UK Landlord Forum / Life

So, I'm making use of OpenRent right now...

Apparently RightMove now requires proof of ownership, so Title, Completion Letter and whatnot... but once it's up there, the enquiries start coming in... £49 for the service that lists on their portal and then RightMove, Zoopla etc.. Their system is quite good.

Listing the property was easy... as good as uPad used to be, links to Google Maps and Streetview auto-included, and you can tailor your advert really easily. The prospective Tenant enquiries come in and you have an email-like messaging system and then some buttons like "Decline", "Arrange Viewing" and suchlike. Tenants who phone in OpenRent can apparently even leave them a voicemail and that comes through to you... you can listen to the voicemail from the messaging system.

When you book a viewing it pop up a calendar chooser, and it sends a confirmation. It will also send the prospective Tenant a reminder a few hours beforehand. You can keep your own notes in their system, request a holding deposit etc.. You get emails / SMS when prospective Tenants communicate with you. I'm still getting used to it, but it seems quite fully-featured.

Quote from: Hippogriff on April 13, 2024, 08:33:17 AMI'm still getting used to it, but it seems quite fully-featured.

The Tenancy Creation (signing the agreement etc) and Deposit Handling process is nice and easy too.

If you haven't seen it yet, take a look at Edit Profile > Advanced Settings > Tenant Pre-Screening Preferences.  I used to turn off Default Screening and write the following message in the Tenant Auto-Reply box so new enquirers would automatically get the reply I wanted instead of OpenRent's default:

QuoteThank you for your enquiry.

The next steps are:

1. I will arrange a phone call with you to get to know you better and give you the chance to ask questions about the flat. Please send me your phone number if it isn't already in your OpenRent profile.

2. If the call goes well, I will send a Prospective Tenant Information Form for you to complete.

3. I will arrange viewings for people who return a satisfactory Information Form.

4. I will obtain References and conduct Credit Checks prior to renting the property.

Many thanks

Handyman

It helped set expectations and weeded out a few undesirables from the start.


The other thing I always declined was OpenRent's 'Smart Rent Collection' service. There didn't seem any point in paying them £10/month for the privilege of having the tenant pay rent to OpenRent and then OpenRent pay it to me. I just gave the tenant my bank details in the normal way.

One thing I've learned is that OpenRent's idea of a Verified Tenant (which comes with a lovely little badge and eye-catching section on the enquiry) is basically just something that they paid £10 to get and then self-declared most of the stuff. It's not really any mark of 'quality' or applicability.

There have been 70 distinct enquiries since last Friday. They've all been replied to - as that is what you should do, but it has not been easy.

Despite having a relaxed attitude to pets, I am being asked if it's OK that a dog is an "American Bully" but not an "XL Bully"... I guess I don't care, but I certainly don't know what legislation requirements are. Seems unfair to make the dog itself responsible for what it is... kind of like a protected characteristic.

Many people have no money, and no job yet still want to have a go. It's strange. The rent is just under £1,000 and there's no mention, at all, of how they intend to pay... sometimes it's Universal Credit... sometimes they'd need to find work when arriving in the area, sometimes it's mum and dad who'd act as a Guarantor. Plenty of admitted CCJs even at this stage, we'll see what comes out of the woodwork. I think people live in cloud-cuckoo land, or are simply very desperate... one woman seemed to think I was heartless because she was "fleeing domestic violence" from Leicester and why on earth she wasn't top of my list genuinely seemed beyond her grasp.

I've ten viewings arranged for this coming Sunday. Gonna be a full day.

An American Bulldog is an official breed, not banned and no registration required.  They' re pretty huge though, often more so than XL' s and some owners are getting unfair abuse from neighbours. The XL is not a breed at all, it's a mongrel that usually includes American Bully in the mix. I have friends with both kinds,lovely dogs. That said, some of the people who have them are morons,so personally I would not agree when you can't meet them to judge.

How will you fit in all the Sunday viewings around 2 church services to attend?
 

In this age of diversity being becoming, even lauded, why does the term "mongrel" persist in carrying negative connotations?

I love the word mongrel.  They are rare now,  as far fewer dogs roam the streets mating, which is totally  a good thing.  I miss those lovely mutts though,  and it is true about hybrid strength. My longest living dogs- 21 in one case- were all mongrels.

 In my town it is all sweet but poncey variations on poodles,  don't dare call them mongrels!  I asked one eejit the other day what her dog was. " A retrodoodle " she said. Retriever/poodle cross. God give me strength!  Rant over. 

I am certainly a mongrel and proud of it.

Quote from: Hippogriff on April 17, 2024, 04:55:24 PMThere have been 70 distinct enquiries since last Friday. They've all been replied to - as that is what you should do, but it has not been easy.

Despite having a relaxed attitude to pets, I am being asked if it's OK that a dog is an "American Bully" but not an "XL Bully"... I guess I don't care, but I certainly don't know what legislation requirements are. Seems unfair to make the dog itself responsible for what it is... kind of like a protected characteristic.

Many people have no money, and no job yet still want to have a go. It's strange. The rent is just under £1,000 and there's no mention, at all, of how they intend to pay... sometimes it's Universal Credit... sometimes they'd need to find work when arriving in the area, sometimes it's mum and dad who'd act as a Guarantor. Plenty of admitted CCJs even at this stage, we'll see what comes out of the woodwork. I think people live in cloud-cuckoo land, or are simply very desperate... one woman seemed to think I was heartless because she was "fleeing domestic violence" from Leicester and why on earth she wasn't top of my list genuinely seemed beyond her grasp.

