Grampa

Could I please advertise my properties at your clinic. 

Dont forget BTL lenders will refuse to lend (even now) unless the EPC rating reaches a certain level. So with a low rating it will reduce the amount of potential buyers.

I had to pull out of a purchase with a low EPC rating a year ago because I couldn't get any BTL finance on it. The property was liveable but I was planning to renovate anyway which the lender knew above and I was prepared to give an undertaking to do so within 4 months but still had to withdraw.  

I agree, 6 month tenancy to start with and consider a longer one at a later date when you have established how good the tenant is. If Open rent are pushing for a 2 year tenancy I suspect the reason is to keep you tied in. It is not in your best interest to start off with a 2 year tenancy. "Cost Effective" should not be your leading consideration when choosing an agent as SO many things can go wrong and you are likely to get a more personalised service from a local agent who knows the local market and also a lot of the local tenants and which ones to avoid which a electronic reference will not necessary pick up upon.  

Make it clear it writing IN ADVANCE that any works done have to be done to a workman like standard otherwise they (tenant) will incur the cost of rectifying.

You agree in writing what rooms to be painted, the specific colours and the scope of what to be done ie: woodwork, wall, ceilings and what isnt to be painted ie: stained doors etc.

You could also agree to inspect at certain stages such as agreeing to a small room painted first to inspect the standard of decorating before agreeing to further areas.

 Tenants decorating has the potential to go horribly wrong as I found out a few years ago after agreeing for a lovey tenant to paint the bedroom on similar conditions as above and we even inspected the decorating afterwards and found it decorated to a good standard and reported that back to the landlord.

However after the tenant vacated it was very apparent the tenant painted around every bit of furniture in the room to leave perfect silhouettes of the bed, cupboards, and sofa.  

1 hour ago, Richlist said:

 

* Think yourself lucky that you are privileged to enjoy British justice and not that dished out in many other corners of the globe.

Though I agree British Justice is likely favourable over most countries its still has many many failings starting with the police who in my view see a result the same as justice which it isnt.  

I don't understand all the hooha about Tax avoidance, If the the rules allow it, its the government fault not the person whose been advised by their accountant to structure a financial product in a certain way. After all you pay an accountant to save to money and as long as its done legally how are you supposed to know otherwise. 

A good start in sourcing a agent is to look at google and Facebook reviews. As long as there at a number of them it will give you a balanced starting point and help in comparing one against another.

Basically he has broke the rules and he can’t serve notice until the deposit is returned in full. He can then serve notice in the normal manner. If he doesn’t the notice will be invalid. However, as he failed to protect the deposit originally he has the risk of the tenants putting in a claim for UP TO 3x the value of the deposit. As he appears to be an inexperienced landlord I strongly advise that he instructs a professional eviction company to take it from here. 

I've been looking at 3 bed terrace houses in the region of 250/260k generating about £1100 pcm but another option is the same type of houses already split into 2 flats generating £650+ X2 pcm. A number of pro and cons for this but it is another angle to consider. 

I would also say having just one property as your sole income leaves you at risk of reduced or no income during void periods, large maintenance expenses or problems with non payment of rent.

Having 2 or ideally 3 (smaller) properties could mitigate the risk. 

6 hours ago, Richlist said:

We know someone who hands his accountant a shoe box of paper receipts every year for his tax returns......I suspect his bill will rise significantly unless he starts to be a little more proactive.

As someone you doesn't do their own account as I have family who are accountants I can confirm many companies and sole traders do just dump off a box or tesco carrier bag of receipts off at their accountant. (me not being one). Also  amongst the receipts will be a lot of personal expenses just chucked it as well which have to be discounted and separated. 

But as we know you can be the best bricky or sparky in the world but it doesn't make you a good businessman. 

13 minutes ago, Melboy said:

    MTD = Making Tax Digital 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/making-tax-digital/overview-of-making-tax-digital

 

I'm glad i'm not the only one. 

6 hours ago, Richlist said:

I think you may misunderstand.

The danger with an unvaccinated person is mainly to themselves and far less to fully vaccinated people. A fully vaccinated person can still carry and catch Covid but there is far less chance of them being hospitalised or worse.

The issue here is not that the unvaccinated tenant will pass Covid to contractors, visitors landlords etc but that if they do contract the virus it might seriously impact their ability to meet their obligations towards paying rents.

I fully understood the reason for the question which you state above. How you go about requesting that info without causing offence  is the tricky bit hence my post below

6 hours ago, Grampa said:

Maybe it would be acceptable to ask the question on the application form and provide proof on the basis of managing  future risk for contractors and property visits.

Now, what you do with that information when you have received it prior to the tenancy being granted and weather it effects your decision making in choosing a tenant is up to you.

 

Maybe it would be acceptable to ask the question on the application form and provide proof on the basis of managing  future risk for contractors and property visits.

Now, what you do with that information when you have received it prior to the tenancy being granted and weather it effects your decision making in choosing a tenant is up to you.

