Richlist

In my case I provide a written list of applicants I won't accept. The list is quite comprehensive and over the years has grown to be quite long. It's that plus the fact that the vast majority of other landlords that my Agent deals with don't provide a list, don't suggest anyone who may be unsuitable and leave tenant selection completely in the hands of the Agent. That makes me somewhat unique & unusual and the inexperienced staff seem to struggle to handle anything different to their normal business. We have to remember that what might be almost second nature to us is, often to a 20 year old employee a mysterious complicated set of criteria that makes no sense in their world. I understand the problem only to well and think the solution is down to training within the Agency. Of course, the only training provided by many Agents is on the job, learning by making mistakes which does not always resolve issues for landlords. If the Agency send an unsuitable applicant along to view a property then their unsuitability can be determined often within the first 20 seconds. No harm is done for the Agent......they just receive a call from me explaining the problem.

Well I hope I don't upset anyone..... I have only ever used 1 letting agent in the last 20 years.......I'm very much a believer in finding something that works and sticking with it. I guess I was lucky in finding them before going elsewhere. Provided the agent does a good job generally and their charges are reasonable, why not ? I can't think of a single major letting problem that I can attribute to them in that time. I feel I've been very fortunate as we have made a good team. They are always on hand and over the years they have provided me with help, advice, maintenance contacts/ recommendations, legal information etc. They have been in business around 50 years, originally run by the father of the current owner. My arrangement with them is somewhat different to many of their other landlords. They provide a tenant find service, referencing, deposit protection, RGI &/or guarantor, draw up the contract & my 2 pages of additional clauses and liase with me on check in & check out. I do everything else. I only have 2 issues that can be annoying. * Inexperienced staff......everyone is inexperienced at something at some time in their life but why do I have to deal with them ? * Unsatisfactory prospective tenants.......I provide a basic criteria that applicants must meet but occasionally I'll get sent an applicant who doesn't tick all the boxes. It's annoying because a simple question would determine their suitability. I still think that if they are the only issues I have I must be pretty lucky.

I'm sure you'll be ok, but i've learnt over the years that the old saying.......if you sing your song off key, make sure your enemies don't attend the performance ......to be true. 😁

Don't forget its from a rental property and therefore comes under commercial waste so you cannot dispose of it in the normal way. 😈

Sell it & give the money to charity if it makes you feel better. It's preferable to putting it into landfill.

If you kept the old consumer unit they fetch a good price on Ebay. I had quite a few of those old memera fuse holders a while back and sold them all on Ebay.

Yes that does sound particularly annoying. But sometimes you have to balance the cost of putting it right (a new EPC) vs the cost & effort in chasing the firm that did the dirty deed.

About 10-12 years ago there was a Gov' scheme, I can't remember what it was called, that offered free supply & installation of loft insulation up to 12 inches thick. At the time I had the usually 4 inches in the loft at my own home so filled in the forms to apply. A guy turned up and told me I didn't have to be on any kind of benefit or credits to have the work done. I was earning big money at the time and could not believe that I could get this done for free. I didn't take up the offer but did the work myself.

I don't venture much past Watford Gap these days so the people up north are certainly entitled to think they've been missing out. It begs the question as to the definition of central heating.......we all know a gas or oil fired boiler & rads is, but what about properties with * A coup!e of night storage heaters. ? * A wood burning stove with a couple of fitted electric fires. ? * Is electric heating every considered to be central heating ?

Finding a habitable property that does not have central heating fitted must be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Yes that's what landlords, agents and rent guarantee insurers do individually in varying degrees of detail. The difference is that the information obtained is not in the public domain.

I sense an opportunity for a rent increase.

It just goes to show that legal requirements and common sense should not be used in the same sentence. How absolutely ridiculous. Providing online EPC certificates for those properties that have had no changes makes perfect sense wether in a pandemic, with all the existing restrictions or not.

