carolespencer Posted February 28, 2007 Report Share Posted February 28, 2007 Can anyone offer any advice (other than what I should have done already-I'm new to letting and never imagined anyone could do so much damage!) I have just evicted problem tenants who had not been paying and were so abusive and threatening I could not inspect the property. They have smashed basically everything from the front to the back door (and including both these doors), broken the tiles on the kitchen floor, ripped most of them up and left holes in the floor which go down into the foundations, damaged all the laminate flooring through the house and ripped down the wallpaper-which they have replaced by painting with textured masonry paint, oh and did I mention the scorched kitchen units and doors? This is a summary-the damage is about 9 thousand (absolute minimum, with me carrying out the labour) on top of a broken bath at the beginning of the tenancy and a number of other things. Like a fool, although I inspected prior to them moving in I did not take photos or get them to sign anything, although various contractors and a previous prospective tenant who viewed a couple of days before they moved in can all confirm the property was perfect. I've sent a list of damage to their new address and a claim, which they have ignored. What are my chances in court??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patgreen Posted February 28, 2007 Report Share Posted February 28, 2007 That all sounds terrible. I don't know what your chances are in court, but I doubt there is much chance of actually receiving any money even if you did win a court case. Is it possible to interest the police in criminal damage charges? Keep a record of everything you spend on repairs. You can claim against your tax bill. If you have made a loss during your tax year you can carry that loss forward to lower your tax in future years (I think). Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GPEL Posted February 28, 2007 Report Share Posted February 28, 2007 I had something similar occur. Fortunately, I had landlord's building and contents insurance in place. This helped a lot but still left out of pocket. Check your policies for what you can claim. A complaint was made to the Police and a policeman visited the property. He agreed it was criminal damage but his senior's weren't interested in persuing it as there was a tenancy agreement in place and advised me to follow civil procedures. Not happy at all about that. Turns out the tenant is now wanted by the Police for unpaid fines etc. Police intransigence means they've now missed the boat finding the scumbag and preventing him causing even more problems for them and others further down the line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyask Posted March 20, 2007 Report Share Posted March 20, 2007 I'm veyr sorry for what happened to you. Yet I'm also quite amazed by the lack of research you did on property letting before you let. The bare basics are contract, inventory and landlords insurance. These simple things are covered in virtually every website, book or magazine you can get on Buy to Let and every author reminds the reader about the risks and essentials of successful BTL and I'm sorry to say there is very little excuse when you are letting people into your property in this manner - which was simply asking for trouble. These dodgy tenants would have spotted you a mile-off. I read "Complete Guide to Letting Property" by Liz Hodgkinson before I even thought about Letting! I suggest you do the same! Can anyone offer any advice (other than what I should have done already-I'm new to letting and never imagined anyone could do so much damage!) I have just evicted problem tenants who had not been paying and were so abusive and threatening I could not inspect the property. They have smashed basically everything from the front to the back door (and including both these doors), broken the tiles on the kitchen floor, ripped most of them up and left holes in the floor which go down into the foundations, damaged all the laminate flooring through the house and ripped down the wallpaper-which they have replaced by painting with textured masonry paint, oh and did I mention the scorched kitchen units and doors? This is a summary-the damage is about 9 thousand (absolute minimum, with me carrying out the labour) on top of a broken bath at the beginning of the tenancy and a number of other things. Like a fool, although I inspected prior to them moving in I did not take photos or get them to sign anything, although various contractors and a previous prospective tenant who viewed a couple of days before they moved in can all confirm the property was perfect. I've sent a list of damage to their new address and a claim, which they have ignored. What are my chances in court??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Dewsberry Posted March 20, 2007 Report Share Posted March 20, 2007 Hi personally i wouldn't go straight to court I would employ the services of a debt collector ( a legal one not a thug!) I have had various problems over the years and have never taken any one to court - I find debt collectors firstly cheaper, as they come for free as long as you follow the correct procedure, secondly they are far more effective in actually getting any money and they will show the tenant that you are very serious about getting your money from them. Let us take the scenario you are in - you take them to court they may or may not turn up - they probably are not in a position to pay £9k so the judge will instruct them to pay probably £10 a week then when they dont do this you can only take them back to court to re instate your £10 a week which they may do for a couple of weeks then stop again leaving you very wound up, wasted a lot of time any probably even more out of pocket! If you use a debt collector they will hound them and the tenant will be charged all collection fees plus interest - they can also keep chasing for i think 6 years - that is a long time too be hassled- at any point during this time you can opt to instruct the debt collector to finalize in court and they will - As i said previously i have never had to go court these guys do the job ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPEEDTWIN Posted March 20, 2007 Report Share Posted March 20, 2007 hi rodent what % of the debt do the debt collectors you use charge??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Dewsberry Posted March 20, 2007 Report Share Posted March 20, 2007 Hi Speedtwin Charge with the guys i use 15% (plus any additional expenses) but as long as you send the tenant a letter giving them a set time to pay 10 - 14 -21 or 28 days to pay, also putting them on notice that if cleared funds are not received within this time frame the debt will be passed onto "xyz " debt collectors and their collection fee will be payable by the tenant.Not YOU.(COSTING YOU NOTHING) Along with interest any any further costs they decide to cause the DC in the process of collecting the debt. Also point out in your letter that once the debt has been passed to the collector you will have little or no control over it - or charges added. and even if they pay immediately after debt has been passed - DC will want their fee - this is completely legal - and DC will advise you and give you sample letter if you ask for it ! Don t use a collector with up front fees or one who is going to charge you - If DC only manages to recover part of debt they will take their 15% from that amount (usually !) but my guys have always got it all for me. Most people visible shake when a debt collector knocks on their door! and most pay up immediately. This is far more effective than a summons arrriving where the tenant knows that all they have to do is is go to court plead poverty and pull the wool on a judge who going to let them pay £5 - £10 a week or month! Plus the debt is getting larger all the time which the tenant is not going to like and most will cut their losses and pay immediately. I had one guy who called me to say that what i was doing was illegal and if i didn't send him a letter of apology also confirming that treatening behavior had been stopped he would call the police ( and also there was no way was he going to pay me the £1400 he owed me in back rent - he had also left the property) I told him there would be no letter and he could tell the dc the above when he arrived the day after the deadline - Guess what on the last day £1400 was transferred to my account and i havent heard from him since !! I dont always get all the money straight away - i have had people motivated enough by the letter to come and sort a payment plan out with me - if this happens you should seek to get the full amount within a reasonable amount of time (max 6 months) and draw up an agreement which you both need to sign also stating that failure to comply with terms will result in immediate involvement of DC . I usaully try to structure larger amounts over 3 months taking post dated cheques - and if one of those bounces - you know what to do! Hope this helps ! Simon PS the other benifit of getting an "intent " of payment ie a cheque is that if you have to go to court that intent is clearly admission of liability for debt and you have no fight about whether they do or do not actually owe - it is just straight foward non payment which basically means they are screwed !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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