Landlord Tips

Landlord Guide On Protection Against Bad Tenants

27 Aug 2010 / Marketing & Finding Tenants / 9 Comments

In this crazy world someone decided to make a profession out of being a “bad tenant”, and like all crazy ideas, it caught on. These “professional bad tenants” are ruthless as they are ugly. They go from property to property without paying any rent, and they successfully do it for a living, leaving behind a [...]

Would You Manage Your Properties If You Had A BTL Empire, Or Would You Employ A Monkey Letting Agent?

13 Aug 2010 / Good & Bad Landlord Practices / 6 Comments

Most of you are probably blissfully unaware, but last week I released my very first eBook. It’s called “Death of The Agent“; it’s a detailed guide on how to find tenants without a letting agent. It’s aimed at novice landlords, but suitable for anyone that wants to give me money (It costs £3.99). I didn’t [...]

Free Tenant Credit Check Service For Landlords

11 Aug 2010 / Landlord Money & Saving Costs / 0 Comments

A few weeks ago I put up a link to a free service that allows landlords to market their vacant BTL on the biggest property portals online e.g. Rightmove. Well, here’s another free offer I most recently found… The other day I came across a company called Discount Letting that is currently offering a Free [...]

6 Tenancy Agreement Facts That Are Bullshit

21 Jul 2010 / Landlord Legal Obligations/Issues / 9 Comments

1) You can’t let a property without a signed Tenancy Agreement Landlords don’t need a written Tenancy Agreement in order to legally let their property, although it is strongly advised. A tenancy Agreement can actually be an oral agreement, but it’s an extremely unsafe option. Generally, if a tenant pays less than 50k per year [...]

What Is “The Housing Act 1988″?

16 Jul 2010 / Landlord Legal Obligations/Issues / 0 Comments

Anyone who’s a landlord or tenant may have come across the term “The housing Act 1988″, it’s usually referenced multiple times in Tenancy Agreements Essentially, the act is the law which governs the Private Rented Sector. It’s the rule book covering the statutory rights and legal responsibilities for both landlords and tenants. This is NOT [...]

I Use Facebook To Reference Prospective Tenants

13 Jul 2010 / Marketing & Finding Tenants / 3 Comments

All landlords should be embracing the internet and taking advantage of all the free tools out there! EVERY landlord can prosper through the internet in one or the other; some times it’s just a case of thinking outside the box! Facebook isn’t designed to be a human directory, but that’s what it effectively is, and [...]

Here’s A FREE Marketing Website Every Landlord Should Use To Find Tenants

05 Jul 2010 / Marketing & Finding Tenants / 5 Comments

Chaps, good news, I’ve come across a cool new marketing service that is 100% FREE for landlords. But that’s not the best part; from the money we save, we can buy an extra bucket of chronic and blaze. Win/win situation, right? The negative (if you can call it that) about this service is that it [...]

This Is How Important Images Are When Marketing A Rental Property

28 Jun 2010 / Marketing & Finding Tenants / 9 Comments

It still amazes how many landlords/agents advertise properties on websites like Gumtree without using images. That shit should be criminal. There really is no excuse. Even if you don’t have pictures of the property, it takes a minute to snap a few. And in this day and age, even tooth brushes come with cameras attached [...]

The Advantages And Disadvantages Of Periodic Tenancies

14 Jun 2010 / Good & Bad Landlord Practices / 6 Comments

The other day I wrote a blog post about how my selfish tenant has decided to abandon me and my property by unexpectedly giving me notice. That obviously wasn’t the best news in the world to receive since he’s genuinely a nice chap, and an awesome tenant. Urgh. What a limp-dicked, cock-stain. How could he [...]

List Of Tenant Credit Check Services For Landlords

24 Mar 2010 / Good & Bad Landlord Practices / 2 Comments

Do you bother credit checking prospective tenants? I never used to because I could never be bothered, but as I gained more experience, I realised there are a lot of undercover shitheads out there that are itching to make a sucker out of everyone. Granted, credit checks aren’t bulletproof, they won’t guarantee “perfect tenants”, but [...]

