Frustration setting in - non paying tenant/damaged house
Discussion
Sadly I now have a tenant who is about to go 3 months into arrears. I instructed a property recovery expert to reposes via the court mid March. A section 21 had already been served back in January, and signed by the tenant.
The court has still to serve notice on the tenant as of today. Apparently they have a backlog. Great....Sigh.
And to make matters worse I have just been to inspect the property and it is awful. A proper S@@t hole. Rubbish everywhere, piled up to the ceilings. Walls all damaged and absolutely filthy. My tenant stinks of alcohol and is spending most of his time in the pub, pi@@ing what little money he has up against the wall.
I am finding this incredibly frustrating. Is there anything else I can do?
The court has still to serve notice on the tenant as of today. Apparently they have a backlog. Great....Sigh.
And to make matters worse I have just been to inspect the property and it is awful. A proper S@@t hole. Rubbish everywhere, piled up to the ceilings. Walls all damaged and absolutely filthy. My tenant stinks of alcohol and is spending most of his time in the pub, pi@@ing what little money he has up against the wall.
I am finding this incredibly frustrating. Is there anything else I can do?
You have my sympathies. We're going through something similar in Austria at the moment. 3 months unpaid. They moved out because the electricity was cut off for non-payment but didn't tell us.
Bailiffs came round for the renter's wife and said it was part of their regular round trip. Letter arrived for the renter demanding 220 of the 5430 he owed. Next day a letter from another court for the renter's daughter for a slightly smaller amount.
Toilets caked. Blinds broken. Stickers o walls and glass. Socket and switch covers removed and "lost" but the fittings themselves painted over. Today I found that they had just cut the live cable to the garden lights and left it in the grass.
Rubbish all over the garden including 3 rabbit hutches and a broken bench saw with a two foot blade, dog s
t, rabbit st and as they used the wood burning stove to heat for the last two years they dumped the ash all along the garden hedges. We live 7 hours away so have been camping in ths lot.
Tomorrow hopefully the plumber will arrive with something explosive for the toilets because the stuff you can buy in the DIY stores is proving to be totally ineffective.
And my wife said "They seemed like such nice people". That's not what I said....
Bailiffs came round for the renter's wife and said it was part of their regular round trip. Letter arrived for the renter demanding 220 of the 5430 he owed. Next day a letter from another court for the renter's daughter for a slightly smaller amount.
Toilets caked. Blinds broken. Stickers o walls and glass. Socket and switch covers removed and "lost" but the fittings themselves painted over. Today I found that they had just cut the live cable to the garden lights and left it in the grass.
Rubbish all over the garden including 3 rabbit hutches and a broken bench saw with a two foot blade, dog s
t, rabbit st and as they used the wood burning stove to heat for the last two years they dumped the ash all along the garden hedges. We live 7 hours away so have been camping in ths lot. Tomorrow hopefully the plumber will arrive with something explosive for the toilets because the stuff you can buy in the DIY stores is proving to be totally ineffective.
And my wife said "They seemed like such nice people". That's not what I said....
Unfortunately given the way the tenants are protected these days there's not much you can do to be honest, apart from wait, once you get stuck into putting it all right again you will be relieved that this scum of the earth is out of your property. I've been through the process twice and its mighty stressful.
The second of which he left the front door wide open, and the place was royally smashed to bits to the tune of 17k. Fortunately he was arrested after trying to sell the kitchen appliances on Facebook the absolute numpty.
Dont expect much from the judge either, he can award up to another 42 days stay to tenant on hearing date. Then after that you have about 2 weeks wait for a bailiff.
EDIT - just thought if tenant is on LHA you can apply to the council to get his money paid direct to you after he reaches 2 months of arrears. Worth a crack.
The second of which he left the front door wide open, and the place was royally smashed to bits to the tune of 17k. Fortunately he was arrested after trying to sell the kitchen appliances on Facebook the absolute numpty.
Dont expect much from the judge either, he can award up to another 42 days stay to tenant on hearing date. Then after that you have about 2 weeks wait for a bailiff.
EDIT - just thought if tenant is on LHA you can apply to the council to get his money paid direct to you after he reaches 2 months of arrears. Worth a crack.
Edited by dazwalsh on Monday 27th April 21:15
unclemark123 said:
Sadly I now have a tenant who is about to go 3 months into arrears. I instructed a property recovery expert to reposes via the court mid March. A section 21 had already been served back in January, and signed by the tenant.
