Advice needed

[Gordon64]

Became a landlord by accident, not choice. Have used two agents now. 1st allowed tenant to steal my furniture and did nothing to help. Changed agent and he got a new tenant on a six month contract, tenant has now left and only paid 3 months. In in property for over 3 weeks rent free. Agent did not tell me till I called to ask why payment late and said tenant has stopped paying. Agent says it was because had a few jobs that needed doing and had waited too long. Agent had previously said were all minor but I agreed verbally he should do them. Agent did not do them and then tried to blame me for not giving permision. However, then later contradicted himself by saying his workmen did not gain access to do work. When questioned agent said I had caused problem by discussing work directly with the tenant. Agent seems to have the attitude he in his words was a "piggy in the middle". Yet I feel he seems to be totally on the tenants side. £900 out of pocket so far on due rent. Tenant left house dirty and garden in a state. Has not returned the keys. Spent all Friday15/05/09 trying to get the agent to speak to me, but was either busy or not in.

Has anyone any advice. Would be appeciated.

Thanks, Gordon

[contactkay]

What does the contract say? Were the repairs significant enough to warrant the tenant having to move out? If not, is the tenant not liable for rent until the end of the tenancy, should you wish to pursue them for this money? And are you paying this agent management fees still? All in all, if the tenant has left taking all their belongings and leaving the place in a state then surely you can claim against the deposit which should be in a secure deposit scheme. Make sure you take photos for proof. I managed to get an entire deposit back after one place was turned into a cannabis factory but as the tenant had done a runner, then I guess that was easy enough.

There are others on here with far more knowledge and experience than I though and they should be able to give you some more solid advice as well.

Just take comfort in the fact that if all you lose is £900 then you are a lot better off than some landlords. I'm staring down a £15,000 hole on one property.

Learned the hard way:

1. Don't use agents unless they come highly recommended by others that you trust or respect.

2. If you do choose to use agents pour over the fine print and insist on changes to the contract that you are not happy with or that could cost you if things do not go the happy rosy way that most agents will assure you of.

3. Always do your research and insist on those niggly precautions or walk away and find another agent or do it yourself.

4. Doing it yourself does not always mean doing it incorrectly. It just means you have to get good solid advice and do your homework properly. After all, who could want more for you to succeed than you?

By the way, welcome to the dark side of being a LL. I think losing money must be like an initiation into some clubs. I believe that learning these lessons early on can help to really save on money and be the making of a good LL.

Kay

[Mortitia]

Hi Gordon,

Your first line sums up your attitude of not wanting to be involved that much but you are expecting rent to appear regularly by magic. Wrong! Being a landlord is hard work but there are things you can do to ease things a long. Kay makes some good pointers.

Sounds like your property needs some repairs, maybe minor - so get them done yourself and find some tradesmen who you can go back to should you need stuff done again. Be more self reliant. Shunting this on to a letting agent is a waste of time unless they are top dog - and you don't know this with a new one yet. Presenting the property in good condition should get you a better tenant - I like to think.

Finding a good letting agent is difficult (see post below) so you need to keep tabs on things rather than just walk away at the start and wait for the rent. When you are sure of your agent/tenant you MAY be able to do this.

As for the £900 lost rent - well you still have the property so on to the next and stop feeling sorry for yourself. Picking yourself up and starting again is all part of being a landlord. Never mind wasting a day on the phone trying to talk to LA write to him citing breach of contract then get round to the property, get it cleaned up and back out there. Only you can move things on or sell up if you can't face this basic fact.

By the way tenants hardly ever keep gardens up to scratch so consider including someone to tidy it up on regular basis and announce this in the property details.

Hope we are not too hard on you,

Mortitia

[Gordon64]

What does the contract say? Were the repairs significant enough to warrant the tenant having to move out? If not, is the tenant not liable for rent until the end of the tenancy, should you wish to pursue them for this money? And are you paying this agent management fees still? All in all, if the tenant has left taking all their belongings and leaving the place in a state then surely you can claim against the deposit which should be in a secure deposit scheme. Make sure you take photos for proof. I managed to get an entire deposit back after one place was turned into a cannabis factory but as the tenant had done a runner, then I guess that was easy enough.

There are others on here with far more knowledge and experience than I though and they should be able to give you some more solid advice as well.

Just take comfort in the fact that if all you lose is £900 then you are a lot better off than some landlords. I'm staring down a £15,000 hole on one property.

Learned the hard way:

1. Don't use agents unless they come highly recommended by others that you trust or respect.

2. If you do choose to use agents pour over the fine print and insist on changes to the contract that you are not happy with or that could cost you if things do not go the happy rosy way that most agents will assure you of.

3. Always do your research and insist on those niggly precautions or walk away and find another agent or do it yourself.

4. Doing it yourself does not always mean doing it incorrectly. It just means you have to get good solid advice and do your homework properly. After all, who could want more for you to succeed than you?

By the way, welcome to the dark side of being a LL. I think losing money must be like an initiation into some clubs. I believe that learning these lessons early on can help to really save on money and be the making of a good LL.

Kay

[Gordon64]

Became a landlord by accident, not choice. Have used two agents now. 1st allowed tenant to steal my furniture and did nothing to help. Changed agent and he got a new tenant on a six month contract, tenant has now left and only paid 3 months. In in property for over 3 weeks rent free. Agent did not tell me till I called to ask why payment late and said tenant has stopped paying. Agent says it was because had a few jobs that needed doing and had waited too long. Agent had previously said were all minor but I agreed verbally he should do them. Agent did not do them and then tried to blame me for not giving permision. However, then later contradicted himself by saying his workmen did not gain access to do work. When questioned agent said I had caused problem by discussing work directly with the tenant. Agent seems to have the attitude he in his words was a "piggy in the middle". Yet I feel he seems to be totally on the tenants side. £900 out of pocket so far on due rent. Tenant left house dirty and garden in a state. Has not returned the keys. Spent all Friday15/05/09 trying to get the agent to speak to me, but was either busy or not in.

Has anyone any advice. Would be appeciated.

Thanks, Gordon

[Gordon64]

What does the contract say? Were the repairs significant enough to warrant the tenant having to move out? If not, is the tenant not liable for rent until the end of the tenancy, should you wish to pursue them for this money? And are you paying this agent management fees still? All in all, if the tenant has left taking all their belongings and leaving the place in a state then surely you can claim against the deposit which should be in a secure deposit scheme. Make sure you take photos for proof. I managed to get an entire deposit back after one place was turned into a cannabis factory but as the tenant had done a runner, then I guess that was easy enough.

There are others on here with far more knowledge and experience than I though and they should be able to give you some more solid advice as well.

Just take comfort in the fact that if all you lose is £900 then you are a lot better off than some landlords. I'm staring down a £15,000 hole on one property.

Learned the hard way:

Will be looking to go it alone. Will be sorting out garden in dinner hours or on way to work an don way home. Making a list of needs and probable needs for the house. Will look to be more hands on. Thanks for all replies

[brightagent]

May I reccomend that any future tenants which you may have in your property, either referred to you by an agent, or otherwise, be referenced through a company, such as Homelet, which will result in a rent guarantee policy. This means that you will be covered for loss of rental income, and also for legal fees should you need to use a lawyer to have your tenants removed. We reference all of our tenants, as standard, and find that our landlords are more than appreciative for the resulting protection that they are guaranteed.