Property Blog [ Page 4 ]
Letting Agent Is Trying To Rip Me Off
04 Apr 2009 / Ranting Landlord / 5 Comments
Ok, yesterday I wrote a blog post about how I encountered a rude, cock-face letting agent. Well, the saga continues… Basically, the letting agent wanted £500 to find me tenants (EXTORTIONATE). Initially, I was like, “ok, cool, see what you can get me”. But using an agent was literally a backup plan, because I generally [...]
I Just Encountered A Rude Cock-Face Letting Agent
03 Apr 2009 / Ranting Landlord / 5 Comments
Urgh, I fucking hate rude people with a passion, especially people that are rude unnecessarily. Admittedly, rude letting/estate agents irk me just that little bit more than the average punk. They are notoriously hated by default, so they should make extra effort to be normal beings. I recently encountered a total shithead from a local [...]
My Experience With Letmatch To Advertise A BTL On Rightmove
31 Mar 2009 / Marketing & Finding Tenants / 23 Comments
Ok, a while back I wrote a blog post about how landlords can advertise their BTL on Rightmove, by registering and paying a small fee on Letmatch.co.uk: How To Advertise Your Buy-To-Let On Rightmove. Letmatch work in partnership with an online letting agent called Visum, who put the adverts onto Rightmove. Visum does give you [...]
Electrical Safety For Landlords In Rental Property
26 Mar 2009 / Landlord Legal Obligations/Issues / 38 Comments
As it stands, unlike gas regulations, there is no law that says you must have a landlord electrical safety certificate. However, Landlords are obligated to ensure that all electrical appliances and fittings within the property are safe and in good working order. Failure to comply with the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994 and the The [...]
Finding Tenants Without Letting Agents Does Work- Here’s A Success Story
23 Mar 2009 / Marketing & Finding Tenants / 4 Comments
For a while now, I’ve put the idea out there that landlords can avoid letting agent fees by recruiting tenants for themselves. It’s a great way to save A LOT of money, and it’s generally a great way to capture landlording/business/people experience. I’ve avoided letting agents for the past few years, primarily because of how [...]
Landlords Are Entitled To Council Tax Exemption If They Have An Empty Property
20 Mar 2009 / Landlord Money & Saving Costs / 6 Comments
A month or so ago I had a tenant check out of tenancy so I was waiting for new arrivals. However, before I got new tenants to move in, I needed a one week window to coat the entire property with a lick of fresh paint. Consequently, the property was going to be empty for [...]
Tenant Completely Trashes Property
18 Mar 2009 / Landlord Legal Obligations/Issues / 3 Comments
Errr…I found this clip on the Property Hawk website. It’s footage of what a landlord was welcomed to after a tenant had checked out. I can’t seem to find more details about the case, but have a look at the visuals… I’m assuming the previous tenant has yet to grasp the concept of being “human”. [...]
Gas Safe Register Has Replaced CORGI Gas Registration
17 Mar 2009 / Landlord Legal Obligations/Issues / 18 Comments
Thanks to a reader I was informed about an extremely vital change regarding gas safety legal obligations, which concerns ALL landlords. On 8 September 2008, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) awarded a new 10 year contract to Capita Group plc to provide a new registration scheme for gas installers. This will begin on 1 [...]
Mark Sawyer Of Property Association Has Threatened To Take Legal Action Against Me
15 Mar 2009 / Ranting Landlord / 25 Comments
Now, this is an interesting/concerning situation. It’s a bit long winded, but I’ll try to be to-the-point. Just to clarify, writing this blog post is going to be a real struggle, like 50 Cent when he was growing up in the hood. I’m going to hold back a lot of my usual obscenities, just to [...]
House Price Crash (HPC) Forum Member Has A Wet Dream
10 Mar 2009 / Property Comic Sketches / 2 Comments
I Got Stood Up By A Prospective Tenant
09 Mar 2009 / Ranting Landlord / 4 Comments
Unfortunately, they’ll be nothing of substance written in today’s blog post, I’m just going to rant a little about how I fucking hate time-wasters. I got a phone call last week from a deceiving little bitch that prided herself on being a “professional working mother”, and was interested in viewing a property of mine. When [...]
