Property Blog [ Page 2 ]
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 [...]
6 Lies Commonly Told by Landlords
05 Feb 2010 / Tenant Advice / 6 Comments
1] “That will be fixed by the time you move in” If you notice something broken or off-key during the viewing, ensure it’s attended to before you sign any contracts, pay any deposits or agree to anything. Once you’ve moved in, the landlord will be more reluctant to get things fixed because he already has [...]
Do You Have A Useful Service To Offer Landlords? Advertise it for FREE
01 Feb 2010 / Ranting Landlord / 4 Comments
Some of you may have noticed a new sponsor advert on the right hand sidebar, “Your local Landlord Directory”, while the rest of you probably didn’t care enough to notice. Either way, I’m magnifying the subject and bringing it all to your attention Landlord Directory is a new portal specifically for landlords. Essentially, it’s a [...]
I Hope All Estate Agents Aren’t This Unfunny
30 Jan 2010 / I Dislike Estate Agents / 3 Comments
I know a lot of people dislike me and my blog because of the kind of crap I dispose on here, which is totally cool by me. To each their own and all that fluff. On a few occasions I’ve seen some of the haters write some funny shit about me and my beautiful cesspit [...]
Estate Agent Walks Into Property And Takes Viewings Without Notifying Tenant
25 Jan 2010 / I Dislike Estate Agents / 3 Comments
Right, so this is what happened today on this miserable Monday. A work colleague of mine received an alarming phone call this afternoon from his heavily pregnant wife. She had called in a panic to inform him that an estate agent had opened the front door (with keys) to take a viewing of the property, [...]
Are You Dealing With Rogue Letting Agents? Get In Touch
13 Jan 2010 / I Dislike Estate Agents / 3 Comments
If you’re dealing with rogue letting agents, or have done so in the past, please contact Claer Barrett (claer.barrett@ft.com). Earlier this week Claer left a comment on one of my blog posts (Is Your Letting Agent Holding Deposits Or Failing To Pass On Rent?): Any landlords who want me to investigate rogue lettings agents in [...]
Same Libel Threat, Different Person Threatening Me
12 Jan 2010 / Ranting Landlord / 27 Comments
Urgh, it’s happening again! This is the 4th incident where I’ve been told to remove content from my site because it’s supposedly libellous. It’s like Groundhog day, because the threats are always so ridiculous and petty, in my opinion. The latest episode is actually the most flimsy libel notice I’ve ever received. At least the [...]
Landlord Junk I Want To Achieve In 2010
04 Jan 2010 / Ranting Landlord / 19 Comments
Happy New Year, folks! I hope you all had a great transition. So, it’s a New Year and people are beginning their journeys to fulfil their resolutions. Great! I never really set New Year resolutions because they don’t make any practical sense to me. If I need to change something in my life, I’ll change [...]
Common Misconception: Rent Is Guaranteed With DSS Tenants
29 Dec 2009 / DSS Tenants / 16 Comments
I’ve heard a lot of people claiming that rent is guaranteed when Housing Benefit (HB) pay rent directly to the landlord on behalf of DSS tenants. It was actually the other day that someone on my blog made that statement, and it’s definitely a popular claim I’ve heard many times. For the record, the lady [...]
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 [...]
Are You Going To Bother Sending Your Tenant A Christmas Card?
17 Dec 2009 / Ranting Landlord / 10 Comments
Urgh, great, it’s Christmas again, ALREADY. Ho, ho, ho. Ok, I’m not a Scrooge; I’m just at that awkward stage in my life where Christmas seems pointless. I’ve always believed that Christmas is pretty cool for grandparents, parents and children. I’m neither, so I view this time of year as a bitterly cold season where [...]
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 [...]
Estate Agents Are Slipperier Than A Lubed Penis
16 Nov 2009 / I Dislike Estate Agents / 15 Comments
Last year when I was looking for tenants I unleashed a snake-oil letting agency to assist me on the hunt. They used the usual marketing tactics- online property portals (i.e. Rightmove, Findaproperty etc.), their own shop window, the local newspaper and various other methods. Fortunately, and rather satisfyingly, I managed to find better tenants than [...]
Interview With Ajay Ahuja
10 Nov 2009 / Ranting Landlord / 159 Comments
It was only last week that Ajay Ahuja appeared on “Inside Out” for allegedly being a dirty little scam artist. Since then his name has been running riot on the property circuit. While he’s still hot topic, I thought I’d try and get my filthy little mitts on him; giving him the opportunity to give [...]
Ajay Ahuja On Inside Out, London- Property Scam
04 Nov 2009 / Ranting Landlord / 35 Comments
Anyone watch “Inside Out, London” On BBC, Monday (2nd November, 2009)? It was rather interesting. The first half of the show was an investigation about a property dealer offering bargains that are apparently too good to be true. It was quite amusing when the “dealer” they were investigating turned out to be someone I know, [...]
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 [...]
I Don’t Like Globrix Property Portal
29 Oct 2009 / Ranting Landlord / 9 Comments
Anyone used Globrix before? Earlier today I was planning on using Globrix to check out the local talent on the market. Unfortunately, my plans quickly came to a halt when I realised Globrix is a pile of unusable crap. I can’t decide whether the site was designed by a genius or an idiot. My money [...]
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 [...]
The Council Are So Shit To Landlords With Problem DSS Tenants (Part 2)
13 Oct 2009 / DSS Tenants / 15 Comments
I say “part 2″ because I’ve previously thrown my toys out of the pram over this shitty little issue, DSS Tenants And The Shitty Council. I’m writing about it again for 2 reasons. Firstly, the issue still frustrates the fuck out of me, and secondly, I’ve recently been reminded of how incompetent and lackadaisical the [...]
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 [...]
Reader Requests I Remove Article Where I Call My Tenant A Bitch
28 Sep 2009 / I Get Hate Mail For Being A Landlord / 8 Comments
The other day I received an email from a disgruntled reader called Sophie. I don’t usually humour myself on other people’s misery, but this unreasonable woman was being ridiculous, so I was pleased to make an exception. Sophie basically requested me to remove a particular article from my website because it personally offended her. On [...]
New Property Investment Project Business Cards
23 Sep 2009 / Ranting Landlord / 6 Comments
Right, so here are the facts… My blog is growing on a daily basis (I think) I get various property-related companies and professionals emailing me all kinds of shit on a daily basis I don’t run my blog as a “business” per’se, but some people tell me I probably should I sometimes (rarely) attend networking [...]
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 [...]
London Landlord Show 2009, Who’s Attending? Anyone?
04 Sep 2009 / Ranting Landlord / 3 Comments
It’s FREE, it’s LOCAL (London is local for me) and it could be quite interesting, so I think I’m going to attend this landlord bash. Who knows, I may even learn something useful. Event details London Landlords’ Show is the largest show of its kind and to celebrate its tenth year, the show returns to [...]
I initially started this website because I wanted to document my every step from property idiot to property landlord,
in hope that people would find my site and help me along the way. I literally didn't have a clue about being a landlord
when I started this website.
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