Give Prospective Tenants The Benefit Of Doubt At Your Own Risk

02 Mar 2010 / Marketing & Finding Tenants / 3 Comments

A landlord can never be sure how good or bad a tenant is going to be until they actually move in and take residency for a few months. But there are certain steps a landlord can take to ensure they’re minimizing their risk of harbouring poor tenants E.g. getting a credit check. I personally believe [...]

I Was Gonna Stop Cannabis Farming For My Landlord… But Then I Got High

22 Feb 2010 / Good & Bad Landlord Practices / 7 Comments

I’m more frequently reading cases involving entrepreneurial tenants that are renting properties so they can develop their own cannabis farming business in them. The latest case comes with some cool pictures, so I thought I’d quickly share the good stuff (the pictures, not the weed)… Pretty elaborate imagery, right? I’m told the photos are of [...]

My Tenant Has Changed The Door Locks, Can He Do that?

16 Feb 2010 / Landlord Legal Obligations/Issues / 4 Comments

Just a quick answer to an ever increasingly asked question: can tenants legally change the door locks? In short, yes. If the tenant changes the lock, landlords are not entitled to a key unless it says so in the contract. However, the tenant should not unreasonably withhold access, and if he or she does, the [...]

Landlords And Tenants Shouldn’t Neglect The “Wanted” Section

09 Feb 2010 / Marketing & Finding Tenants / 1 Comment

The traditional way for prospective tenants to find accommodation would be to walk into a letting agent, look in the local paper, scan through local advertising boards, or look through various online portals e.g. Gumtree. All these methods have one thing in common, it’s the Landlord doing the marketing. But it doesn’t have to be [...]

Shit You shouldn’t Write Or Put In Your Tenant’s Christmas Card

21 Dec 2009 / Good & Bad Landlord Practices / 6 Comments

In my previous blog post I asked the question, are you going to bother sending your tenant a Christmas card. Continuing on with my run of festive blog posts, I’m now going to discuss what you shouldn’t say/put in your tenant’s Christmas card. I’m sure it’s a common problem thousands of landlords face on a [...]

What Landlords Should Know About ‘White Goods’

14 Dec 2009 / Landlord Legal Obligations/Issues / 4 Comments

I’ve been getting a few emails from folks regarding the details of “White goods”, so I thought I’d quickly jot down what I know about the issue. It’s not exactly the most exciting topic, but it’s an area worth knowing about if you’re a landlord. What are “white goods”? White goods refer to large electrical [...]

The Penalties For Breaking Landlord Laws

08 Dec 2009 / Landlord Legal Obligations/Issues / 1 Comment

Landlord law is a pretty gray area from what I’ve noticed over the years, as in, penalties always seem to differ, even if the crimes being committed are similar to one another. But it does make sense, because in almost every legal battle, the circumstances between tenant and landlord or landlord and property are pretty [...]

Is Your Letting Agent Holding Deposits Or Failing To Pass On Rent?

30 Nov 2009 / Landlord Legal Obligations/Issues / 21 Comments

Before you get bent out of shape and start raging at your tenant for failing to pass on rent, it’s probably best to make sure your tenant is the actual cock-face that is breaking the chain of making rental payments. Recently a pompous-arse rogue letting agent in Oxfordshire was raided after several dozen landlords and [...]

Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement (AST) Tips

23 Nov 2009 / Good & Bad Landlord Practices / 7 Comments

1] Length of tenancy Don’t give a fixed term longer than 6 months unless you trust your tenants. You can always extend the contract when the fixed term has expired. 2] Signed tenancy agreements Never allow a tenant to move into your property until the Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement (AST) is signed. 3] Keep an [...]

My Stupid Landlord-Friend Didn’t Transfer All Utility Bills Over To Her Tenant

02 Nov 2009 / Good & Bad Landlord Practices / 6 Comments

My Stupid Landlord-Friend Didn’t Transfer All Utility Bills Over To Her Tenant It’s ok, I can safely call her stupid because… a) She ignored my advice (Transfer Utility Services Over To Your New Tenants) b) She was careless c) She’s my friend d) She’s a girl- I’m way more powerful than her Whenever a landlord [...]

