Landlords.. help me pick a tenant?
Discussion
First time landlord here, and i've found myself in what ultimately is a great position to be in, but i'm hoping for some advice from any more experiences landlords on here!
Long story but we've been inundated with enquiries since advertising our 2bed house on Monday. Having done 9 viewings already, and with another 4 to do tomorrow, we already have 7 applicants confirm that they wish to proceed, so we're in a good position in being able to choose our tenants. We priced the house quite high for the estate, so are not looking for any more rent, and would rather to pick the tenants in terms of suitability.
Things which are important to us:
- House has a very very large garden and plot which requires reasonable maintenance.
- Longer term tenants obviously preferred as we're not planning to move back to this house.
- Um.. nice people preferred as the house is at the end of a shared drive, and it's important to get on with the neighbours.
- We'll be managing the let ourselves, but not sure whether this really affects the type of tenant we should be looking for?
We've narrowed it down to 2 so far, but would appreciate some thoughts on anything we're missing in terms of things to consider. For both of these applicants, the moving timescales are similar, and they were both very pleasant to talk to and seem "normal":
Applicant 1
Single male, early 50s, self employed builder, states he's looking for a longer let (3-4yrs) as he's recently separated from his wife. Seemed very keen on the garden, plus states he's fine doing any minor repairs on the house if they crop up as he's an experienced builder. Been local to area for many years.
Concerns:
- He already has a girlfriend, so the need for a longer let might disappear if he can suddently move in with her?
- Should I be concerned with the self employed status? I guess a builder's income can fluctuate from month to month so this might be a risk?
Applicant 2
Younger couple, expecting a child in January, both local in full time work. Liked the garden, and the female's father is a gardener by trade. We have a day nursery next door so could encourage a longer let? Full time work means the credit checks etc might be better?
Concerns:
- Younger couple so might be more demanding in terms of little jobs that need doing on the house compared to the builder? Not sure on this point really as obviously i'm ultimately responsible for any major bits.
- I don't have kids... so not sure if a young baby means any more liklihood of the house being neglected at all?
- Potentially less time to keep on top of the garden?
I guess maybe the question is whether there's anything I can do/offer to help choose? Maybe see if either of them wants a 12month let with no break clause? What about looking for any guarantor for the rent?
Any guidance from experience landlords would be much appreciated!
Long story but we've been inundated with enquiries since advertising our 2bed house on Monday. Having done 9 viewings already, and with another 4 to do tomorrow, we already have 7 applicants confirm that they wish to proceed, so we're in a good position in being able to choose our tenants. We priced the house quite high for the estate, so are not looking for any more rent, and would rather to pick the tenants in terms of suitability.
Things which are important to us:
- House has a very very large garden and plot which requires reasonable maintenance.
- Longer term tenants obviously preferred as we're not planning to move back to this house.
- Um.. nice people preferred as the house is at the end of a shared drive, and it's important to get on with the neighbours.
- We'll be managing the let ourselves, but not sure whether this really affects the type of tenant we should be looking for?
We've narrowed it down to 2 so far, but would appreciate some thoughts on anything we're missing in terms of things to consider. For both of these applicants, the moving timescales are similar, and they were both very pleasant to talk to and seem "normal":
Applicant 1
Single male, early 50s, self employed builder, states he's looking for a longer let (3-4yrs) as he's recently separated from his wife. Seemed very keen on the garden, plus states he's fine doing any minor repairs on the house if they crop up as he's an experienced builder. Been local to area for many years.
Concerns:
- He already has a girlfriend, so the need for a longer let might disappear if he can suddently move in with her?
- Should I be concerned with the self employed status? I guess a builder's income can fluctuate from month to month so this might be a risk?
Applicant 2
Younger couple, expecting a child in January, both local in full time work. Liked the garden, and the female's father is a gardener by trade. We have a day nursery next door so could encourage a longer let? Full time work means the credit checks etc might be better?
Concerns:
- Younger couple so might be more demanding in terms of little jobs that need doing on the house compared to the builder? Not sure on this point really as obviously i'm ultimately responsible for any major bits.