The court has still to serve notice on the tenant as of today. Apparently they have a backlog. Great....Sigh.
And to make matters worse I have just been to inspect the property and it is awful. A proper S@@t hole. Rubbish everywhere, piled up to the ceilings. Walls all damaged and absolutely filthy. My tenant stinks of alcohol and is spending most of his time in the pub, pi@@ing what little money he has up against the wall.
I am finding this incredibly frustrating. Is there anything else I can do?
Pay the tenant off, offer the tenant monies to immediately surrender the tenancy. This was my only alternative when faced with a similar situation to yours.The court has still to serve notice on the tenant as of today. Apparently they have a backlog. Great....Sigh.
And to make matters worse I have just been to inspect the property and it is awful. A proper S@@t hole. Rubbish everywhere, piled up to the ceilings. Walls all damaged and absolutely filthy. My tenant stinks of alcohol and is spending most of his time in the pub, pi@@ing what little money he has up against the wall.
I am finding this incredibly frustrating. Is there anything else I can do?
Wings said:
Pay the tenant off, offer the tenant monies to immediately surrender the tenancy. This was my only alternative when faced with a similar situation to yours.
THIS, its about the most loathesome idea that can enter your head but it will get your property back much sooner and reduce the void period meaning you won't be out of pocket as much. If he is a full blown alcaholoc, a crate of special brew should do the trick.Edited by dazwalsh on Monday 27th April 21:12
How random is the likelyhood that your nice prospective tenants turn into monsters ? and what %age actually turn into monsters ?
I ask you all because after 3 (yes 3) years of procrastinating, we are on the cusp of investing in out first buy to let, and now my wife is having second thoughts, due to hearing only the horror stories.
For instance options :
1) 65K 2 bed flat in an "okay" bit of Derby. No garden, but big car park. Would appeal to a couple without kids. Typically rent for £450 a month
2) 140K 2 bed flat in NICE area of L37. Comes with Garage, which might be possible to rent out separately, Demographic would be recent divorced person trying to live near family home I recon. Pax would be £650 a month plus £60 for the garage.
3) 150K 3 bed terrace in a Welsh university city. Student Fodder, would rent for 750 to 800 a month. (Could equally be manchester or leeds as in wales.)
4) £170K 3 bed semi in same l37. VERY close to own address, identical house back in the 60's when new. Appeals to young families, who are trying to get decent schools. Max rent £750 to 800
As far as I can see you are equally likely to get dheads wrecking the place and not paying the rent in all 4 scenarios.
The only thing I would say is that the student house is furnished, but all ebay specials.
I ask you all because after 3 (yes 3) years of procrastinating, we are on the cusp of investing in out first buy to let, and now my wife is having second thoughts, due to hearing only the horror stories.
For instance options :
1) 65K 2 bed flat in an "okay" bit of Derby. No garden, but big car park. Would appeal to a couple without kids. Typically rent for £450 a month
2) 140K 2 bed flat in NICE area of L37. Comes with Garage, which might be possible to rent out separately, Demographic would be recent divorced person trying to live near family home I recon. Pax would be £650 a month plus £60 for the garage.
3) 150K 3 bed terrace in a Welsh university city. Student Fodder, would rent for 750 to 800 a month. (Could equally be manchester or leeds as in wales.)
4) £170K 3 bed semi in same l37. VERY close to own address, identical house back in the 60's when new. Appeals to young families, who are trying to get decent schools. Max rent £750 to 800
As far as I can see you are equally likely to get d
heads wrecking the place and not paying the rent in all 4 scenarios. The only thing I would say is that the student house is furnished, but all ebay specials.
If the student house is already set up and has tenants, and tenants sorted for the next acedemic year I would go for that.
I have a few student rentals and basically have had virtually no problems with them. Get parental guarantees and a decent deposit and Mum and Dad are very keen to make sure they don't end up with a CCJ.
If you give students a decent place they tend to look after it, you should get somewhere between £70-£80 per week per student, so if downstairs has 2 x reception rooms one becomes a 4th bedroom. I get 50 weeks a year on all mine (in 2 different uni cities).
Do the maths, far better yeild than a normal rental and much less hassle. I let agents run all mine now. I've only one normal BTL and had the same problems, late rent all the time, house wrecked, tenants dissapearing overnight etc. I now do the rent insurance on this one.
I have a few student rentals and basically have had virtually no problems with them. Get parental guarantees and a decent deposit and Mum and Dad are very keen to make sure they don't end up with a CCJ.
