UK Landlord Forum / Life

Chapter 0 - How it came to be

"How did I end up being a landlord? A divorce, as I upped the mortgage to the max to pay out wife (she went back to USA, americans arent cheap to divorce). I ended up getting stuck with an overvalued property at a bad time. Job brought me down south. These are the fundamentals, skipping some finer details for another time perhaps."

I wrote that on another thread and it serves as good a beginning as any. There's one more twist to the story and that is that I swapped my ex-family home for the neighbour's home who had been wanting to buy it for years but couldn't find a buyer. Similarly, I couldn't find a buyer myself, so eventually I proposed a swapping-plus-cash scheme and as of last week it went through. So now I own astandard 3 bedroom victorian terraced house, like they are everywhere across the UK. Hopefully it will be easier to maintain and play landlord to.

Chapter 1 - The first weekend

Sheffield City Council operates a responsible landlord scheme and I decided to cater and apply to it. Aside from an EPC, it also requires gas and electricity safety certificates. The gas man came round and signed it off as being safe and handed me the certificate. Of some issue is that the boiler was built in 1970, but he said it works, so no need to fix it. I will revisit the subject matter at another time. For now I asked for a quote to get a thermostat installed as at the moment you'd fiddle with a thermostat on the boiler itself and juggle this with the timer which also controls the water and heating switch valve. To have a thermostat in the hallway makes in my opinion much more sense.

The electrics was a different matter. My electrician was quietly appalled by the DIY cowboy antics of previous occupiers, the lack of proper grounding of the metal facias and the fuse box which predated even the 40 year old boiler by some time. She said that without some major overhaul and many small fixes she won't be able to give me the certificate. Now I have some reservations about the whole responsible landlord scheme anyway, for I read many a horror story about DSS tenants, but I figure that if I have a certificate for the electrical safety of my property, I'll also ward off potential future liability - setting aside that I reduce the likelihood of my tenants frying themselves. She quoted me for £480 for a new consumer unit, various electrical fixes around the house and the desired certificate and I accepted her quote after some deliberations and more research (like looking into the MK 17th edition 15 slot consumer unit, she was proposing). I'll send the key off to her Royal Mail Special Delivery and she promises to have the work done before the weekend.

On another note... the Gas Man suggested he knows a nice trustworthy couple who might want to rent the house. One thing for sure ... without background check noone will come close to an AST with me.

Lastly, I bought some cheap curtains from Wilkinsons and hung them into the front bay window. I don't want anyone driving past realising that the house is currently empty. Last thing I need are squatters.

More to come as it happens.

Chapter 2 - The first Weekend, part 0.9

I had a fairly early start, I got up at 5:45am Saturday morning, because I had to pick up my friend Audrey from NE London. She's got family in Sheffield and is currently in between jobs, plus likes to be kept busy - so happily helps with my chores in exchange for getting to ride with me to Sheffiled for free so she can spend the evenings with family. We finally arrived in Sheffield around 1pm and we started getting to work. The previous owners had left the place fairly clean, much cleaner in fact than how I left my old house to them. But they knew that would be the case - so I didn't feel too guilty over it.

After the trades people had left we continued cleaning up and went to various shops looking for cheap curtains, hooks and rails and brain stormed decorating options. After fast food dinner and dropping her off at her parents. I spent the night in the loft bed room looking at the stars through the sky window while lying on an air mattress. I had hoped that I'd be able to use Skype to make phone calls using my laptop and 3G dongle, but the quality was awful and simply unusuable. I yet have to call in the meter readings and switch over suppliers. MUST DO THAT TODAY.

Chapter 3 - The first Weekend, part 2.0

Sunday I woke up around 6am for I had lots to do before meeting Audrey. First I piled up the mountain of tools, bedding, suitcase, bags into the kitchen, then took photos with a friends wide-angle lens on my camera of every room and most spots. This is for marketing purposes of the property, not for the inventory - those photos I'll take next weekend when I go up again. When it was the turn of the kitchen to be photographed I piled all the stuff into the front room.

After I had finished and loaded my little car back up I turned off the heating and placed a little electric heater on the kitchen counter on a low setting and left all interior doors open, as to keep the house from freezing should it get colder. I had meant to use a thermostatic plug-in-socket to control the heater, but i turned out to be no longer working after 5 years of not being used. Bummer. So I just left it turned on at 400W. I think that might just be enough to maintain a minimal temperature for the house for the time being. It's placed on the kitchen counter, so even if something should go wrong, nothing flammable is anywhere close.