- I don't have kids... so not sure if a young baby means any more liklihood of the house being neglected at all?
- Potentially less time to keep on top of the garden?
I guess maybe the question is whether there's anything I can do/offer to help choose? Maybe see if either of them wants a 12month let with no break clause? What about looking for any guarantor for the rent?
Any guidance from experience landlords would be much appreciated!
oldnbold said:
I am a landlord, you need to first look at their ability to pay the rent. Next decide who will look after the house better, in my experience single blokes can happily live in s
t holes, but so can harrassed young mothers who can't cope.
My last bit of input is forget about the garden, you will be lucky to find a tenant who cuts the grass once every 3 or 4 weeks let alone does anything else, I have a solicitor and his wife in one and I did a drive by the other day and the front lawn is over knee high!!
You seem to be treating this property as your house still, it's not anymore, it's a rental machine.
Thanks for the reply. The garden is a difficult one as it's such a key feature of the house (3 times the size of equivalent houses nearby, and has been fully landscaped), whilst it might sound like I'm still attaching emotion to it, it's more so that I know when the time comes to find tenant number 2, the garden still needs to be looking good. I guess I could just add it into my refurb budget but things like keeping the grass cut are hard to sort out quickly.t holes, but so can harrassed young mothers who can't cope.My last bit of input is forget about the garden, you will be lucky to find a tenant who cuts the grass once every 3 or 4 weeks let alone does anything else, I have a solicitor and his wife in one and I did a drive by the other day and the front lawn is over knee high!!
You seem to be treating this property as your house still, it's not anymore, it's a rental machine.
I had mentioned to both applicants that there was an optional garden maintenance contract so taking your advice I should be looking to ensure that even if the tenant sounds like they'll maintain it, I need to plan for them not to.
The online agent charges the tenant £90 for a credit check so how common is it to ask multiple tenants to apply, even if they're not guaranteed to be accepted? Seems a little harsh to me but if it's common practice then that might help as I'll just go with whoever is best able to afford it and also agrees to the garden maintenance.
For info.. Here's the house http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/proper...
Edited by MrChips on Monday 20th July 22:39
I think from the sounds of it, i'm better off ignoring any promises that they'll look after the garden and instead have a garden maintenance contract (i.e. me or external gardener come in and keep it tidied over the summer). I guess at least this way we stand a fair chance of keeping it under control. If gardens were quick to repair then i don't think it'd be an issue but as someone's pointed out, once a hedge overgrows etc, sometimes it can't be recovered at all, same as the grass. Luckily it's not exactly a mega high maintenance garden.
The question now is whether it's fair to ask them both to go through the credit checking so I can make an informed decision based on the results of that, or whether i should really pick one, get them credit checked and go with them so long as their credit is ok and previous references check out. I'm leaning towards the former as at least i can see how they compare to each other.
To answer one question, yes this has been our home, but i'm also realistic in terms of dealing with it as an asset from now on and not emotionally. There's nothing really that emotional about wanting to ensure we pick tenants who will look after the house, so the same theory applies to the garden as much as it applies to the interior carpets/walls etc. I've rented before and certainly when I was younger, I had less respect for the house and saw any damage as wear and tear, and certainly didn't keep it as clean as my own house now, so i've already set aside a refurb budget per year, but want to minimise the risk of needing to use this.
The question now is whether it's fair to ask them both to go through the credit checking so I can make an informed decision based on the results of that, or whether i should really pick one, get them credit checked and go with them so long as their credit is ok and previous references check out. I'm leaning towards the former as at least i can see how they compare to each other.
To answer one question, yes this has been our home, but i'm also realistic in terms of dealing with it as an asset from now on and not emotionally. There's nothing really that emotional about wanting to ensure we pick tenants who will look after the house, so the same theory applies to the garden as much as it applies to the interior carpets/walls etc. I've rented before and certainly when I was younger, I had less respect for the house and saw any damage as wear and tear, and certainly didn't keep it as clean as my own house now, so i've already set aside a refurb budget per year, but want to minimise the risk of needing to use this.