Beware Of Dodgy Tenancy Applications Via Email
05 Mar 2009 / Marketing & Finding Tenants / 5 Comments
I got an email from a chap called Steve earlier, and he was wondering whether this rental accommodation application he received via email was genuine: Hello, Thanks so much for your email and its quite understanding.MY DAUGHTER WILL BE ARRIVING ON THE 23th of MARCH, i have gone thru the advert one more time and [...]
Guide On How To Market Your Vacant BTL On Gumtree
02 Mar 2009 / Marketing & Finding Tenants / 10 Comments
I’ve mentioned several times before in various blog posts that I’m a huge fan of Gumtree when it comes to advertising properties for rent. If ANY Landlord is looking to avoid letting agent fees, I would highly recommend trying out Gumtree to get enquiries from prospective tenants. I don’t think Gumtree should be the one [...]
Buying Property With No Deposits
26 Feb 2009 / Buying Property Tips / 16 Comments
Some of you may have noticed that there’s a new form in the right hand sidebar which offers people with “No Money Down property deals”. It’s a service offered by the Ahuja group. Out of curiosity, has anyone heard of Ajay Ahuja before? I hadn’t heard of him at first. In fact, when he first [...]
Shitbag Letting Agent Calls Me Up With A Bag’O'Shit Deal
24 Feb 2009 / I Dislike Estate Agents / 11 Comments
On many occasions I’ve ruthlessly attacked letting agents for their, what I feel to be, unjustified pricing strategy. Yesterday I was bitterly reminded of how extortionate and ridiculous some agents are, so here I am again, sitting on my soap box, crying like a little bitch about how backwards some things in life really are. [...]
Guide On How To Put A Property Inventory Together
18 Feb 2009 / Good & Bad Landlord Practices / 3 Comments
A few days ago I wrote an article explaining how and why I thought it’s important to perform a thorough Inventory. This time I’m going to talk in detail about the entire process of protecting the security deposit. Why? Because I’ve recently taken a financial hit (lost £200) because I was sloppy with my inventory. [...]
I’ve Fallen Out With My Ex-Tenant Over Her Security Deposit
14 Feb 2009 / Ranting Landlord / 2 Comments
It’s pretty amazing how a relationship can turn from warm apple pie to steaming shit over something as superficial as money. The situation I’m in so ridiculous that I don’t know whether to laugh and/or forcefully push my tenant into the arms of a psychologist. In a previous article I talked about how a tenant [...]
Tips For New Private Landlords
09 Feb 2009 / Good & Bad Landlord Practices / 4 Comments
I recently got an email from someone asking me what my tips would be for a newly born private Landlord that is in the process of kicking her letting agent to the curb. Here’s, in my opinion, a generic list of principles which i’d consider “good to know” for new private landlords. Legal Obligations It’s [...]
Which Lenders Are Passing On The 0.5% Interest Rate Cut?
06 Feb 2009 / Mortgage Stuff / 3 Comments
Yes, yes, yes, as many had predicted, the UK Base rate cut their base rate by 0.5%, which means it now stands at 1%. Consequently, there are a handful of very, very, very lucky borrowers out there at the moment that are reaping the rewards of 0% interest rate on their loans. Those people got [...]
The Importance Of An Inventory
05 Feb 2009 / Good & Bad Landlord Practices / 4 Comments
It’s been a long, frosty week, and it’s starting to show as I haven’t been this unshaven in a while. I’ve had a tenant move out, I’ve had 5 days to turn around the property so it looks presentable for my new tenant, and I’ve spent most mornings scraping ice off the car window as [...]
Lowering Rent In Exchange For Tenant’s Decorating
01 Feb 2009 / Landlord Money & Saving Costs / 7 Comments
I’ve been taking viewings this week for a property that’s due to become available very shortly. Admittedly, the property isn’t in tip-top condition and people have pointed that out to me. Structurally, it’s sound, no problems there. I’m talking about the visual pleasantries. Well, visual horrors, in this case, like out-dated kitchen units that look [...]
Northern Rock Has Passed On A 0.25% Cut To Their Standard Variable Rate
29 Jan 2009 / Mortgage Stuff / 7 Comments
I know a lot of my readers take particular interest in Northern Rock and their standard variable rates, so I thought i’d just give you folks a quick update. I received a letter a few days ago from Northern Rock, informing me that they are going to pass on a 0.25% cut to their standard [...]