I yet have to call the insurance company to set up building insurance. One can't be too careful! Last thing I need is for the place to go up in flames!

After I locked up I picked up Audrey, we had breakfast and F&B in the Centertainment food complex. Then went to Towsure for I needed a new 3.5x8inch wheel for my little Caddy 430 trailer, which I had left down south due to having gone flat on a previous trip from Sheffield. I plan on selling it and upgrading to a box trailer, when I get the chance.

After a long tedious motorway drive and dropping off Audrey in NE London I eventually arrived back home around 7pm. This now concluded my first weekend in my new landlord project, I think.

Chapter 4 - Chores

Called and reported meter readings for water, gas and electricity and informed them of the new status of the property. Should really have done that Saturday, but had issues with the 3G dongle/Skype combination I wanted to use for cheaper calls.

Then called Hotpoint/Indesit and took out a repair plan for the dishwasher the previous owner had left behind. 2 extra years for a total of £61, i.e. £2.5pcm. Got building insurance for while the place is empty for £250 p/a. Will get a pro-rata refund when I get tenants in. Or actually not, for I'll add rental guarantee and legal cover, provided the new tenant qualifies for it - otherwise no new tenant. Summary of that insurance would be buildings insurance up to £150k (incl accidental and malicious damages both), contents for £1k (renting out unfurnished, just for white goods really), rent shortfall cover (up to 20% of 150k, i.e. £30k) and legal cover (up to £15k, me thinks) will be about £240p/a. I.e. £20 pcm.

Final phone call of the day was me signing up with the Homecare 400 plan by British Gas. Subject to an inspection in 2 weeks time, they'll cover almost everything central heating, electrics and plumbing related. £27pcm for that.

So the plan is that I market the house at slightly more than market rent for that type of property, but emphasing heavily the presence of repair plans and that I'm a private, responsible and responsive landlord. If I were a tenant, I'd be willing to pay extra to get a place with a direct interface to the landlord and the peace of mind that should something break, a fix is just a phone call away.

We shall see if this strategy bears fruit or if I am just deluding myself.

Hi Armin,

I'm really enjoying the "diary of a landlord" you're running.  It would be great to hear more as it happens.

I hope some tenants read this.  I think there is an unfair perception that landlords do nothing but sit around waiting for the money to roll in, never doing a day's graft in their lives and not looking after tenants.  I'm sure there are a few bad landlords like this and often it's the minority which make it hard for the majority.

I can think of the times I put in weeks of sixteen hour days to get a properties sorted.  Being a landlord does not feel like a cushy job then!

Well your story shows you're willing to put in hard graft to get what you want and I hope it pays off for you.

I still think you're a loony to be doing the appliance call out plans, but everyone's different, so I'll say no more.  Really pleased to see you're going down the rent guarantee route.  There's a lot of hard luck stories on this board.  Many would have never got to the serious stage they have if the landlord could have called on this kind of cover.

I would not bother to try to get an above average rental.  The picture you're painting with the boiler and electrics makes me think you should accept a sub-average rent if you want to avoid doing loads of fruitless viewings.  I'm getting the picure the electrics have only been brought up to the point where they don't fail a H&S test.  They probably fail a looks modern test (hints you're not investing in the property = less certain about renting) and a suitable for 21st Century test: E.g. Are there half a dozen clustered outlets in the loungs for TV, DVD, Skybox, Wii, etc.

I bought a house once (actually the one I live in now) which had a forty year old boiler.  I asked my Heating Engineer to take a look.  It ran so ineffieintly it was a toss up as to whether it was cheaper to heat the house by burning ten pouns notes on the fire.  Any savvy tenant will realise they are going to pay a fortune to heat their house and they'll not rent at above market rents.

Sorry: I think is not the advice you want to hear right now.  But I'm saying it to you because a void period will kill your profit.

I might beg you to cancel the British Gas contract.  My friend had one on a very old boiler.  An engineer inspected at the outset of the deal.  When the boiler finally had something happen to it, British Gas came round; said a part had broken and would have to be sourced and left.  A couple of days later he gets a call to say the part's not made by the manufacturer anymore (surprise!) and so there's no cover under the plan.  And that was the end of the help he got.  The small print is there: You're paying for the labour to fix with new manufacturer's parts.  Maybe they've changed the deal recently, please check carefully to avoid throwing your money away.

My suggstion would be to put the £27 in a tin each month.  Fingers crosed nothing goes wrong with teh boiler for a few years and hey presto, you've got the money for a brand new boiler!

