.
I rent our house to a couple who have not been great with the rent payments. They have been in for nearly four years now and show no intention of moving on and have caused me no other problems so I give them a bit of slack with the rent. I think it is something that goes with the territory and if they are doing everything in their powers to pay I don't mind as long as they aren't trashing the place.
My Dad runs several blocks of flats mainly with DSS tenants in and he often has to wait 12 weeks for the council to sort the payments out (2 years was the record IIRC).
Just think that they are paying the mortgage and at least you may have a bit of an asset to give you a pension when everyone else is working until they drop!
I know nothing of these things but what about a 3yr+ let to the DHSS people, guaranteed rent, they decorate at end of rental ready for you to sell if the markets right.
Konaboy therin lies the problem.
Whilst she isnt paying the rent I have to pay the mortgage on the house aswell as pay rent for the house Im in now.
Ive never missed a payment so why should she?
During the term of an AST then once 2-months rent is owed then proceedings can start. However, if the debt is paid - partially or fully - to below 2-months owed then proceedings automatically cease.
Indeed, thanks for the months correction.
that rents should be paid direct to land lords by the benefits agencies.
Matt24k - they can be. The council paid me my tenants housing benefit directly. However, they need to be 8 weeks in arrears before they will.
It does sound like you have had a knightmare with renting. However I am trying to play devils advocate on this
a) Why did someone ask her age? I own my own home now (bought at 22/23) but before that I rented and despite being at uni then working low wages we were both good tenants and always paid on time
b) the option and this may work in her favour or yours. She says money went out of account and was returned, therefore if you go down evict option she can show you her bank statement to back up her theory OR prove you right - she may have shot herself in the foot talking about bank transfers, but she also may have a good defence if she's telling the truth.
Don't let your past experience cloud a new tenant, explain your concerns and ask for proof via bank statment for failed payments.
If she's lying then evict.
My agency take £10 extra each month for their "rent guarantee scheme" a form of insurance I guess, they pay the rent if the tenant defaults. It's Fineholm in Edinburgh.
My theory is that it makes them try harder to get reliable tenants !
I know it's shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted but worth considering for next time.
FWIW I wouldn't serve notice on her quite yet. Tell her she has until XX date to pay up in full, and next time the rent is late you evict her.
It is not legal and landlords have gone to jail for it.
Harrassment is a serious offense and taken seriously.
I rent properties
...
I have no idea if this is legal
Oh dear I am a criminal. If so then I am happy to accept that tag. If by having a tenant in my house who doesn't pay any rent and I knock on the door and ask where it is whilst passing is considerd harrasment then so be it.
Sounds like bad luck to me Renton as you are keeping the house up.I offerd to drop rent for one very nice tenant who was struggling as have been in that position myself but I stand by take the piss out of piss takers. I have to pay my bils so can others. Best of luck.
Renton
Whilst she isnt paying the rent I have to pay the mortgage on the house aswell as pay rent for the house Im in now. Ive never missed a payment so why should she?
Sorry sunshine, but it sounds very much like you aren't quite aware that it isn't your God given right to be able to rent a house out and get your costs covered. You took the decision to rent your house instead of sell it, presumably you thought that it would get you out of negative equity and become a nice little earner. You also knew that there would be risks involved, such as periods where you get no income / have cash flow problems .If you don't have some kind of buffer to deal with this kind of situation then that is your problem. You being unable to pay 2 mortgages is your fault, and not the fault of your tenant. From your periodic moaning on here, it sounds like you are a bit immature around the whole subject, and you would be better off getting rid of the house.
Matt24k - they can be. The council paid me my tenants housing benefit directly. However, they need to be 8 weeks in arrears before they will.
That's terrible.
Sorry sunshine
TOS53R
I love rentons rental threads, fair play for posting again, as you probably knew you'd get some grief again!
Keep trying to find a decent tenant, you'll get there in the end.
I rented for 20 years and like to think that although I had the occasional issue, I discussed it with my landlordsand we got everything sorted.
Double post
I've rented the same house for 11 years now, never been late paying, and have a very good relationship with my landlord!
On Sunday, he came round, we drank, his mrs fell off a chair pissed and ended up covered in beer, cider and wine!! I just wish he would buy me a slightly bigger house to rent.......
Cheers mudshark 🙂
Sorry sunshine, but it sounds very much like you aren't quite aware that it isn't your God given right to be able to rent a house out and get your costs covered. You took the decision to rent your house instead of sell it, presumably you thought that it would get you out of negative equity and become a nice little earner. You also knew that there would be risks involved, such as periods where you get no income / have cash flow problems .If you don't have some kind of buffer to deal with this kind of situation then that is your problem. You being unable to pay 2 mortgages is your fault, and not the fault of your tenant. From your periodic moaning on here, it sounds like you are a bit immature around the whole subject, and you would be better off getting rid of the house.
Thanks for that Bamboo, you obviously know my circumstances to make such a bold and off the mark statement like that !! 🙄
Where are you getting 2 mortgages from ?? have you read the text you actually quoted?
Immature about the whole subject....... Ive said it on here before I didn't want to become a landlord but it was the last option available to us in the circumstances at the time.
Is it really my fault when my employer told me that on returning from an overseas tour I wouldn't be moved for a while so we took the decision to buy a house in the area we want to settle down in, put my kids into the local schools and get my family settled, only to be told 2 years later that I have to move again, which happened to coincide with the house market falling on its backside and house prices dropped leaving me no option as I couldn't afford to sell it.
We even tried living apart for 8 months, 8 months of seeing my kids for just under 2 days a week as I had to travel back to were I was stationed, just to give the house extra time to sell and it didnt.
Thanks for your input though.....