If you give students a decent place they tend to look after it, you should get somewhere between £70-£80 per week per student, so if downstairs has 2 x reception rooms one becomes a 4th bedroom. I get 50 weeks a year on all mine (in 2 different uni cities).
Do the maths, far better yeild than a normal rental and much less hassle. I let agents run all mine now. I've only one normal BTL and had the same problems, late rent all the time, house wrecked, tenants dissapearing overnight etc. I now do the rent insurance on this one.
I rid myself of several student/HMO lets, with in recent years the standard of students dropping. Chasing rents, students up and leaving, fall outs between students, increased in numbers of students/tenants, late night parties, fights, neighbour complaints and lastly increase repairs.
I have several properties with both professional and social housing tenants, and in 20+ years I have had only one similar situation/tenant to the OP.
Meeting a potential tenant, checking references carefully, regular inspection of the property, and at the outset of the tenancy serving both a sound assured shorthold tenancy agreement together with a Section 21 Notice.
I have several properties with both professional and social housing tenants, and in 20+ years I have had only one similar situation/tenant to the OP.
Meeting a potential tenant, checking references carefully, regular inspection of the property, and at the outset of the tenancy serving both a sound assured shorthold tenancy agreement together with a Section 21 Notice.
Wings said:
I rid myself of several student/HMO lets, with in recent years the standard of students dropping. Chasing rents, students up and leaving, fall outs between students, increased in numbers of students/tenants, late night parties, fights, neighbour complaints and lastly increase repairs.
I have several properties with both professional and social housing tenants, and in 20+ years I have had only one similar situation/tenant to the OP.
Meeting a potential tenant, checking references carefully, regular inspection of the property, and at the outset of the tenancy serving both a sound assured shorthold tenancy agreement together with a Section 21 Notice.
I have to say wings I don't recognise any of the problems with students that you highlight. But again as you also say it all boils down to having the right property in the right area of the right town and making sure that the vetting procedure for tenants is thorough.I have several properties with both professional and social housing tenants, and in 20+ years I have had only one similar situation/tenant to the OP.
Meeting a potential tenant, checking references carefully, regular inspection of the property, and at the outset of the tenancy serving both a sound assured shorthold tenancy agreement together with a Section 21 Notice.
I purchased my student lets as going concerns, most have been expensivly speced, with travatine tiled bathrooms, walk in showers, good quality kitchens with intergrated appliences and wooden floors.
They are perhaps a little to good for students, but I have found that because of the high standard they get looked after. I'm just in the process of fitting a fairly high end bathroom into one of my older student properties, because I know it will rent easily for a good price and be looked after.
A pal of mine has a normal BTL. It's a 2 bed, 2 bathroom modern 3 storey town house on a nice new private estate. He's had it about 6 years now, it's never been empty, he gets a good rent and has never suffered anything other than minor wear and tear type damage. In fact I don't think he's even visited it for 3 or 4 years, the agent does everything and provides a rental guarantee for an 11% fee.
Right property, right area, attracts good tenants = few problems.
Edited by oldnbold on Tuesday 28th April 11:09
Edited by oldnbold on Tuesday 28th April 11:11
I have rented a couple of properties for 20 years and never had a problem. I do however get my own tenants and charge them less than the going rate. The savings are passed on to the tenants as they decorate the properties (offered to pay for the paint but never had to) them selves and I pay no agency fees. The tenants know that they would pay more else where.
Pit Pony said:
How random is the likelyhood that your nice prospective tenants turn into monsters ? and what %age actually turn into monsters ?
I ask you all because after 3 (yes 3) years of procrastinating, we are on the cusp of investing in out first buy to let, and now my wife is having second thoughts, due to hearing only the horror stories.
For instance options :
1) 65K 2 bed flat in an "okay" bit of Derby. No garden, but big car park. Would appeal to a couple without kids. Typically rent for £450 a month
2) 140K 2 bed flat in NICE area of L37. Comes with Garage, which might be possible to rent out separately, Demographic would be recent divorced person trying to live near family home I recon. Pax would be £650 a month plus £60 for the garage.
3) 150K 3 bed terrace in a Welsh university city. Student Fodder, would rent for 750 to 800 a month. (Could equally be manchester or leeds as in wales.)
4) £170K 3 bed semi in same l37. VERY close to own address, identical house back in the 60's when new. Appeals to young families, who are trying to get decent schools. Max rent £750 to 800
As far as I can see you are equally likely to get dheads wrecking the place and not paying the rent in all 4 scenarios.