Much appreciated everyone, and Jayyy that's definitely helped focus my mind. Oddly i've been sat here for an hr or so trying to come to some kind of decision, and i'm not normally one to procrastinate quite so much.
Whilst of course it's impossible to predict exactly what the tenants are going to be like, I think your point about the potential for general tools/stuff being brought to the house by the builder is worthwhile, and given the shared driveway/access then a van might even cause issues with the neighbours I guess.
I've just been googling his name/company and not much is coming up to be honest, just an address in southampton, yet he lives near Reading, and no full address I can find anywhere. If it's not easy to find info on google then my suspicions are already raised as if i was self employed i'd be wanting to have a decent online presence.
We had another couple of viewings this evening, and one young couple turn up, no kid on the way, guy been in work for 10yrs in a multinational that's relocating close by, who were happy to pay extra for a gardener to come mow the lawn, and currently rent and pay extra for a cleaner once a week. They also have some extra flexibility in terms of moving in dates which helps as we're still in the process of completing on our new house.
I think i'll give both the couples a ring tomorrow just to check on how they'd respond to a 12 month contract, and if they can stretch to the bigger deposit, and specifically ensure they're aware that garden maintenance will be in the contract terms, and then see how each of them react.
As i'm a first timer at this, we've set aside budget for rent insurance just until we're a bit more knowledgable, but i take the point that a decent deposit closer to 2 months rent is somewhat more likely to be able to help focus the tenants on general upkeep.
I hadn't planned to be so confused as I wasn't expecting anywhere near the level of interest, but it's a good sign that the house is in demand, as it gives me a bit more confidence in that we'll be able to keep high occupancy rates.
Whilst of course it's impossible to predict exactly what the tenants are going to be like, I think your point about the potential for general tools/stuff being brought to the house by the builder is worthwhile, and given the shared driveway/access then a van might even cause issues with the neighbours I guess.
I've just been googling his name/company and not much is coming up to be honest, just an address in southampton, yet he lives near Reading, and no full address I can find anywhere. If it's not easy to find info on google then my suspicions are already raised as if i was self employed i'd be wanting to have a decent online presence.
We had another couple of viewings this evening, and one young couple turn up, no kid on the way, guy been in work for 10yrs in a multinational that's relocating close by, who were happy to pay extra for a gardener to come mow the lawn, and currently rent and pay extra for a cleaner once a week. They also have some extra flexibility in terms of moving in dates which helps as we're still in the process of completing on our new house.
I think i'll give both the couples a ring tomorrow just to check on how they'd respond to a 12 month contract, and if they can stretch to the bigger deposit, and specifically ensure they're aware that garden maintenance will be in the contract terms, and then see how each of them react.
As i'm a first timer at this, we've set aside budget for rent insurance just until we're a bit more knowledgable, but i take the point that a decent deposit closer to 2 months rent is somewhat more likely to be able to help focus the tenants on general upkeep.
I hadn't planned to be so confused as I wasn't expecting anywhere near the level of interest, but it's a good sign that the house is in demand, as it gives me a bit more confidence in that we'll be able to keep high occupancy rates.
Ok firstly a thanks for the replies, they definitely helped.
Decision made, and we've offered the house to the young couple from yesterday (no sprog on the way). Agreed that the contract will contain some specific garden maintenance terms that'll be a little more prescriptive, but that at the end of the day it'll be down to them to manage. He still said he'll probably get a gardener to do it over the summer which is a good sign.
Credit checks are being done via the online agent (part of their terms), so hopefully all comes back rosy. We'll have rent insurance anyway and just need to work out the other insurance offers that are floating around at the moment to come up with a package we're happy with!
Decision made, and we've offered the house to the young couple from yesterday (no sprog on the way). Agreed that the contract will contain some specific garden maintenance terms that'll be a little more prescriptive, but that at the end of the day it'll be down to them to manage. He still said he'll probably get a gardener to do it over the summer which is a good sign.
Credit checks are being done via the online agent (part of their terms), so hopefully all comes back rosy. We'll have rent insurance anyway and just need to work out the other insurance offers that are floating around at the moment to come up with a package we're happy with!
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