10 Reasons Why You Should Use Letting Agents
28 Jan 2009 / Good & Bad Landlord Practices / 4 Comments
A few days ago I posted a list of Reasons Why I Don’t Use Letting Agents to find or manage any of my buy-to-let properties. I expected a mixed bag of responses, which is exactly what I got. I got an interesting response from an Estate Agent called Justin, from over at Petter Barry. He [...]
10 Reasons Why I Don’t Use Letting Agents
26 Jan 2009 / Good & Bad Landlord Practices / 12 Comments
I’ve just had one of my tenants move out after 4 years of tenancy. I’m in the process of finding a replacement, so I thought i’d provide a quick list to explain why I don’t use letting agents to find or manage tenants. Just for the record, the list is generated from personal experiences. 1. [...]
Which Property Website Gets The Most Traffic?
25 Jan 2009 / Selling Property Tips / 5 Comments
From what I’m aware of, the big players in the property portal game are: Rightmove Find A Property Property Finder Prime Location Globrix I think most people are familiar with Rightmove as it’s advertised heavily on the radio and TV. The average Jo may also be aware of Find A Property as it’s well branded. [...]
My Favourite Tenant Is Leaving
20 Jan 2009 / Ranting Landlord / 4 Comments
So, check it… I got a phone call 2 days ago from one of my longest and most faithful tenants (since 2005). Initially, I thought I was going to be on the receiving end of a winter maintenance call, so I was hesitant to answer. Apparently plumbers are so busy right now that they have [...]
My Savings On Mortgage Payments Since Interest Rates Have Fallen
17 Jan 2009 / Mortgage Stuff / 2 Comments
I suspect a lot of homeowners on tracker and variable rate mortgages have made significant savings over the previous months as interest rates have been tumbling. I have definitely saved a lot of money on a monthly basis. However, in real terms, I’m probably losing more money than I’m saving, as house prices are taking [...]
My Landlord Won’t Give My Deposit Back
12 Jan 2009 / Tenant Advice / 117 Comments
Here’s a conversation I had earlier with a friend of mine: My ex landlord claims he’s paid my deposit, but it’s not gone into my account. Nowhere on my statement. What can I do if he keeps claiming he’s paid it? what date did the tenancy agreement start on? it was 6th June, 2008 Ok, [...]
Which Lenders Are Going To Pass On The 0.5% Interest Rate Cut?
09 Jan 2009 / Mortgage Stuff / 2 Comments
So, the latest is that “The Bank of England cut interest rates to the lowest level in its 315-year history yesterday as it attempts to prevent the UK recession deepening into a depression.” Blah blah blah. But let’s face it, that’s pretty useless to borrowers if they’re not going to get the benefits passed on. [...]
Who Watched Repossessed Last Night On BBC1?
07 Jan 2009 / Ranting Landlord / 7 Comments
Broadcast: BBC 1, Tuesday, January 6th, 2009. 10:30pm (I think it was a repeat, not entirely sure). The TV guide describes it as the following: Powerful documentary about three families battling to save their homes from repossession as the housing crisis tightens its grip. With 50,000 homes having been repossessed in the past year, some [...]
Cashback Credit Cards- A Great Way To Spend
06 Jan 2009 / Ranting Landlord / 2 Comments
Has anyone got a cashback credit card? If so, which one, and what kind of deal do you have? I’m not entirely sure how popular cashback cards are, or how long they have been knocking around for, but I’ve only recently discovered the fruit. They seem like a neat idea to me. What is a [...]
House Price Crash Idiot Attacks Again
30 Dec 2008 / Ranting Landlord / 25 Comments
Low and behold, another House Price Crash idiot tries to please the mob on the forums by tossing a banana into the circle. This particular idiot put together an inaccurately sculptured story of my landlord life. It seemed to have gone down a threat; the crowd blissfully cheered. I guess when a monkey farts the [...]
Which Council Tax Band Is My House In?
26 Dec 2008 / Tax And Property / 2 Comments
I got an email earlier from someone asking me what Council Tax Band their property is in. I imagine a lot of people have no idea what council tax band they’re in. I bet there’s even a few lost souls out there that didn’t even know there were different bands. Why should I care which [...]
I Hate My Fucking Landlord
22 Dec 2008 / Tenant Advice / 26 Comments
Do you hate your landlord? One of my readers’ certainly does. This was a rather amusing email I received from a chap called Clive, in response to my Things I Hate About Being A Landlord post. what a pile of shit. i hat emy fucking landlord. Landlords have it easy compared to tenants. fuck you [...]
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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