The only thing I would say is that the student house is furnished, but all ebay specials.
Firstly, if you've never been a landlord before, then I'd stay well away from student lets.I ask you all because after 3 (yes 3) years of procrastinating, we are on the cusp of investing in out first buy to let, and now my wife is having second thoughts, due to hearing only the horror stories.
For instance options :
1) 65K 2 bed flat in an "okay" bit of Derby. No garden, but big car park. Would appeal to a couple without kids. Typically rent for £450 a month
2) 140K 2 bed flat in NICE area of L37. Comes with Garage, which might be possible to rent out separately, Demographic would be recent divorced person trying to live near family home I recon. Pax would be £650 a month plus £60 for the garage.
3) 150K 3 bed terrace in a Welsh university city. Student Fodder, would rent for 750 to 800 a month. (Could equally be manchester or leeds as in wales.)
4) £170K 3 bed semi in same l37. VERY close to own address, identical house back in the 60's when new. Appeals to young families, who are trying to get decent schools. Max rent £750 to 800
As far as I can see you are equally likely to get d
heads wrecking the place and not paying the rent in all 4 scenarios. The only thing I would say is that the student house is furnished, but all ebay specials.
Secondly, do you really want to be a remote landlord? Unless you're going fully managed do you really want to be miles away when something inevitably does go wrong?
It sounds a piece of piss being a landlord - buy a place for £x and rent it out for £y. When it's all going smoothly it's great. You don't hear from tenants & the money drops in your account every month. I've got places where I don't hear from the tenant from one year to the next, but I've had tenants where I've had the neighbours, the Police, the council and the local drug dealers to deal with. Sometimes all at once.
If you're serious about it, do your research properly. Go and see the places as if you were buying them to live in. Go down at night & go down at the weekends at night. Do not believe anything you're told about there already being a tenant in place. Put your own tenant in.
What's important to remember is that ultimately, these places are an investment & not a place to live in. If the place gets trashed, don't take it personally, get it emptied (man with a van), get the plumber in to replace all the stolen copper pipe with plastic and get the decorators in to paint everywhere magnolia and white. Start building up contacts you can trust (plumbers, sparks, painters, carpet fitter, man with van etc.) to get you out of the s
t when you need them.You tend to get a feel for who is going to be a good tenant - badly spelled texts are a bugbear of mine - but you'll never get it right every time. I had a girl who was a tenant for 4 years & never had any bother. She hooked up with a scrote though & it all went wrong. They left on the 2nd January, and the place was a dump. I had to replace all the carpets, clean up the dog crap out of the garden & the cat s
t out of the bathroom, a couple of thousand Avon catalogues, redecorate everywhere and give it a bloody good clean. Cost me just under £1000 to sort out in January & took just over a week. Expensive & annoying, but just one of those things.Don't be put off, but don't expect it to be an easy ride.
hunton69 said:
I have rented a couple of properties for 20 years and never had a problem. I do however get my own tenants and charge them less than the going rate. The savings are passed on to the tenants as they decorate the properties (offered to pay for the paint but never had to) them selves and I pay no agency fees. The tenants know that they would pay more else where.
This is excellent advice. I've had a tenant just replace all the carpets for £700 and I've offered £200 towards it. She's made up because I've paid £200, I'm made up because I've got new carpets for next to nothing & I know she'll look after them considering she's paid for them.
hunton69 said:
I have rented a couple of properties for 20 years and never had a problem. I do however get my own tenants and charge them less than the going rate. The savings are passed on to the tenants as they decorate the properties (offered to pay for the paint but never had to) them selves and I pay no agency fees. The tenants know that they would pay more else where.
Very good advice, i've always selected my own tenants, I want to look them in the eye before handing over a house. Treat them right and they will treat your house right. Also if your renting in a rough area as previously said rent protection insurance is a good idea at least you will get some money during the process.
BoRED S2upid said:
hunton69 said:
I have rented a couple of properties for 20 years and never had a problem. I do however get my own tenants and charge them less than the going rate. The savings are passed on to the tenants as they decorate the properties (offered to pay for the paint but never had to) them selves and I pay no agency fees. The tenants know that they would pay more else where.
Very good advice, i've always selected my own tenants, I want to look them in the eye before handing over a house. Treat them right and they will treat your house right. The other thing he said was he loves the fact that they won't attempt to fix anything, because it means he can do it properly and not have them make it worse, plus he gets to do an informal inspection whilst he's sorting out what ever problem they have.
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