This subject has been discussed for almost the whole of the 20 years I've been letting property. It's been raised on every forum I've been on in that time and always, always been rejected as just not possible. If it was a viable business opportunity ......it would have been done. It may be there is a legal risk or a data protection problem of it just requires a large financial comittment. In any event, it hasn't happened and I don't think it ever will.

I've never been someone who has paid for a survey but I realise there are a lot of properties around which have suffered from bad DIY over the years. Sometimes it's just shoddy electrics, sometimes it's just lack of maintenance, sometimes it's lack of anything from long term letting of the property. It's best not to assume anything and either get a survey or have someone knowledgeable take a professional view of electrics, plumbing, central heating, condition of windows/doors etc. Usually the trick is to find enough wrong in order to justify a reduced price.

There are so many reasons why there has never been a bad tenant register from a legal, moral, financial, legislative, data protection & social perspective. Plenty of people have wasted a big chunk of their time & money with this idea......if you think there is an untapped opportunity why don't you give it a go ?

That seems entirely sensible. The initial visit has already done the hard work in establishing the energy performance of the property. If the owner states there have been no changes (and any changes are far more likely to be improvements rather than reductions in energy performance) and signs to confirm the situation, it makes perfect sense.

Contact Landlord Action. A search of the Web will identify their web site. They will deal with this for you ensuring no mistakes and eviction much quicker than you can manage yourself. Good luck.

When 'flipping' property in its true sense i.e. buying, renovating and selling......it's subject to income tax and not CGT. So many will of course already be paying 40% on profits.

I have a similar unit in one of my properties which has Memera rewirable cartridge fuses. It controls the storage heaters & immersion heater which are on the night circuit. The separate main fuse board has already been replaced with a more modern unit. Fortunately I don't have the expense of replacing the older unit.

Why does selling property need to be so bloody painfull ? * First I had to tolerate a raft of rude viewers some of whom either asked stupid questions or worse, no questions at all. * Then I had to accommodate a miserable, extremely annoying buyers mortgage valuer with a bad attitude. * Now things have progressed to me having to deal with a buyers solicitor that seems intent on asking some rather silly questions. The only saving grace now is that the buyers solicitor thinks he needs answers to these questions so, I'm inclined to provide a cynical response that answers the question in a muted but painfully way. Still, not long now, soon be March 23rd (known as tax day)......when CGT will probably be raised big-time and provide the final nail in the coffin. The whole experience makes lockdown look like a load of fun !!!

Do you pay extra for: * Inventory & schedule of condition. * Deposit Protection & prescribed information. * Arranging gas & electrical safety certificates. * Referencing. * Arranging a guarantor. * Arranging rent guarantee insurance. * Regular inspections. * Tenant check in/check out. * Checking the property complies with regulations. * Issuing all of the docs required (legionella advice, how to rent booklet, template for reporting repairs etc). * Immigration checks on tenants where appropriate.

The trouble with calling someone a lodger is that it suggests or implies that rent is being paid. Having a friend or family member stay in your home where no payment is being made, especially for short periods would be unlikely to trigger a need for safety certs in anyone's mind. I suspect that in 99.99% of situations where people are letting people stay temporarily in their PPR, for any length of time they do not get a gas or electrical safety certificate. If I think back to my childhood there were situations where e.g. Cousins would spend some of their summer holidays staying with us or when a family member went into hospital their child stayed with us for a few weeks. Safety certificates were never ever considered.......which is not surprising.

You may well be right but..........Let me play devil's advocate. I go off to Spain for a months holiday, my sister in law moves in to ' look after the place' and my dog whilst I'm away. Its my PPR so I don't legally need a gas or electrical certificate. Problem occurs whilst I'm away.........what's the difference ?

Let me say that I agree you should have gas & electrical certification. However, I was under the impression that for there to be a rental agreement, there needs to be a consideration ie a payment. If there is no payment, there is no contract, therefore there is no tenant or landlord created.