Slum Landlord

[Melboy]

This often crops up over the years on this forum about the value of buying very cheap property to rent out knowing full well that the type of tenant very likely to fill the vacancy will have a dubious history and is almost certainly going to be on DWP rental schemes with all the problems that can bring with tenant's with a bad paying history.

I looked into it a couple of years back but more or less decided against it as it could be more trouble than it actually was to proceed. I believe COR is the forum expert on this type of tenancy and his renter's.

Anyway, here is one property for the very brave ( and foolish ? ) which has re-appeared again on this auction site after a period of 6 weeks from the original listing but this time all the windows are now smashed. But hey! he will except £18,000 for it as is which is about as much as Richlist will spend on a good night out.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/house-/331228670490?pt=UK_HG_Property_RL&hash=item4d1ec46a1a

[Dave A]

I seem to be seeing it through a romantic 80s soft focus haze. Mmmmmm must resist.

Dave

[Melboy]

I seem to be seeing it through a romantic 80s soft focus haze. Mmmmmm must resist.

Dave

That's not mist Dave that is the smoke from next doors furniture bonfire in the front garden.

[Dave A]

Not crack cooking fumes then?

Dave

[Carryon Regardless]

I usually find the soft focus haze is from the red mist developed by the T's when I have the bloody nerve to ask for payment of my rent.

Strange thing is I don't consider mine to be slums.

But there are only 2 that I would be happy to live in.

Something many LL's fail to consder with the 'lower' end of market properties is that local authorities are continually looking at ways to improve the standards of the housing and social behaviours of their T's. More and more this means more demands by these authorities on the LL's.

[Mortitia]

Ah yes, Trimdon Station did not that bloke Blair have a gaff nearby while he stood for Sedgefield?

I know this area a bit and parts of it are very attractive but the ex mining fraternity and their offspring are now housed by the LA and this is what you get. A ghetto. A lot of them are a bit mad and waiting for the pits to open again.

The immediate neighbours to this one must have some right royal grudges against who ever buys. Area must be lawless.

Funnily enough Homes Under the Hammer often features this group of villages - perhaps Geek who was looking to buy at auction might fancy it

[Melboy]

It would be a challenge for anyone to take this on by the sounds of it. Shame though..... you can't buy a bed-shed around these parts for that sort of money.

Talking of which I think the prices for a 2 bed terrace/ EOT/ semi type BTL has peaked around here now. Prices have gone up by about £15,000 in a year or thereabouts but I have noticed that the prices are levelling off and some are coming through to me reduced in price now.

I will probably buy another property at some point during the latter part of the year if something suitable comes up.

[Melboy]

Anyone watch the program of C4 last night at 9pm. Tenants on benefits?

Mmmm ! Up to expectations then.

Whilst I do realise that it takes all sorts to make this World can you believe the logic and the mentality of some tenants.

The poor Lady from London, irrespective of what should or should have been done, or where she bought, or why she bought, did not deserve to see her house completely wrecked with total wanton damage and theft of boiler, electrical wiring ripped from the walls, radiators, floors and ceiling totally wrecked etc. by her tenant.

I estimated her repair bill to be nearly £10,000

Tenants like this should be brought before the courts of justice and made to answer for their actions.

I have to say that London Lady took it all very calmly but I think she was in a state of utter shock really.

[Richlist]

Yes I watched it cos I HATE, HATE HATE football.

Lets discuss football first.....the FA is the one sporting body above all others that gives me no confidence in their integrity, honesty, ability or common sense. Brazil.....with more poor & underprivileged people than many don't need to spend vast sums on a world cup. They need to get their people out of the favelas & into decent housing with proper schools and infrastructure. As for footballers.....I'm amazed at the number of them who try to cheat their way thru a game. They pretend to be injured, they claim a corner when clearly it is not, they foul indiscriminately etc and for that they get paid ridiculous sums. Football is a pain in the arse that the rest of us will have to tolerate every time we switch on the TV for the next few weeks. I can't wait for the sorry spectacle to end.

Last nights program was a real eye opener for me. I don't deal with benefits tenants and after last nights program It has frightened me off for good. Some of these people really are hopeless. I thought the lettings agents were doing a really excellent job under difficult circumstances. I just don't have the patience to deal with those sorts of people. As for the lady from London......good example of why not to buy a property hundreds of miles away and let to benefits tenants, it was an accident waiting too happen. But, I do feel sympathy for her, nobody deserves that.

[Melboy]

Football must rank as one of the highest corruptable business's in the World.

This World Cup malarky is a total farce from start to finish.

[Carryon Regardless]

Football is a business.

FIFA is a foreign business.

When there is claimed corruption by FIFA with Qatar why the hell does Cameron even make comment ?

I watched the 1st 15 minutes or so of the benefit tenants programme, no surprises there. Same old, same old so turned over.

Refreshing to see the media showing the other side of this business though. I get so tired of the greedy, money grabbing, absent, non caring LL stories, who leaves his T's in a total unlivable slum. They then show hanging wall paper that was unlikely to be so when they took the property. They show the black mildew in the bathroom, that as 'we' all know usually just needed an open window at shower time.........

Now if only one of these self serving politicians would recognise that there are more T abuses of deposits than LL abuse and call for this deposit protection to be scrapped, and get of our backs with the rest of the crappy legislation they continually dream up.

[Antnkel]

I've let to tenants on benefits, never again.

Lies, non payment and stress is the only thing you get!

[Grampa]

I have just got round to watching the channel 4 program on benefit tenants, as a agent who rents out about 30% of our properties to tenants on benefits the agency in the program is a different world to me. I am fully aware the program is edited in such a manner that makes interesting viewing and that hasn't done any favours for HB tenants.

When I first got into this game and took on my first agency with about 40 properties (a lot lot more now) I can see a number of similarities with the tenants in the program but it doesn't have to be that way. I learned the eviction process, came across a number of abandoned properties left in the same sort of condition as in the program, built up a good relationship with the housing team in the council and learned the HB rules and regs.

I don't understand why the TV agency Castledene were even considering renting properties to some of those people and getting so involved with helping them. Yes it is very commendable of them but their job is to look after their client, the landlord. The only possible explanation could be the area is so rough there is no one else to put in the properties.

My other thought was, where was the inspections?

There business model seems to work for them but it appears they are causing themselves a lot of unnecessary work.

I expect all my tenants working or HB to be referenced and behave in the same manner. Yes HB comes with a different set of issues and can be a bit more labour intensive but it can work really well if you chose to go down that route and do it properly . If my location was somewhere else I may not need have to even consider HB tenants, not because it is run down but there isn't enough working tenants available so I would struggle to rent all the properties out.

In summery a entertaining program to watch but it has done an injustice the majority of good (managed correctly from the start) housing benefit tenants.