Idiot Tenant Sets Fire To Property- What To Do?

26 Oct 2009 / Landlord Legal Obligations/Issues / 12 Comments

I came across an interesting thread on the Property Tribes forum earlier. A landlord had her property accidently set on fire by her tenant, to the point where it became uninhabitable. Here’s how the landlord explained it: Yesterday one of my tenants ran out of electric on her meter and rather than topping up the [...]

Minimizing Landlord Maintenance Costs

20 Oct 2009 / Landlord Money & Saving Costs / 1 Comment

Continuing from my previous blog post on landlord maintenance costs (How Much I’ve Spent On Maintenance Costs Over The Years As A landlord) I’m going to quickly ramble on about how I try to minimize maintenance costs (real exciting stuff, brace yourself for mental ejaculation). I think this may be an area where a lot [...]

How Much I’ve Spent On Maintenance Costs Over The Years As A landlord

07 Oct 2009 / Landlord Money & Saving Costs / 12 Comments

There was an interesting/good question asked in the forum yesterday, what kind of maintenance costs landlords have had to pay over the years? Fortunately, over the last 5 years of maintaining 3-4 properties, I haven’t had to dig too deep to cover maintenance costs (from what I can remember). And in most cases, where I [...]

List Of FREE Goodies For Landlords

04 Oct 2009 / Landlord Money & Saving Costs / 1 Comment

Last week I wrote an article covering a list of Ways Landlords Can Market Their BTL Property For Free, so to keep on track with the FREE theme (because everyone likes free stuff), I’m going to write a list of free goodies available for landlords… Free Tenant Credit Check Service Details on how to get [...]

I Haven’t Protected My Tenants Deposit Into A Scheme With In 14 Days

02 Oct 2009 / Landlord Legal Obligations/Issues / 12 Comments

I received this email earlier today. It’s an interesting question, with a rather ropey answer (which works in the favour of the landlord): I have one property. My tenant has been with me for the last 2 years. Initially via an agent. Agents were charging a fortune and were no good, so I took it [...]

17 Ways Landlords Can Market Their BTL Property For Free

01 Oct 2009 / Marketing & Finding Tenants / 8 Comments

1] Landlord Portals Here’s A List Of Free Websites Where Landlords Can Advertise Their BTL 2] Leaflets and Flyers Get creative on your PC and create a simple leaflet that you can post through local mail boxes. Keep it simple, don’t try to be Leonardo De Vinci, you will only screw it up. 3] Word [...]

When The Tenant Doesn’t Pay Rent

22 Sep 2009 / Evicting Tenants / 4 Comments

I can’t remember why or how, but i’m thanking fate for the cinematic treasure I stumbled upon earlier today. I came accross a hilarious Will Ferrell sketch, which you can watch below. Ferrell plays a tenant that can’t pay his rent on time, as a result, his frustrated landlord, Pearl, doesn’t take the news lightly, [...]

A List Of Tenant Eviction Professionals

17 Sep 2009 / Evicting Tenants / 4 Comments

In the past, I’ve been mere whiskers away from stampeding into one of my BTLs’ with the incentives of throwing a tenant and all her belongings onto the street because she had fallen into 3 months of arrears. Looking back, it was a miracle that she wasn’t limping around with my foot firmly wedged up [...]

Make Your Own ‘To Let’ Sign To Help Market Your Property

14 Sep 2009 / Marketing & Finding Tenants / 6 Comments

I recently read an article on the Telegraph website about a vendor trying to unload his £30million mansion. For some reason the vendor chose to neglect the expertise of an agent, consequently independently took charge of the marketing. Estate agency fees are usually about 2.5 per cent; by marketing the property without instructing an agent, [...]

Which Is The Best Landlord Association?

09 Sep 2009 / Good & Bad Landlord Practices / 8 Comments

I’ve been thinking about joining a Landlords Association for a while, but I’ve never actually gotten around to doing it. But I’m definitely going to join one this week, it’s just a case of choosing the right one. Decisions, decisions… For those blissfully unaware, let me go over the basics… What is a Landlords Association? [...]

