UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hello all, I've been reading for some time (very informative!), and now, as we're set to exchange on our first BTL property, I'd like some advice. By way of background, I've been a landlord before in the U.S., but in a college town where I only rented to graduate students. The tenants were always referred to me by the previous tenant and it worked out well. After reading so many horror stories on this forum, I'm a bit concerned about letting in this country.

Nonetheless, we're about to purchase a 3-bed house in London that we're hoping to live in one day but in the meantime we plan to let out. I have a couple key questions and would appreciate any advice. Apologies if the latter questions should go in a different category than landlord advice -- I can re-post there if that's the case.

1) Do families make better tenants than a group of young professionals/students and if so, why? I understand families tend to stay longer, which would be my preference. But, I'm worried that kids might cause more wear and tear on the property. I plan to use an on-line letting agent and do all the viewings myself so I will be able to get a sense of the prospective tenants.

2) Would you allow tenants to turn the second reception/dining room into a fourth bedroom? Would you advertise it as such (a 4-bed) or just a 3-bed?

3) My plan was to renovate the house for letting purposes right now (e.g., focusing on durability and function, but not putting in the kitchen I would want), which won't take much work. I figure that later if/when we move in, we can upgrade the bath, open up the fireplace, etc. Do you think this is the right approach or would there be a benefit for letting purposes if we do up the house to a very high standard now?

4) The garden: It's a decent size (35') and usable, but a concrete disaster right now. If I were moving in, I'd immediately put in decking and add more greenery and flower beds -- but I'm not moving in so I'm trying to resist my urges. Therefore, how much would you improve the garden for tenants? I'm leaning towards decking squares and pebbles for now, which should be affordable and, I'm told, easy to install (I'm a moderate DIYer). Also, they can be removed relatively easily later. I think the garden as is detracts from the value of the house, even as a letting.

I would greatly appreciate any and all opinions. Thank you in advance!

Hi,

This is just my opinion:

1: I prefer families, because they're less likely to fall out with one another.

If you have tenants that are just friends, it's difficult when/if one of them decides to leave, because the remaining tenants will have to find a replacement, and that can often be difficult, because they'll need to find someone fitting with their personalities/lifestyle.

2) Yes, I would. But in reality, if I didn't, I wouldn't be able to stop the tenants from converting the second reception into a forth bedroom. A similar situation cropped up a few days in another thread. https://www.landlordforumproject.co.uk/landlord-advice-help/can-tenants-turn-the-living-room-into-a-bedroom/ - particularly read Hippogriff's comment (reply #5). Because he makes a valid point.

I would advertise as a 3 bedroom, but explain in the description that the second reception could be converted if required.

3) Don't renovate to a high spec if the property isn't targeting the high-end market. Cater for your current target audience- not for the future audience. Also, bear in mind, a tenant will NEVER take care of your property as well as you. Focus on durability and function!

Also, it's unclear when you'll move into the property, by the time you move in, the kitchen might be dated, and wear & tear is hard to avoid in a kitchen!

4) Again, this generally depends on your target audience. If you're going to target a family, then I would resolve the concrete issue! Families want grass for their children. But then again, this is something you'll eventually have to do anyways (when you move in), to make it green. And there's not much damage tenants can do once you make it green (unlike installing a high-end kitchen). What's the worst that can happen? Let the green overgrow? I would tackle this issue now, because it will drastically increase the interest whichever audience you target.

1. Families are easier as it's only one agreement. Groups of professionals in a shared HMO more rent.
2. I would advertise it as a 4 bed single reception, it makes the rent look better.
3. I always renovate to a standard I would be happy to live in. But then I am not into expensive kitchens. Think the finish of a Premier Inn, that's what I would go for.
4.Personally I would leave the Garden on a "hope to get it done next year" The money I have saved with Tenants doing the work for me is £635.56.

But then again pfag is probably right!

Good luck.

Thanks for the responses, propertyfag and boboff. Very helpful advice!

1) Families for houses; students / young professionals / sharers fine for apartments. I have both types of property and this just seems natural to me. I do have the one agreement for my apartment where 2 foreign students share... it's not an HMO obviously.

2) Answered pretty well I'd say.

3) I - personally - would consider the renovation to the standard you want now - especially if you are assured by the claimed durability of the stuff you'll be putting in. It might help you command a higher rent (it might not) and if you let to the right people, anyway, then you should not have too much worries about damage. I would not like to renovate to a medium standard for a let, knowing I'd be renovating again for myself - just the inconvenience would put me off doing that.

4) In the house I used to live in I had a turfed back garden, I spent £1,100 on having the turf removed and a low maintenance garden put down (pebbles and slabs), then I let it out and my Tenants (a family) asked for permission to re-turf it... which I've given them, as long as it's done by a gardener and they'll be spending several hundred putting down turf again. And they'll have to buy a lawn mower as I only supplied a strimmer for the bit of grass at the front and side. I would err on the side of a nice garden (simple will do) instead of concrete wasteland if you are intending to rent to a family. Decking and lights is always nice and gives everyone something, even if it's a drinking / smoking area for people.

Just opinions, but maybe it helps...

Obviously, remember that the horror stories on here are all you'll probably see... no-one comes on and says "I just thought I'd tell everyone how good my current Tenant is" or, in the Tenant section, "I just thought everyone should know that my Landlord is ace". People come on forums with problems and questions, right?

Quote from: Hippogriff on May 20, 2014, 06:17:14 PM
People come on forums with problems and questions, right?

And the sexy moderators, no?

Thanks, Hippogriff!

As it turns out, we had our independent survey today and were told that the concrete will need to be removed (at least the part near the house) for drainage purposes, so for better or worse, that makes the decision about the garden easier. Also, upon seeing the bathroom again, it's so small I think it just makes sense to spend now since it'll be a relatively modest amount to do up to a high standard and not have to repeat again later. Since we plan to tile fully, hopefully the bath will stay in good repair.

Thanks again, all.