Hi Jeremy,

Thanks for your honest feedback, I will not just ignore it, it all adds up in my head somewhere. Appreciate what you say about the central heating ... I am considering getting a loan to bring the whole thing into the 21st century. In my last house I had the hold boiler+tank arrangement replaced for a top-of-the-range Worcester/Bosch, replaced some radiators, put TRV valves on all and had a MagnaClean unit installed. Was £3100 on finance which I'm still paying off actually. Since I still haven't paid off the last central heating adventure on a house I no longer own even, I'm a bit reluctant to start out on a new one. Especially since the unit's still working.

The engineer comes out during my 2 weeks FSA-guaranteed cooling-off period, so if I don't like what I hear then I can still walk away. But I will request a quote for a new system at the same time as British Gas offer reasonable financing plans and as a HomeCare customer I'd twist their arms heavily to give me a good deal.

Here's one little piece of advice ... when you get a new central heating system installed, HOLD ONTO YOUR HOT WATER TANK and bring it to the scrap merchant yourself. Those things are worth a lot of money - do not hand them for free to the installers! But you probably already knew that, just saying generally.

I will point any new tenants to the Heating cost part of the EPC and tell them that in 2012 loft and cavity insulation will take place (already talking to SCC (Sheffield City Council) about that, they run a free scheme) and let them make up their own mind. We shall see how it pans out. Today I'm taking off from landlording duties and will focus on my day job.

> Dear Glowworm,
>
>My boiler is a Glowworm 52 G.C. No. 41.315.37
>
>It has been built sometime in the 1970ies. I realise it's very
>inefficient and I am trying to save money to get it all upgraded.
>
>For the time being however I still need to keep it going. I
>have now signed up with a British Gas home plan but they state
>if parts are not available anymore, they'll not do any works.
>
>Can you thus please advise me if replacement parts would still
>be available on the market for my unit?
>
>Thank you very much!
>
>Sincerely,
>
>Armin


Good afternoon

Thank you for your enquiry

Due to the age of your appliance spares are no longer available. The GW 52
ceased production in 1975

Kind regards

Louise

Very interesting. I am also in the process of taking out British Gas HomeCare and am about to schedule an initial inspection. My boiler is 7 years old, I am not sure if they will see that as a problem or not. I have heard that if it isn't the latest bit of kit, they will give their sales pitch to get you to upgrade.

So Armin where does that leave you then? If they do not cover the parts, then I am assuming they will either want you to purchase a new boiler or they wont cover you?

Mr X,

I suspect that will leave me with them happily taking me on but leaving me in the cold when I actually need repairs done. I have read of a few cases of that happening. I will see what the inspection will bring, if they're blatantly leading me on while they know full and well that parts for that ancient thing are unavailable then I'll make sure to publicise that fact because I hate companies who treat customers like IDIOTS.

I am currently looking into financing to get the whole damn system upgraded. Replace it with a Worcester Bosch 30CDi, TRV valves on all radiators and a MagnaClean. At least having a modern system will also bump the house value for the time being.

Chapter 5 - Saying Hello

Dear neighbour,

Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Armin XXXXXX and I recently purchased XX XXXXX Road, which makes me your new neighbour.

Sort-of neighbour actually, for I plan to rent out the house within the next weeks. That means I'll be an absentee landlord, but a good relationship with you is very important to me all the same.

Therefore, should any issues arise with the property in my absence, or with one of my future tenants, please do not hesitate to contact me by email XXXXX@gmail.com or by mobile XXXXX XXXXX (please only evening calls unless urgent).

I have been advised that the alarm currently fitted to #XXX is an occasional nuisance. At this stage I am only aware of this being a bother when the electric supply to the alarm is cut off  (i.e. a tamper-proofing feature) and therefore it does not sound as if this needs immediate remedial work. But if it should be a regular occurrence, then please do advise me of that, so I can investigate what can reasonably be done to fix it.

Furthermore, if you know someone who's looking to rent this particular house (3 bedrooms, terraced), I'll put it up on the Sheffield Forum within the next week(s), there more details will be available. Do not hesitate to get in touch for direct enquiries though.

We might never meet, but irregardless of that, I hope that we'll have good neighbourly relations throughout the years to come.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Armin XXXXX

Hello Armin,

You've got some good ideas going on here.  I like the idea of you doing the new boiler and ommitting a MagnaClean would be foolish.  Don't discount Vailant, they're in the same quality league as Bosch and are easier to work on if they go wrong.  But going in a Bosch level is great.

It's a good tip about seeing what you can get for the old tank, non-ferrous scrap prices are up.

