UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hi everyone,

I was just wondering what kind of maintenance costs landlords have had to pay over the years. 

I'm a fairly new landlord and already, I have racked up a new boiler, new bathroom cabinet (due to it falling off wall after many stable years!?), new smoke alarm, fixing damp work caused by outside leaky drains. And now the tenants are asking for a new sofa because the old cream one has a few light stains...

My property is an Victorian conversion flat.  Just wondering if anyone finds new build properties have less mainenance than conversion flats, old houses, etc?

I have a Victorian flat and after a couple of years I had to spend £1,800 on re-wiring it !. My fault for not checking when I bought it. I also have a damp problem but caused by the local council tarmacing the path next to an outside wall but above the damp proof course. My other flat is a new conversion and I don't expect anything will be needed for a few years. It helps to have all electric because gas appliances do deteriorate, need annual certification and are expensive (boilers and fires) to replace.
I opt out of the 10% annual alowance against tax as I think you can expect overall to have to spend more than 10% per annum over the years. My brother-in-law has 17 properties and he agrees.
My local authority gave me smoke alarms and a CO alarm free, fitted by the fire authority.
If your sofa has stains then get it cleaned.  If you take an inventory with every new tenant (which you must unless you're mad...) then if carpets and furniture are stained you can insist upon keeping the costs of cleaning back out of the deposit. Or you can ask the tenant to have them cleaned at their cost before they leave when you do your mid term inspection so they can't complain they wern't warned.
I always take multiple photos when I do the inventory with the tenant as proof of condition.

Good question!

Caerhays is spot on about the inventory. More details here: http://www.propertyinvestmentproject.co.uk/blog/how-to-secure-a-tenants-security-deposit/
You shouldn't need to replace the sofa just because it's stained!!!

I have quite newish properties, and I think the most I've had to pay is £500 to get a new boiler. Besides from that, I've just spent money on paint, to hide the wear and tear over the years.

Obviously victorian houses will cost more for two basic reasons:
1) they're built better than modern homes, so repairs can be more costly
2) the properties are older, so parts are more likely to break

Thanks for the replies.

I didn't know that some local councils offer free smoke & CO alarms and can be fitted free.  I wonder if this extends to all areas in the UK, I shall find out...

Good point about getting everything electrical.  Makes a lot of sense.  My letting agent organises for a third party to do the inventory & check in.  So I just check it each time.  Some times I'm not around to do so.

Won't be buying new sofa, tenants can buy a rug to throw over if they are that fussy!

How much does the letting agent charge for this service?

My letting agent charges 50% of the first months rent for advertising (they're Estate Agents as well), accompanying viewings, obtaining a tenant and doing all paperwork, agreements, credit checks, inventory checks, etc. Then it's 15% per month thereafter which includes 3 monthly inspections and reports (including photos). If anything goes wrong, they organise it to be fixed, only contacting me if the expenditure is significant. They also organise the gas check every year. If the tenants renew, they charge the tenant and myself nothing for the renewal. I live 475 miles from the property.

Doesnt sound too bad

During periods where house prices are rising rapidly, an investor could reduce maintenance to a minimum to keep the property presentable and ensure that the long-term value is not destroyed, and put the money in expanding portfolio. If prices flatten, the investor could focus on high levels of maintenance and improvement, and maximize rental income.

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Buy To Let Mortgages

Quote from: caerhays on February 10, 2010, 12:24:16 AM
My letting agent charges 50% of the first months rent for advertising (they're Estate Agents as well), accompanying viewings, obtaining a tenant and doing all paperwork, agreements, credit checks, inventory checks, etc. Then it's 15% per month thereafter which includes 3 monthly inspections and reports (including photos). If anything goes wrong, they organise it to be fixed, only contacting me if the expenditure is significant. They also organise the gas check every year. If the tenants renew, they charge the tenant and myself nothing for the renewal. I live 475 miles from the property.

I paid 12% on my first property, I've just completed on my second, so if anything I'd expect to pay the same or less.   The company I use do everything for me.   They came highly recommended by the guy who got me into property.   I think my finders fee was around 350 which included all checks to the house.

Mike

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Victorian house can be bit expensive when it comes to renovation,some councils also provide free smoke alarms & co alarms.buying a new sofa for tenants is not a good deal.

Successful real estate investment involves the acquisition, possession, sale of real estate rights, and intends to generate enough cash flow to cover the cash outflow, so the last day to enjoy a good rate of return of investors to his or her investment.

I was seriously unlucky first time I rented a property out.  I wasn't a landlord through choice - I couldn't sell due to negative equity so rented it out.  My husband and I did quite a lot of work to bring the place up to scratch including buying new furniture and appliances etc. 

Last of all the work, I had my landlord's boiler check done and it turned out it needed replacing as a critical part was obsolete (this wasn't a con, I was lucky to have a friend who is a gas engineer).  Boiler was replaced, that cost me £1000 (on mates rates).  Then a new landlord's check was done, there was a gas escape.  Had to pull all the floors of the flat up but no gas escape found.  Turned out the escape was in some pipework running through the building and the choice was to rip up two other flats or run a new gas main from outside the building.  In all, it cost me an additional £600 for the new pipework, plus about £300 to place new laminate flooring plus £100 for the two landlord's checks.  So in total I shelled out £2000 before the tenants even moved in.  That doesn't take into account the 3 days and nights I worked to get the place sorted after all the work and new floors down!  Additionally several of the other flats in the building had to get their gas pipes redone which ran into a few grand all done!

Then 3 months later the flat was completely gutted in a fire!  Took us 3 months to refurbish it in total! 

Look at the outdoor space. Grass, trees and flowers make for a nice landscape, but they cost money to maintain.All repairs are a business expense. In this category, however, it is important to distinguish between a business expenses and a capital improvement.

In terms of inventory, I'd advise getting it done independently. Just protect yourself fully in the event of a dispute - got to show its an unbiased report! Check the credentials of the inventory service provider, and as already mentioned you want photos & writing (no thumbnails!!!)

An investor could reduce maintenance to a minimum to keep the property presentable and ensure long-term value is not destroyed, and put the money on expanding the portfolio. If prices are flat, the focus of investors for the high level of maintenance and improvement, and maximize rental income.

Then it's 15% per month thereafter which includes 3 monthly inspections and reports (including photos). If anything goes wrong, they organise it to be fixed, only contacting me if the expenditure is significant. They also organise the gas check every year. If the tenants renew, they charge the tenant and myself nothing for the renewal. I live 475 miles from the property.

Returning to the original question: I pay about £550 a year on low level planned maintenance and safety checks on an average modern flat.  And about £850 on an average Victorian house.

Why the difference?  Well, there's about twice as much Victorian house as there is modern flat.  And there's a lot more external woodwork to a Victorian House.

I've read advice about keeping maintenance spend to a minimum.  I'd suggest don't.  Sorting gutters costs a few quid.  Sorting damp costs hundreds.  And having damp in your house hacks off your tenants.  What's the point in upsetting your customers by providing shoddy quality product?

During periods when house prices are increasing rapidly, an investor could reduce to a minimum of maintenance to keep the property presentable and ensure that the long-term value is not destroyed.

Hello Victoravee,

Average House Prices are barely rising in nominal terms.  Wage inflation is higher than any hose price inflation.  Retail Prices inflation is higher still.

House prices are not increasingly rapidly.  There's a debate to see if they are static or falling.

Sorry but your comment belongs to a different decade.  I beleive making a profit as a landlord now lays from rental profit.  No increasing prices means owning profits from nominal asset value increases is over for now.

And taking a profit from rent means needing to look after the property because you're the long term owner.