CH1 Posted August 9, 2008 Report Share Posted August 9, 2008 I was quite suprised to see the amount of things LL's are offering T's (particularly students) who are renting on a room by room basis. I'm currently aiming to rent out a house on a room by room basis using a single AST to students or anyone interested. I was aiming to charge £58- £64pw excluding bills. However, I am wondering if I should include bills and increase rent to £75pw -which would mean an extra £120 per month if letting 3 rooms. On my local gumtree this is a typical ad: "The rent is £325 per month and is inclusive of bills, Gas, Electric, Council Tax, Water, Broadband and TV License. DETAILS RENT £325 Per Calendar Month DEPOSIT £325 – Returned on Day you leave Administration Charge £0 – No Admin Charge (Save £200) No Credit Check £0 – Just photocopy of photo ID and Payslips Council Tax Included GAS Bills Included Electric Bills Included Water Bills Included 20Mb Wireless Broadband Included" I often get enquiries from prospective T's asking if bills are including or if there is broadband! Personally I was thinking of excluding bills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Dewsberry Posted August 9, 2008 Report Share Posted August 9, 2008 Hi CH1 That very much sounds like an ad by "Matthew" from whom we have not heard much of late i think he is now "down under" I do a room for £300-£360 (depending on size and prop) to inc CT,gas ,lecky and water ............dont get invoved in tv lic or broadband as a lot of people want a dedicated connection ....most of my props hmo's) have at least 2, some have 4 connections...i have no problem if there is a dedicated connection in every room ....(especially as i have got to know the rep and get commission every time a new T takes up a connection !!! ...greedy b that i am !!!as Gareth will now tell me!!) ... New T have the option to share with one of the other connections (pennies per mth) or put their own in, alot put the fullmonty in tv,phone and BB ....no issues from me ...(bigger commission!) I charge a setup fee because it costs money to set up ! I am usually running at 99% occupancy ......If you present a confident friendly and fair approach ....you will have no problems filling rooms .......and should not forget that "people buy people" much more than they "buy rooms" If letting room by room defo inc bills ........you will have anightmare on your hands with people coming and going trying to sort them out fairly ...i,ve got the T shirt !! And would you want to share legal responsibilty for utility accs with complete strangers ??? who you Know noting about ? This alone will steer loads of propective T AWAY from you ... The Rodent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CH1 Posted August 9, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2008 rodent, evening! It does sound like Matthew's kinda thing doesn't it?! I do intend to let room by room but on a single AST with the same start/end date for all T's –so its not strictly a HiMO? (no locks on doors). As you may know I bought an already tenanted property a couple of months back –the T's (students) who have now left had all the bills in their own names. The lead T often forgot to pay bills and there was no end of letters and bailiffs calling for this T –however as this debt to utility companies is still standing with T none of the companies have made me the LL liable and are chasing T and have registered property as void i.e. no one currently living there until I inform otherwise. I've no idea what the bills are likely to be in terms of Elec.& Gas – I know the previous T's often left lights, washing machine and many things on even if they were not there. It's a 2-bed typical Victorian terrace- which I hope to let to 3 people. Just wondering if £10 extra per week per person (~£120PCM) is enough to cover all the bills.. (I need to check if water (Fixed £150 pa), elec. Gas and council tax (£90 a month) is equal or more than £120 a month) for 3 people in a household…. Just had some rather expensive character (well, as much as you get out of UPVC!) double glazing installed so hoping to recoup costs either thru' letting to definitely when I sell so don't have too much surplus cash to pay T's bills too..so need to find out what they may cost beforehand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Dewsberry Posted August 9, 2008 Report Share Posted August 9, 2008 Hi CH1 Different thing altogether !!! If they all on single ast ...dont advertise it as rooms ....but as a 3 share house ....unless you going to take them 1 by 1 ...in which case 3 x ast i easier for above reasons water fixed at £150 where the Bxxxxx hell are you ?!!! mine are £400 for a 2 bed flat and nearly £600 for a 3 bed house.. Ct for a 2 bed flat nearly £800 and £1200 for a 4 bed Gas and elec ...T will put a pair of socks on rad to dry at 8 am (and put heating on ) then gp to work for the day ....bills can be astronomical ......if they are on one ast then let them have the bills ...all of them .... £1440 pa certainly wouldn't cover mine ....ct 1200 gas 1000 lecky 6-800 water 600 more like 3600 pa Just make sure YOU put bills in T name and send a copy of ast to confirm with all utlities ....then on departure ...insist on copy of final bills stamped paid ...b4 you return deposit .....it does encourage them to pay !! you also dont get messed around with unpaid accs at premises .....T are extremely unreliable at registering for bills which can seriously bite you on the arse... If a void between T be sure to contact CT and inform them unocc / unfurn to EXEMPT you af any payment or unocc/furn for 50% discount on void period (upto 6 mths) also call utilities and inform them unocc put tariff on zero stding chg to avoid any costs ...(dont foget to switch off power in prop .....as safety prec against fire and "leakage" problems and costs ) But guess you do all this any way ...just thought someone may find it useful !!! The Rodent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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