I also like the idea of the letter you're sending to all the neighbours, could be really helpful to you.

Hope things go well for you.

Last Thursday I went again to Sheffield. It almost didn't happen, courtesy of an idiot driver who hit me while I had broken down with a blown trailer tyre on a dual carriage way in Swansea. I got away lightly only a bruised arm for I "only" got whacked by the side mirror. At 40-50mph, it's enough. Driver didn't even stop. Clearly knew it had hit someone for she slowed down to a crawl, but then drove on!

I got up at 2am for my time window for the British Gas engineer was 8am-1pm. All morning I sat with my thumb up me bum in the empty house waiting for them. At 11am I receive a phone call that the engineer is running late and will be with me between 12 and 2pm. Fair enough. At 4:35pm I finally give up waiting and try to make it to Yorkshire Bank to open an account, but they only are open from 10am-4pm. Lucky sods.

Waiting in line at a sandwich shop I receive a phone call that the engineer is on its way now and it will be 10 mins. I hadn't eaten all day, for I naturally wouldn't want to leave the house and miss the engineer calling at the door. Pizza place wouldn't want to deliver without landline. So I had not eaten ALL DAY. Now instead of eating I scrambled to run to the house, for I was per pedes (on foot).

The engineer then eventually arrived and in all fairness, he was a capital bloke. He was very apologetic for the mess and overall very well to get along with, but did point out that he was just given the details about his appointment with me 30mins prior. So the whole story about "the engineer running late" was just a fairy tale by some puppet master at British Gas. I was seriously pissed off, but it wasn't his fault, so I didn't berate him personally.

He was not impressed by the boiler which in fact was older than himself and it basically failed the tests. It got a G, basically the lowest of the low rankings. Which is odd, for it had a D in the EPC I had been given when I bought the house. But BG has a financial incentive to downrate existing appliances for within minutes he handed me a phone and on the other 'line' was a lady from British Gas to make an appointment for a quote for getting the whole central heating upgraded.

Then that lady said they can't give time windows for the appointment, i.e. I'd have to be at the house the entire day between 8am and 6pm. I told her to get lost. I was not going to wake up at 2am again to wait all day, upon suddenly it became possible!

Eventually the guy left, but like I said, he personally was really OK. Even sold me a carbon monoxide detector (given the age of the boiler I thought it's a prudent precaution) at £10 off.

I then quickly dropped off the 25 envelopes with the "hello" letters to the neighbouring properties and found myself a budget hotel (£31 for a night at an Ibis in Rotherham, booked via internet same day) for there was no way I could face driving 5-6hours back home.

To summarise, the experience with British Gas left me very very VERY displeased and I am planning to A.) complain B.) consider claiming for loss of earning for Friday and the hotel costs for I couldn't go back home the say day as originally planned.

The entire trip wasnt a total disaster though. I took photos of every nook and cranny and I plan on the most detailed inventory ever detailing every wall and every fixture. I also got to meet some neighbours who all seemed pleased with my approach. Now I'm just waiting for me electrical certificate in the post and then I'll apply to the Sheffield City Council to become a "responsible landlord".

When I'm going to let the council guy in for his inspection is another matter.... for I have 0 leave days left at work. Thanks again, British Gas.

This entry's top tip: 3G USB dongle from T-mobile. Mobile PAYG internet for your laptop at £2 for a 24 hour period activated individually. So if I use it 7 days out of the year it's only £14. Good value for such flexibilty.

Hi Armin

What a pisstake! That applies to British Gas and your near-death experience, glad you are still here to tell the tale.

I have my initial inspection with them this thursday which is also 8am-1pm lol so after reading your post I'm gona' be on guard.

Quick question, was yours an initial inspection on the boiler only, or a full gas safety check? I have been told mine is an initial inspection to see if they will cover my boiler, plus an overall gas check including gas hob, radiators and will issue a gas safety certificate.

I like what your doing by the way with the detailed story, like how The Landlord himself started with this website, but in a more detailed, diary type of format, which is ideal for me right now as i am in the exact position you are in. Ever thought about starting your own blog?

Hi X,

I already have my GAS SAFE certificate, so I didnt care too much that my boiler was failing their qualification for coverage. I'm supposed to get contacted by BG sometime soon so they make it official that they won't cover the boiler.

ahh ok, well keep us posted.

Also came across this company, www.simplelandlordsinsurance.com - Landlords insurance with additional home emergency cover for half the price of HomeCare - http://www.simplelandlordsinsurance.com/all-the-cover-you-need/home-emergency-cover.aspx

I am assuming you already have landlords insurance, but worth looking into to see if you can benefit...