As it is a supposed guaranteed rent I am assuming you will be charged a greatly increased fee.  Some of the downsides to these type of schemes are:

• You have not control who is moved in
• Agent will be under pressure to get a tenant in so lot higher risk of unsuitable tenants housed.
• If the agent goes out of business what protection will you have
• Your mortgage may not allow these type of set up-ups.
•  Your buildings insurance may be invaliD

Some agents do this as an angle to get higher fees but all they are doing is taking out their own landlords insurance policy for a couple of hundred quid which you could do yourself.

Mortgage companies are not keen to grant a BTL loan to some one if they dont own their own residence because they will likely think you cannot afford a mortgage for the BLT property if it was for your own personal residence so will think you may be trying to get a BTL loan then move in yourself.  

You may have more luck by buying the property in the name of Limited company and  getting a suitable BTL mortgage that way but there are pros and cons with that. ie higher interest rates and possibly(?) better tax liability to name 2.  

There is no reason you cannot instruct another EPC. It will just mean the earlier one will be replaced with a newer on on the national EPC register.

We have done this few times when heating or insulation has been upgraded or if we thought the original one was incorrect. Having a employee who is also a EPC assessor helps.

Just chat to your new assessor and explain your reasons because he will likely look on the register prior to visiting and see a fairly recent one. Not that will be a problem. 

Lots of things to consider if you go down the "rent to rent" or the promise of guaranteed rent. It was quite a common practice a few years ago for some agents to guarantee a lower rental figure and promise of the property returned in good order for a high fee but a lot of landlords found out they didnt always get the rent and the properties were trashed with high turnover of tenants. Also if the secondary landlord goes bust or disappears it causes a big headache to gain possession partly because you maybe not be in possession of the documents such as tenancy agreements and all the other important relevant  docs that need to be in place to evict. 

There are also companies that want to do this and enquire via letting agents but what guarantee's do you have? I would consider it for a couple of my personal properties if it was paying a lot more in rent which some schemes do (high turn over of tenants) and had at least a couple of personal guarantee's from the directors of the company with all the normal checks done on them as well. 

You also have to consider which a lot of people forget ( not RL ) your mortgage and insurance likely wont allow it and the very valid points above Cor mentions.

I think once you have opted in for arbitration with the TDS and had a decision we can’t decide you don’t like the decision and go the the small claims court. Unless it is for a issue not in the TDS claim. This is in the TDS Rules and if you wanted to go to court  you should have opted out before arbitration.

The TDS make decisions purely on the evidence received which should be your detailed inventory with descriptions and photos. (Ours run to about 50+ pages) and your detailed check out report with photos, descriptions, invoices/quotes and any relevant corespondance. So if you can  prove a condition at the the start and evidence the condition on vacation and the cost to rectify you should  receive something. The TDS may disagree on costings because they know how much it costs to clean a property or paint a room so you can’t over inflat prices. Also there is a consideration for betterment. So if a carpet is completed ruined and cost £500 and the live span would be expected to be 10 years but was ruined 5 years after fitting you would of get £250. So it shouldn’t matter if someone lies because if your tenancy was correctly set up and evidence correctly documented and submitted you should receive a high proportion of what you are claiming for. 

1 hour ago, Carryon Regardless said:

We get the justice we can afford.

Quite right. Justice I have learnt is not black and white but whom (to an extent) has the better (and likely most expensive)  legal counsel. 

Same as the Police in my skewed eye view from my experience . As far as I'm concerned they dont want justice at all, they are only interested in is a "result" to get their numbers up. 

My cynicism seems to increase with age. 

On 7/31/2021 at 6:36 PM, Eve said:

Well that is not correct as firstly it depends what the lease says as some leases require an accountant or surveyor to approve the accounts this is a condition precedent so its not that straightforward and yes freeholders have been prosecuted for not providing information ...make an application  to the FTT under section 27A L&T Acts and tell them FTT that you need disclosure of all the invoices and receipts to narrow the issues and section 19 whether costs are reasonable

Well regarding the accounts its only "not correct" if the lease states otherwise and I have never seen a lease that does however, I acknowledge its possible. There is no requirement I believe to provide accounts if the building is 5 or less units (though most agents will) anything over take a look at note 3 ICEAW Service Charge Accounting 2011.

And as I stated earlier  It isn't standard practice to provide evidence/receipts to leaseholders unless formally requested/asked. I know of no Managing agent who sends copies of receipts and invoices to leaseholds on the yearly basis without a request.  

2 hours ago, Richlist said:

Purple Bricks, sponsor for Team GB at the Tokyo Olympics have shot themselves in the foot.

GB = England, Wales & Scotland......it doesn't include N. Ireland. But the team includes Irish athletes.

It should be called Team UK = all 4 nations.

So, if you are Irish  you have every right to be upset at being left out of the description.

 

I bet there is a certain element of people from NI who are rather glad to being left out of any connection to the mainland.

Here we go, I think this clarifies the issue and is from Safeagent which is a regulatory body for Letting Agents on par with ARLA

How to Rent Guide – MHCLG clarification 
MHCLG recently published an Easy Read version of the How to Rent Guide. The Easy Read version is designed to simplify the language and ensure there is an option for the information in the guide to be more accessible, if needed. 
 
The Easy Read version is not an update, nor is it required to be given to tenants, it is just designed to be an extra resource. The most recent version of the guide which is required to be given at the beginning of new tenancies remains the version online which is dated December 2020.