Bastard Landlords Part II

[Brains]

it cost the tenants that much as after all, they are actually paying for it!

Have you worked out how many months of your rent it would take to buy the property you live in ? (add 30% for the cost of the repayment)

If a landlord bought a house today on a 100% BTL mortgage (which the banks have long since stopped offering) the payback is around 130%, you would expect to break even in about August 2036. How old will you be then ?

 

[theclaud]

it cost the tenants that much as afterall, they are actaully paying for it!

Landlords don't see things that way.

For your amusement, this is the latest response in what should be a minor matter of repairing or replacing a washing machine. Needless to say, it is a furnished property and the washing machine was provided at the start of the tenancy:

"I have let you use my machine for free so far, I think it is a bit cheeky to expect me to replace it now it is broken, don't you think? I have no objections to you getting rid of it, I don't want it repaired, I think that is fair enough, don't you? If you would like to try and repair it, I have no objections either, and would be happy for you to keep it should you succeed.

For peace's sake I would actually consider buying you one if you had someone with a good offer, say 50-100 pounds, as an offer of goodwill on my part.

Does that sound fair?

Kind regards"

 

[BearPear]

Our tenants are lovely, they look after the house as though it belonged to them. In return we make sure that the safety checks are done, we have put in a new bathroom and sort out any problems promptly. We gave them champagne when they married and no doubt will get them something when they have their first child next Feb. We are now looking into refurbishing the kitchen, something that we know they will appreciate and take care of.

I know that we have been extremely lucky to get such fantastic tenants, having heard lots of horror stories from other landlords. If we could be sure to get such nice people again, we would happily invest in another property - goodnes knows you get a better return than the banks are offering!

 

[theclaud]

Our tenants are lovely, they look after the house as though it belonged to them. In return we make sure that the safety checks are done, we have put in a new bathroom and sort out any problems promptly. We gave them champagne when they married and no doubt will get them something when they have their first child next Feb. We are now looking into refurbishing the kitchen, something that we know they will appreciate and take care of.

I know that we have been extremely lucky to get such fantastic tenants, having heard lots of horror stories from other landlords. If we could be sure to get such nice people again, we would happily invest in another property - goodnes knows you get a better return than the banks are offering!

That does sound nice. I might have to add you to my list of exceptions that prove the rule. I think you should invest in somewhere in Swansea...

 

[theclaud]

So in 2036, not only have you reclaimed all of your money back that you paid for the property in rent receipts, you still own the property and its substantially increased in value too!!!

No brainer surely!

Landlord logic is generally unfathomable.

 

[Archie_tect]

... and Sheffield, and Oxford.

 

[BearPear]

That does sound nice. I might have to add you to my list of exceptions that prove the rule. I think you should invest in somewhere in Swansea...

That's practically abroad! Should we venture your way, I'll let you know TC!

 

[wiggydiggy]

Landlords don't see things that way.

For your amusement, this is the latest response in what should be a minor matter of repairing or replacing a washing machine. Needless to say, it is a furnished property and the washing machine was provided at the start of the tenancy:

..............

Luckily my landlord has replaced appliances when broken, although one once forgot the fridge/freezer was mine and accused me of stealing it!

 

[Brains]

So in 2036, not only have you reclaimed all of your money back that you paid for the property in rent receipts, you still own the property and its substantially increased in value too!!!

No brainer surely!

In 2036 I would be pushing 80 years old.
Who says I'll still be alive ?
At least the cost of my funeral will be covered.

So what advantage is there in buying a property for renting today ? (Unless you are under 40 and do not need to live in it, IE buy here but get posed overseas for a decade of so)

 

[Dan B]

The standard STA agreement gives 90 days notice on either side after the first 6 months.
After the first year, you can sign a rolling STA which means that your tenancy is for a year at a time

I have tenants and friends who could buy, but choose not to, in this climate it's not a silly position. They are flexible, I am not.

Can't be a very widely observed standard, that, I've never observed it. Standard practice everywhere I've rented has been a 12 month contract which expires and converts to a rolling one month notice after a year, and zero interest from landlord or agent in signing anything else.

