UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hi

I rent 1 2- bed house and have for about a year. So far so goodish.
Just had a small oven replaced under a gas hob as it has been tripping electrics in the house.
I have an agent to fully manage the rent . They also organise the contractors.
Bill was eye watering after vat.

Qu
Do you recommend using your own contractors? Or stay with the agents.

Thanks

Contractor adds x because it's for an estate agent, estate agent adds X because it's for a landlord, landlord pays Y and asks why.

I'm sure Currys do delivery and then installation for £25 don't they?

I don't deal with agents.  All my properties are <10 minutes away which is intentional to avoid these situations, would have collected oven and chucked it in myself.

Thanks for your reply.

I don't feel very confident with mains electricity though and wouldn't be sure if I was doing thr right thing re safety etc.
I am beginning  to think that that is the way really- to do your own maintenance if you can.
The agent are fine me getting my own contractors though which will cut the middle- man out.

Riptide

are these ovens all the same size/ connectors do you know?

Are there any Landlords here that recommend 'HOMESERVE' ?

My first task is to stop using the agents contractors - what was I thinking?

OK, I'm getting it. Just downloaded  the Beginnner Guide for Landlords.
Lots to read and decisions to make ready for the next maintenance call!

Any quick thought re 'Homeserve would be great.

Thanks
scalar

Quote from: scalar on November 16, 2017, 07:12:21 PM
Riptide

are these ovens all the same size/ connectors do you know?

There should be a large feed to the existing oven from the fuse box.  With the ones I've replaced it's a case of unscrewing the terminals on the existing oven, pulling the wires out then screwing them into terminals on the new oven.  There's no 'work' as such.

Thanks for your reply riptide...
I won't say whay I paid.....oh dear ..


We new Landlords - I mean me - are naive, really naive.
Got to sort out the maintenance thing.

Any ideas about home serve? anybody?

For peace of mind for you and tenant it seems good but only as fixing things that go wrong.  Doubtful they'd replace a cooker for you under their plans.  Maybe get homecare and find a general person/handyman that could be basic maintanence stuff, i.e  the things I'd do at my properties that I don't need to call a professional in for.

Thanks Riptide again.

Will do some research.......

I have had some bad experiences asking agents to arrange contractors.Both parties regard landlords as open cheque books,and the agents get a commission fee from the tradesman.I ended up having what turned out to be a local handyman sent to do a fairly big roof repair.The bill was for around 2k.I later sent someone I had arranged,and they found the first guy had thrown Mastic and flashing tape everwhere,causing further damage.He had also lied that the chimney was in imminent danger of falling (quoted £800 to go back and "fix" it.)The agents would accept no responsibility.It would be cheaper to arrange Curries/Argos to deliver and fit and remove old machine and packaging if you don't DIY.

Thanks for your reply HeavyKarma.

That's a good idea - comet etc.

I am in the process at this minute contacting local electricians/plumbers in the area that may be able to offer a call- out type
service for me without going through the agent. The agent take 10% on a job over a certain amount too!

Must get a handle on this ASAP.

thanks
Scalar

Wow

Agos install ovens etc etc at very reasonable prices - (I don't work for them!!).
Wish i had gone with them.
Assume the installation is decent quality job though.

I suppose the best way ultimately is to lessin the agent involvement as much as possible.
To completely free from an agent is a overwhelming at the moment....
Perhaps just to use them to collect rent and help find new tenants and contracts or something.

Homeserve may be the way to go for basic repairs from what i can see.
Reviews seems OK
Anyone have experiences with them?

One day I thought that I could never install an electric oven and electric hob.

Turns out I could.

It was easy.

Everything is a standard size and it's just following the instructions and using some tools. Even the oven packaging that clearly said "2 man lift" was lying... I did it myself. It was easy.

Since then I've not looked back... I've installed a washing machine (it was easy), I've installed an American fridge freezer (also easy) and I only need a dishwasher to complete my set (I don't know if it'll be easy).

I went for a Neff hob and Neff oven that matched... Slide&Hide too... easy.

Quote from: scalar on November 17, 2017, 11:20:00 AM
Wow

Agos install ovens etc etc at very reasonable prices - (I don't work for them!!).
Wish i had gone with them.
Assume the installation is decent quality job though.

'Installation' of a new electric under the worktop oven is, open oven door, unscrew a couple of screws that hold it in the carcass, slide oven out, undo 3 wires, remove old oven, wire 3 wires to new oven, slide it in exactly the same sized carcass, reinstall a couple of screws and done...

thanks for the reply...

Thanks for the reply....
I'll get there eventually..

Quote from: Riptide on November 17, 2017, 01:35:32 PM'Installation' of a new electric under the worktop oven is, open oven door, unscrew a couple of screws that hold it in the carcass, slide oven out, undo 3 wires, remove old oven, wire 3 wires to new oven, slide it in exactly the same sized carcass, reinstall a couple of screws and done...

Please don't belittle my, many, achievements.

ho ho

The issue reported by Scalar is very very common, basically the heating element is delaminating and causing the shortcircuit that cause the electrics to trip.

So for those on this forum clearly adept with a screwdriver you could go one step further... once the oven is removed from the carcass, undo the four screws holding the back housing, locate the element (there really isnt much in the oven itself) a short tug will unplug it, replace it with a new element....if you know the model of the oven you buy a replacement and have it delivered to you for £15-20 - there are several internet sites that sell spare parts.
A new basic level oven is about £130 so for another 5 minutes work you can save over £100...

I used to replace the oven until I worked it out...

[one final tip if replacing the oven (or element) doesnt work then it is possible the internal wall cable to the oven might be damaged - happened to me once]

Thanks for that theangrylandlord.

That's very good to know indeed-thanks
i now see Argus (thanks to Heavykarmar) sell and install these ovens for a very reasonable price. Also it looks pretty simple to pop one in and wire it up.
Next time.....


scalar

Don't wait until 'next time'... next time is ill-defined and could, possibly, never happen... take control. Do it now. Even if not needed. Don't wait.

Hi Hippogriff

Not sure what you mean by 'do it now'? Do you mean have a look at how these ovens are installed...?
I'm not sure....

cheers
scalar