HI Armin,

Sorry to hear about your rubbish day.  Make sure you check out you've got motor cover for Personal Business Use, or you might be writing a post to rant about your claim for damage being turned down.  If you've got SDP Only or SDP + Commuting you won't be insured.

I've found British Gas are rubbish with their appointments.  Once they missed an appointment completely.  I'd driven 160 miles and they said they had lost all reords of arranging the visit because they had a computer crash.  Another reason I use a local Heating Engineer, on top of definate appointment times and sensible prices.

Please keep the diary going, I'm really enjoying it.  Jeremy

Chapter 7 - Putting out some first feelers and getting ready for the weekend.

First, I've put up a post on the Sheffield forum [ http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=895307 ] . I had some interest and might have a viewing or two on Saturday. I yet have to

a.) compile some pics (I seem to have lost (wiped the wrong memory card) the wideangle shots, so need to utilise the stock of pics I took for inventory)
b.) draft tenancy agreement, based on my old one and a cheap one I can get off the 'net. I could get one for free, but I'll buy one for a fiver. Probably will not use a solicitor to double-check it. Might use the internet opiniosphere instead.
c.) draft the inventory

I'm going up to Sheffield again this weekend. I am going to put up a FOR RENT sign on the property. The previous estate agent left their sign lying around in my yard, so I'll reuse the post to put up my own sign. Sign-maker I asked for a quote asked for something stupid, so I bought a white-faced wooden board (cut in 1/2 for free by B&Q) and some white duct tape and I'll make one myself using paint and paint brush (my set budget is £25). Old style. I looked into buying or printing a stencil and it seems not worth the hassle. Outlining letters by hand with a pencil then filling that in with paint seems to be less hassle in the long run. I'll post a pic when I have it finished.

There's also some clutter left in the cellar which the previous owners left behind, I'll take that to the dump and vacuum it. Also the floors could use a wipe down after hordes of tradesmen dragged their dirt in. And I'll field some viewings, naturally.

Of the people who want to view the house one is a family on benefits, one child under two years and one toddler (wouldnt that be two toddlers actually), with a large dog, father is disabled. Basically three reasons why other landlords wouldn't want to touch them. But I feel an odd attraction to them as tenants. Is it a perverse desire to court danger? Or is it a version of a knight-in-shining-armour complex? Or is it that they're almost guaranteed to qualify under the revised WarmFront rules and thus the ancient heating could be upgraded by you, the hard-taxed public? At any rate, if they dont pass the http://www.checkmytenant.com/ background check, then I'll give them a pass. I might have some reckless tendencies, but this I will not compromise on.

*****

Couple of things in response to posts...

a.) I try not to endorse/pontificate specific insurance or financial services, for I don't want to overly court the danger of identity fraud. Some years ago it actually happened to me due to that.

b.) Thanks for the advice about Personal Business coverage for car insurance, Jeremy. I'd be well advised to look into it. (EDIT: I just called insurance company and tucked a few K miles of business use onto the policy. Cost an extra £90 p.a.)

EDIT2: I found the wide angle photos, I had copied them to an obscure location. *phew*

Chapter 8 - Weekend Trip and first Viewings

On Friday I collected some of the pics I had taken and put them into a slide show and pasted the ad into a free google site. I decided against using my own domain name to discourage proliferation of spam. For a professional web developer it's actually piss-poor, but I don't have much time, having a full-time job and other responsibilities et al. https://sites.google.com/site/75beechwood/

So I drove up there Saturday morning and arrived with picture-perfect timing to the agreed viewing time. I am always punctual and one of my pet-hates are people who take liberties with punctuality. Anyway...

In retrospect it was a mistake to have two viewings at the same time. For it put both groups (they all brought family) a bit on edge. There was a constant tension in the air. Furthermore, I think I came across "too strong", throwing around my pseudo-legal knowledge I have acquired in the last month of living on various landlord message boards. If it were me being the prospect tenant, I'd find that intimidating.

I was asked if it would be possible to repaint the front room. This wrong-footed me, but in fairness the room could probably do with a repaint. I really don't like the idea of tenants doing any decorating ... I just see myself liable if they for example mess up the carpet in the process. I think I'll get someone in to paint it, to avoid this coming up again.

What ultimately sunk it for the viewees was me asking for 2 months deposit. I'm willing to have 1 month deposit, but that would have to be an employed couple with no kids and no pets. That and me saying that I'd need £15 per head for background checks (I am offering to pay 50/50 on those checks, something I consider well generous, even if they don't qualify). They said "they'd think about it"- which of course means "thanks but no thanks".

