UK Landlord Forum / Life

Good Morning folks

I am thinking of purchasing my first buy to let property.  However, I am hopeless at DIY and that is the thing putting me off going into this business.  I can just about change a light bulb! LOL.

Do you think it would be a good idea of paying someone every time something needs doing at the property?  If I do this, then obviously these payments will eat in to the rental income that I will gain from the BTL.  Are there any cheap DIY services for landlords that you are aware of?

What would you advice the best course of action to take?

Thanks in advance for your responses.

My advice would be to try to buy as new a property as possible. That way, generally far less chance of any significant issues

Some would say that older properties are more solid and less problematic, especially if the electrics and heating system have been updated...
I've heard that newbuilds can often be overpriced, so something that's at least a few years old would be safer.

Homeserve do a policy insurance for landlords, which includes gas checks and covers plumbing drainage and electrics, it starts at about £240 a year I think in your position I would try this out.

Stop making excuses with decorating, you have to be able to do that, and its not hard either. 2 coats of undercoat one coat of gloss, use white everywhere so cutting in is not an issue. Use silk finish emulsions, only buy one type and make of paint, ever, keep some for touching up. If its looking like peeling off, peel it off, PVA it and paint it. There done! Cheap paint is shite, use "trade" or Dulux or Crown or good gear, The co-op sell it half price often.

Quote from: boboff on January 28, 2014, 08:15:27 AM
Homeserve do a policy insurance for landlords, which includes gas checks and covers plumbing drainage and electrics, it starts at about £240 a year I think in your position I would try this out.

Stop making excuses with decorating, you have to be able to do that, and its not hard either. 2 coats of undercoat one coat of gloss, use white everywhere so cutting in is not an issue. Use silk finish emulsions, only buy one type and make of paint, ever, keep some for touching up. If its looking like peeling off, peel it off, PVA it and paint it. There done! Cheap paint is shite, use "trade" or Dulux or Crown or good gear, The co-op sell it half price often.

I like your thinking, I agree, decorating isn't rocket science,though saying that not everyone has the patience nor the aptitude for it to be fair. I would advise differently regarding using Silk emulsion on walls as a fix all.  I would suggest using a washable matt paint for walls, especially if your walls are not smooth. In my experience, I have found that matt emulsion paint, doesn't show up the lumps and bumps so well as silk emulsions do. It is preferable to be able to clean walls rather than have to re paint a wall, which is why I would suggest a good quality washable matt finish emulsion over the silk. 

Well I used to use Matt, and I like Silk Better.

I found especially if on external walls, inside, and the wall was a bit damp, the matt would wash off, where as the silk tends to "bubble"

Either way, pick one and stick to it, is all, I can quite often "paint" a room in 20 minutes, as it just a case of "touching up" and if you swap your paint from one to the other, it really is like using a different colour!

I am not sure either about the patience thing, that's like saying some people cant drive in town as they aren't patient enough... Some times you just have to suck it up and get on with it.....

Quote from: geek84 on April 10, 2013, 08:52:44 AM
Good Morning folks

I am thinking of purchasing my first buy to let property.  However, I am hopeless at DIY and that is the thing putting me off going into this business.  I can just about change a light bulb! LOL.

Do you think it would be a good idea of paying someone every time something needs doing at the property?  If I do this, then obviously these payments will eat in to the rental income that I will gain from the BTL.  Are there any cheap DIY services for landlords that you are aware of?

What would you advice the best course of action to take?

Thanks in advance for your responses.

Engaging someone in the Building trade; the construction trade is like walking through a minefield; regardless of their qualifications; I suggest you ask to see previous work and even talk to past customers; if they refuse or sidestep that; then don't touch them with a barge pole, they're Cowboys. Before anyone has a go at me; believe you me, I am extraordinarily good at what I do; no matter what it is; been in the trade for fifty years, a family business in design, manufacturing, import, export, hardware DIY retail and have had unpleasant experiences with everyone I have had to employ be they employees or tradesmen who know it all and know damn all most of whom have not been indentured apprenticed skilled tradesmen; only interested in ripping you off for mediocre workmanship; many of whom have never had potty, sorry brush and pan training; mesmerised by how much money they can earn and how quickly they can get off the job; as for one man bands, hardly anyone now has the time to use a professionally produced Quotation heading sheet or Invoice sheet. just rips of paper out of a book hastily written in hieroglyphics. I suggest for you to have any work carried out; first decide what is to be done; make a list of work to be done; make six copies and hand them out to six contractors to price on. If you cannot claim back Vat then avoid vat'd tradesmen and only pay them if and when the work is done to your liking; never before because with many of them you won't see them for dust. I once had a Corgi registered plumber who nearly blew the ceiling off the Bathroom another plumber on a listed building who spelched a chunk out of the outside face of the brickwork a contractor who laid me a large patio and got it 9 inches out of level in 21 feet; asked if this was acceptable; I said "Not at all my olives will roll off the table in the summer; start again or get off the site; you're not getting paid until it's done right". I could spend all day writing a book about so called tradesmen; maybe that's why no one will work for me nowadays; they just can't meet my standards at all and what is so sad is that most of the work is simple to do if you know how to do it "properly"

If you google it I bet you'll find a gazillion of DIY articles, blogs and tones of information!
If you do not have the time - that's another thing though...
Learning always takes time