I've ten viewings arranged for this coming Sunday. Gonna be a full day.

I like the enquiry / viewing stage, some good stories to be had.

Sister viewed to look out for brother and wife who wanted to rent, asked how much the rent and deposit were to get started (despite this being in the advert) told her and she asked 'how can he afford that, he only gets X at Sainsburys'.

Another couple coming to the country in 4 months time wanted to put a refundable deposit of £200 down and me to wait for them etc etc

I've had one Viewer drop-out after I candidly told them their ideal move-in of mid-June was really of no interest to me.

So, I took a step back and offered the slot to someone else who had been really polite, very keen and seemed a good egg. I was rather taken-aback when that keenness seemed to have evaporated somewhat, I'll not quote, but it's close...

"Thanks for getting back to me, if it's OK with you I'll have a chat with my partner and be back to you this afternoon at some point with a definite answer."

Fair enough. Then, later...

"I will be honest straight-away" - I read "now".
"I did a Credit Check on myself recently and unfortunately discovered two CCJs" - I guess it's possible.
"They were from a previous relationship and will be cleared by Friday" - seems more aware now, blaming the other person?
"I'll get proof they're satisfied via email receipts from the companies" - interesting, at least not a Landlord.
"My partner has a good credit rating" - I see.
"She is willing to be the only Tenant and stand for all the rent" - don't I want jointly-and-severally liable, sure?
"I am a Permitted Occupier at our current rental" - seems it's all on the partner then.

Opportunity here, if played right, to have some Tenant who's really grateful to you for keeping an open mind and giving them a chance to get back on the straight-and-narrow.

But I'll probably not do that.

I had one who told me she had a couple of missed payments a long time ago on her credit file. She gave me access to her file and I swore out loud when I saw the decimation she had provided to every single creditor ever.

It must be weird for a Tenant to come across as keen... but certainly not too keen, that only engenders suspicion. OpenRent wrote to me - at 100 enquiries they auto-cancel my advert listing. Accusation is that I didn't craft it well enough if I get that many. I'm on 81. I got one 13 minutes ago, it just said 21 April - that's it, not even the full stop. But their monthly income was claimed as being £56,099; loving the attention-to-detail there. I think the number of enquiries I've received is more indicative of where my property is placed in a somewhat aggressively / competitive, nay - desperate - market, not my ability to write.

I have a Rent-to-Rent person interested too... from Lux Living Solutions... SOHO / Serviced offerings to professionals. I told her I'm not minded to go this route, and if I'm letting to a company to make money, then I'll want more money from them. She didn't like that, but is still coming on Sunday. So... says a lot, I think. I would not be a renter in this day and age for anything.

A friend' s son aged 26 will return home to live this week,  and will commute to London from Coventry by train every day. He left 6 months ago to take a course in music production, and has been in Airbnb since then.

He thought he had found a room in a HMO, £1200 pm, sharing bathroom and kitchen with 3 others. All ready to move when the landlord said he had a better offer. The lad is a barber with the occasional DJ gig, no way could he match it. His Mum now wishes she had let his room out as soon as he left. She will never get rid of him now !

The viewings were crazy - it amazes me how competitive it is out there. Before I'd finished the day of doing them I'd had in two email offers... both some over the listing price (which I never encouraged, nor even hinted at, so people are truly desperate and they know it).

Later than night I had an offer of the asking price from my personal favourite prospective Tenant... I know in my heart I should have just taken it, but I wrote to him and came clean - I told him that I was finding it hard to dismiss the offers out-of-hand. He then almost immediately came back with an offer £65 per month over the asking price and I accepted without a moment of hesitation.

Someone slightly more unscrupulous that me might have been tempted to open bidding at that stage - my view is that those folk who launched themselves, unbidden, to higher offers used up their one chance to sway me.

Reference started yesterday, using the OpenRent platform, and it completed today... looks like any other reports I've ever seen and it cost £20 per Tenant.

I'm up £65 each month and I have the prospective Tenant I was rooting-for lined-up. It was a good day.

I am struggling to comprehend the market as it is right now. I've paused the advert now but it received ninety-three enquiries (and I've responded to each one).

Quote from: Hippogriff on April 23, 2024, 02:30:02 PMit received ninety-three enquiries (and I've responded to each one)

Well done for doing that. Even no-hopers deserve a response, even if it is negative, so that they know where they stand.

Quote from: Hippogriff on April 23, 2024, 02:30:02 PMI'm up £65 each month

Maybe you are up £65 - or maybe you have just found what the current market rate is, i.e. what you could have been advertising it for anyway.

I hope it goes well with your new tenant and that you won't have to repeat this process for quite some time.

Very pleased for you. Fill your boots!  The value of anything is only what someone is prepared to pay for it.

According to Shelter the number of S21 evictions since the  possible scrapping was first announced around 5 years ago has been around 85, 000. That is only the ones who sought rehousing from the council,  so the real figure must be very much higher. Now the govt. is wavering, and it looks like it won' t ever happen. Obviously as a landlord I am very pleased, but also sickened that all that stress and expense for landlords and tenants alike has been for nothing.