Also in the end I couldn't be arsed with painting the sign for it seemed too daunting a prospect once I had pencil in hand in front of it and started to plan it out. Instead I went to Staples and bought some tracing paper. Idea is that I print the letters on the printer, then trace them onto the sign and that will be much easier to then fill in with a paint brush. We shall see.

So in total I feel I didn't get much done this last weekend, however I think I've learnt a few lessons.

Hello Armin,

Thanks for the instalments.  A really good read.  Some thoughts.

I've just been onto google.  There are lots of signmakers out there.  I clicked through to Visata Print.  They'll do you a 2' by 1 1/2' professional For Rent sign for £25.  All this effort you're going to for a home-made sign - is it really worth it?

I've heard some disconted rumblings about Warm Front.  Nothing I can tell you from personal expererience, but newspaper reports about the suppliers not being very good: Pretend you're the installer: If the government paid you to install a central heating system, not the occupier or landlord, why would you bother to do a good long-lasting job?  But then you, the landlord, are responsible for the system.  I'd check it out a bit more if you're using this as your plan to replace the heating system.

Sorry I cost you an unexpected £90. :-(

I don't want to say anything more about your "dual viewing" because it's clearly a lesson learned for you.  Just wished you'd said something on the board beforehand....

Everyone's different with charging for references but I think if you're aiming at the "on benefits" market then these people don't tend to have much money for this kind of stuff and you might find this puts off more people.

Hope it goes well for you and looking forward to the next instalment...

I can understand your view about warm front Jeremy, but having had first hand experience of this in my family home, there were no problems whatsoever. I would definitely recommend this if the tenant is eligible. Warmfront have a few minor conditions for the landlord such as you are not allowed to raise rent until 1 or 2 years after installation and a few others, but nothing major.

Hello Mr X.

Thanks for sharing your experience.  The articles I've read were themed about how the big companies doing the install could not care less about the quality.  So was yours done by a big company or did the rules allow you to use a smaller, more local contactor.  Did you choose the contractor or was one appointed?

You may get the impression I always want to use local contractors because they live or die by the power of local reputation.  You'd be right!

Jeremy they appointed a local contractor. I agree with you in choosing local contractors, it's just finding reliable, trustworthy tradesmen is just too damn hard!

Also I had my initial British Gas inspection, thought I would share it briefly as i know Armin is going through the same.

Initial appointment yesterday. Arrived on time. Boiler over 15 years old, heats up house fine but no hot water. £700 to repair. Arranged for engineer to come out next day to quote for new boiler.

Engineer came out today. Quoted 3k for boiler including recommended extras and pipework (may need to update 15mm pipe to 22mm). Have a friend in the business, going to get a quote from him also.

Overall though, contrary to this thread, I have had a very good experience with British Gas so far. maybe i just got lucky!

Very interesting. I am also in the process of taking out British Gas HomeCare and am about to schedule an initial inspection. My boiler is 7 years old, I am not sure if they will see that as a problem or not. I have heard that if it isn't the latest bit of kit, they will give their sales pitch to get you to upgrade.

...

Chapter 9 - I turned down the almost perfect tenants

It was my birthday and I spent it mostly driving to and from Sheffield, for I had arranged 3 viewings that day.

First, I have to admit defeat. Another landlord trip came up and I haven't finished the damn self-made For Rent sign. Bottomline is that I wasted money on the board, paint and paintbrushes and even char coal paper. Next time I will just print out the damn sign via an internet printing service.

Now for the viewers. The first one was a young woman who came with a friend. She said she'd rent and live in the 3-bedroom house by herself. She also said she's on Job Seekers allowance and receives disability living allowance (for having learning difficulties). I asked her if it was enough to cover the rent she said no. I asked her how she'd make up the shortfall, she said she has another form of income.

I told her that I'd ask 2 months deposit and therefore that she'd have to have the roughly £1500 in cash on the day we sign the paper work (2 months as deposit plus one month rent in advance). She wasn't able to come up with that amount of money and that was that for I said I would not permit anyone moving in/hand out keys unless the whole deposit and first months rent was paid in full in cash.

While we had agreed that it would not go further, because I had time I gave her a quick tour and among other things explained the danger of carbon-monoxide compared to the relative safety of carbon-dioxide. I treated it pretty much as a practice run for I had high hopes for the other 2 viewing parties.