ARLA? Don't make me laugh, they're toothless. I had one agent who took a holding deposit - in cash - on a Friday and then called back on Monday to say that the landlord had decided to put the rent up, then fobbed us off with offers of three other properties we should go and look at every time we rang to enquire for its return, all of which mysteriously turned out to be unavailable, but yet continued to be advertised by that agent on Gumtree. Took three weeks and a threat of Small Claims proceedings for them to return the deposit. Called ARLA (they were members), completely uninterested, sod all result. Does the ARLA code of practice even include a single point which is not required by law in the first place?

[edit: it was a holding deposit not a security deposit, I am misremembering my terminology]

 

[wiggydiggy]

In 2036 I would be pushing 80 years old.
Who says I'll still be alive ?
At least the cost of my funeral will be covered.

So what advantage is there in buying a property for renting today ? (Unless you are under 40 and do not need to live in it, IE buy here but get posed overseas for a decade of so)

As a single bloke with no interest in starting a family and no desire to have 'a relationship' and I'm happy with the flexibility and relatively less stressful lifestyle of a renter (no building bills etc).

Admitedly I'm probably in a smaller group of renters but thats just how it is for me and likely to stay so.

 

[Smokin Joe]

that isn't quite right. I pop round and see my tenants with no intention other than to brighten their day - and they always brighten mine. I always say - 'if you've got a problem, give me a call or send me a text - and it doesn't matter what time of day or night it is'.

If, as a result of all this brightness, they decide to sign up for another year then I'll be ever so happy. I'll save the agent's fee for finding a new tenant (about £650, which is 'cheap'). And I'll save myself the worry of having someone in who I don't know.

*3am, Dell is woken by his mobiles "Birdie Song" ring tone*


"Hi Dell?"

"It's me, let's talk about Jesus..."

 

[ttcycle]

I've had dodgy dealings with an ARLA registered landlord/estate agency too. Very sales orientated and not pleasant at all.

Basically they failed to tell us that the property had to share electricity and gas with the property downstairs as no-one had bothered to arrange for the installation of separate gas and electricity meters - I ended up arranging this and it took several months in all.

The same agency and estate agent colluded and with my protected deposit released it all to the landlord instead of me and then the landlord went and made his own deductions to the flat for cleaning and tried to take out £450 of the money that was not his to take. Insultingly, I'd moved out all my stuff a week before hand and spent that entire week cleaning and re-doing/decorating bits that looked scruffy- this was whilst I was in the process of becoming fully homeless a couple of years ago so to be frank I had bigger concerns on my hands so could have not bothered. Took a long process but went through arbitration and got my money back but ARLA does not mean well behaved agencies or landlords.

 

[Brains]

I've had dodgy dealings with an ARLA registered landlord/estate agency too. Very sales orientated and not pleasant at all.
Took a long process but went through arbitration and got my money back but ARLA does not mean well behaved agencies or landlords.

ARLA do not register Landlords. They register agents

NLA register Landlords and not Agents

The point being, even if you do have to go through arbitration as the deposit is protected by a society independent of both Agent and Landlord, if you are entitled to it, you will get the money back.

 

[lesley_x]

Our landlord is a rather famous footballer.

Since we moved into our flat 6 months ago, we have discovered that 6 out of 7 windows leak very heavily during rain. This is not due to the window but a lack of pointing around the window and the fact the stonework has degraded on the roof so much, it is getting in. The skylight in the communal hall leaks. Our bottom lock did not work, meaning we were protected only by one 'chubb' lock.

The one that got me though was the fact they never told us about the gas leak in the flat! They didn't do anything about it because the previous tenants hadn't brought it up. So when we went in and there was a distinct smell of gas, we had to get it fixed and went without cooker/boiler for some time. Worst thing is, we had the boiler serviced about 2 weeks ago and it was still leaking, the previous guy never even fixed it right!

There was also a problem with the flooring in that a previous repair had been done but they neglected to support the floor, so it was spongy and if you walked in that area there was the danger of putting your foot through the floor!

There are regularly problems with the other 3 flats in the block, have had occasions of water coming through the lights in the flats below us.

This is by no means a cheap flat either... We take very good care of it and our inspections have been spot on. But 6 months on none of these problems are looking like they are going to be fixed. We want to move but there is nothing out there.