How Landlords Can Advertise And Find Tenants On Popular Websites Like Rightmove

07 Sep 2009 / Marketing & Finding Tenants / 19 Comments

I recently compiled a list of A List Of Free Websites Where Landlords Can Advertise Their BTL. While that list is a super awesome resource for all landlands trying to find tenants for free, there is one fundamental problem with the websites on that list. The websites don’t actually generate as much traffic as the [...]

Landlord Guide To Marketing A BTL Property From Start To Finish

04 Sep 2009 / Marketing & Finding Tenants / 0 Comments

This flow chart shows the typical steps new landlords take to find tenants, and displays the routes/options available, highlighting the pros and & cons of each route. Bear in mind, some of the steps are legal requirements! If anyone disagrees with this chart, or believes it can be improved, please let me know, and I’ll [...]

Landlord Guide On Evicting Tenants

30 Aug 2009 / Evicting Tenants / 1 Comment

Here are the steps a landlord typically takes during the process of evicting tenants. The chart doesn’t reflect every open option available; the chart displays the most common options and solutions, along with the pros and cons of each possible route. If anyone disagrees with this chart, or believes it can be improved, please let [...]

Guide On Picking The Right Letting Agent

23 Aug 2009 / Good & Bad Landlord Practices / 4 Comments

I’ve had experiences with about 4 or 5 different letting agents, so I know how important it is to pick the best out of a rotten bunch. The consequences of working with the wrong letting agent can be on the same par as a slow and painful death, if not worse. That’s precisely why it’s [...]

Provide Tenants With Incentives So They Choose Your Property Over Someone Else’s

18 Aug 2009 / Marketing & Finding Tenants / 12 Comments

Somewhere, although I can’t remember quite where, I’ve already dribbled about how the BTL market is insanely tough for landlords right now, so I won’t delve into the specifics too much. But basically, demand isn’t as great as supply blah blah blah, consequently tenants are being spoilt for choice with the abundance of vacant properties [...]

Tenant’s Right To Live In Quiet Enjoyment

12 Aug 2009 / Landlord Legal Obligations/Issues / 27 Comments

A few days ago there was a little debate on Twitter about whether a landlord or letting agent had the right to enter his/her property during the last month of the fixed term to take viewings, without giving notice to the tenant. To me that seemed pretty ridiculous; I was pretty adamant that the Landlord [...]

A Few Reasons Why Landlords Should Use Twitter

04 Aug 2009 / Good & Bad Landlord Practices / 7 Comments

Oh damn, I’m about to eat my own dick here. To cut a long and shameless story short, I’m just going to say it…”I’ve started to get Twitter.” A few months ago I mentioned how I thought Twitter was a pile of donkey shit, and how Most Of The Estate Agents On Twitter Are Idiots. [...]

The Type Of Landlords That Are Getting Repossessed

28 Jul 2009 / Good & Bad Landlord Practices / 4 Comments

A lot of Landlords have been repossessed. A lot of landlords are on the verge of getting repossessed. Why is it happening? Interestingly, the other day I was asked how I’m coping with the downturn; specifically if I’m struggling. In short, I’m not struggling. I personally believe only certain types of Landlords are struggling- it’s [...]

Letting Agent Or Landlord Responsible For Securing Deposit Into A Tenancy Deposit Protection Scheme?

16 Jul 2009 / Landlord Legal Obligations/Issues / 1 Comment

Is it the Landlord’s responsibility to put the security deposit into a Tenancy Deposit Protection Scheme, or the Letting Agents? For those Landlords out there that are using Letting Agents, are you certain that your agent has deposited your tenant’s deposit into a legally required tenancy protection scheme? What happens if your agent receives the [...]

Use Letting Agents That Are Registered With An Approved Redress Scheme For Consumer Protection

06 Jul 2009 / Good & Bad Landlord Practices / 7 Comments

Being haunted by the urge to inflict pain upon a letting agent isn’t an unfamiliar feeling to me. My hate has been real, fueled by God awful customer service and snake-sly antics. Like garlic to a vampire, the best way to hurt an agent is by extracting money from their pockets. Dealing with rogue letting [...]