The second viewers were a family of four. Middle-aged married couple, both full-time employed in public sector jobs, with 2 adult children living with them and 2 medium-sized dogs. Apparently they had viewed my house a few years back while it was on the market to be sold, even had an offer on it, but it didn't end up going through. The lady was very clued up about renting and proactive. Asked for shorter initial tenancy so we could get to know each other (6 months), offered professional cleaning (due to dogs) to be upon move-out and in the tenancy agreement, was okay with 2 months deposit, was very okay with having a very detailed inventory list. So overall I thought excellent prospective tenants to work with. Slight drawback is that the actual tenants are not using the internet much nor have mobile phones, it was the son who got them in touch. They'd seek to move right away, next weekend if possible.

About an hour after them I had the last viewers. A young couple, no pets, no kids. Both in full-term private sector employment. They are having troubles with their current landlord who's overly neglectful. They both seemed very nice and seemed like the picture-perfect tenants landlords would seem to lust after. They'd have to give 30 days notice prior to moving-day.

Both viewers #2 and #3 like the house and right there and then said they'd like to rent it. I explained the whole online background check procedure to them and both seemed fine. I told them that I'd contact them by the next day 3pm to let them know who I'd invite to apply for I wanted to sleep over it.

Next day lunch time I received an email from #3 saying that while they really liked the house, they wouldn't be able to meet the background check due to a bad debt history of one of the two. That pretty much settled it for me so I contacted #2 to go ahead.

I had since a look at the questionnaire #2 has to fill out for 2 adults and I decided it's best I call them tonight to go with them through it all. It's one of those forms which I'd take a look at and then leave for another day, for it overkills with questions and details. I think it's best to be proactive and trying to be helpful with it, to avoid them sitting on it for a few days. It's in everyone's best interest if the tenants have moved in before christmas.

Hello Armin,

Thanks for yor latest instalemnt.  I enjoyed reading it.  Not much to say, really, just wanted you to know I enjoyed reading it.  Your selection criteria are very logical: I might have asked if #3 was willing to do more detail on credit history and give them some slack if it was all in the past, but I have a preference to help people who want to help themselves.

Chapter 10 - Back to Square One

The week started with the prospective tenants asking when I'll get the ball rolling for the background checking service as they had received no email. However, I had initiated it all the day before. Investigation revealed that it was not sending out any emails period. Not even to myself under a different email address. So I decided to ditch checkmytenant by Experian in favour of a referencing service which *actually works*. So I called up my landlord insurance provider and they were not very helpful initially. I then put them on the spot and they went and gave me a more authoritative answer, which background checking services would be acceptable for legal and rent shortfall insurance.

The list they gave me was: Experian (no thanks, it's broken!), Equifax, Van Mildert and FCC Paragon. I skipped Equifax (based on the bad experience with Experian I decided to initially skip another company focussed primarily on credit checking) and called up Van Mildert. Who said they don't deal with private landlords, just agencies. Mis-informed by my insurance company, how unusual.

Fortunately FCC Paragon proved to be suitable. Now I don't like to advertise which companies I use, for identity fraud prevention reasons, but here I'll make an exception for they were actually very useful. Albeit more expensive, at £42 per adult.

I had agreed that I'd pay 1/2 of the background checking costs, but there was no way of doing that using FCC Paragon's web site. No way for making the applicant pay part or all of the fees. Which is annoying, really. So I ended up paying it up front because asking them to transfer money into my account would have taken DAYS and I wanted to get it over with.

So I paid £84 for the checks. How wise that was I'll cover later.

After about two days, I got a preliminary report back from my account handler. I liked that, having a real person to be in touch with and she's been very communicative and the communications were of excellent quality. Actually a real person who bothers reading what I wrote and tries to answer it to the best of her ability. Very pleased with that.

So anyway, after two days I get a two PDFs back, a preliminary report, like I wrote earlier, for some information is still forthcoming. Turns out that the prospective tenants together have a CCJ in the tune of £19k against them and they're 6 months in rent arrears with the council and they're in the process of being evicted.

I had to think that one over long and hard, would I turn down these people? Or not? ... Of course I would. Someone who's getting kicked out by the council? Who owes others already a ton of money? Could I really blame anyone but myself for getting involved with people with that sort of history and it goes wrong?

I can't help but feel aggrieved though. Because by having gone through the process with these people I lost a whole crucial week. My chances to get someone in this year are pretty much zero for Christmas is just around the corner. Nevermind that I can kiss my whole £84 good bye. They promised they'd pay their £42 and I will send them my account number, but if I were to actually believe that I'll ever see a penny, then I'd be as dumb as I feel right now.

So ... lessons learnt:

• Don't offer to co-pay background checking, ask for it to be covered 100% by prospective tenant.
• Don't start the background checking until you have been given the money in full. Why would someone with a bad enough credit history to fail the checks then want to pay you for the checks?

But overall, I try to be positive. By spending £84, I think it's fair to say that I avoided many thousands of £££ of future damages.

Hi Armin,

I'm sorry for you.  You're right, not only have they wasted your money, but they've probably cost you occupation until mid January, they've probably cost you much more like £500 than £84!  Have you got any opportunity to go back to couple #2?  If their bad credit record is something they've rectified they could be acceptable.  In fact they could be very good: If most other landlords dismiss them because of their credit record and you trust them, you might find that trust repaid.

If any tenants are reading this story can I just suggest a good way of dealing with Landlords if you've got some blemish on your record or complexity.  Tell the landlord all about it in your first discussions.  The landlord - tenant relationship should be based on trust and a sensible landlord will be doing background checks.  When those checks show up that not everything is squeaky clean then that's your chances (and referencing costs if you'va paid for them) blown.

But I'm really glad to see that you're considering the £84 as an investment in avoiding a nightmare rather than as wasted money.

Chapter 11 - More vetting

After the meltdown with the previous applicants I put up the house back on the Sheffield Forum, this time paying to have the ad made sticky and to be able to attach 3 thumbnails.

But it was too short notice to arrange viewings and as I had promised my other half to go motorbiking Saturday, that we did. Upon returning as icicles, I called an applicant who had sent me a nice thorough email. I decided to go up to Sheffield the next morning in order to do a quick viewing. Me and the applicant had similar histories, so I suppose that biased me in favour of him.

So Sunday afternoon I met him and his teenage daughter and both really liked the house. He was currently between jobs, so that was the biggest issue. But we established such a good rapport that I decided to not worry overly about it.

He gave me £42 for the background check and the next morning I started the process with the referencing agent. This time their provided results were much less impressive. Since the applicant is unemployed, that's all the report said. No digging was done into employment history. Then since the applicant is living with family, no reference was taken by the landlord. A credit check showed nothing worrisome and that was it. Hardly seemed worth the money. I moaned at them and suggested that they find out about previous landlord and previous employers, which to their credit, they did. Even if it was not standard procedure.

Personally I think that standard procedure should be to dig at least 10 years into the past.
I do strongly remember the tenants who I rented to from 2004-2007 and who'll never ever receive a positive landlord reference from me for they lead a life of grime and also left my house like that. I think that unless you deal with a landlord who has many many properties, tenants will always be remembered. Similarly with employees/employers.

But maybe I'm unreasonable.

Early on I was told that the applicant will need a guarantor which I told the applicant and the brother-in-law has been recruited to be that. As of me writing this however, the guarantor has pulled out, citing the process "too intrusive". Applicant is aware that I'd be reluctant to rent out the house without insurance in place so currently I'm trying to get a hold of my insurance company so they can tell me if they'd be willing to give me insurance based on unemployed applicant as tenant, even at a higher premium.

On a related note... I asked the referencing agent as well as my insurance company with assistance in regards to a guarantor's agreement/deed. They both pointed at each other, citing it wasn't their responsibility and I should ask the other. Which struck me as quite annoying.

The referencing agent says they can not provide a positive reference unless a guarantor is in place, but how to make a guarantor agreement legally binding they provide no help with.

The insurance company says that they'll only insure if a positve reference has been given, but how to make a guarantor agreement legally binding, they provide no help with either.

And on yet another note... the reason the guarantor pulled out was that he didn't want to provide bank statements to the referencing agent. The form he had early on filled out cited a yearly income of 13,000 as the director of a web design agency. When I saw that I thought "fair enough, it's a tough market at the moment". But now the refusal to provide bank statements makes me think "he is fiddling his taxes". I feel guilty for not planning on reporting it though. Rightly or wrongly so?

Jeremy,

since you were asking about original couple #2... Well, I went back to them to see if they're still interested, but put them on hold for it transpired that they would have needed extra time to put money aside for deposit and they'd have to give notice anyway. They weren't happy when I told them that I'll proceed with other applicant for the time being and will get back in touch if that doesn't go anywhere. Needless to say the relationship with them might well not be salvageable.

But I wasn't going to sit around accepting the loss of an entire mortgage payment while there's the chance of that being avoidable and getting someone else in this side of Christmas.