27th August 2016
I met with a Landlord some time ago to run through the rent he can hope to achieve on his property, the current regulations surrounding renting and the various levels of service we offer.
This landlord opted for the management only service, this involves the landlord finding and referencing his own tenant. He even declined using our services for arranging the lettings contract, this is an important document and forms the basis on which the tenant occupies the property.
After the landlord marketed the property he received a call from a gentleman and on his word and on face value he assumed he would be a good tenant. The landlord didn’t even see the need to reference him.
On the day of move in the tenant called the landlord and explained that he was waiting for his previous landlord to return his deposit and asked if he could pay this in a couple of weeks. A couple of weeks came and went, with no sign of the deposit. The tenant then contacted the landlord and said his previous landlord kept his deposit and was being unreasonable!
The Landlord relented regarding the deposit, mostly out of not having any other choice, and agreed not to hold a deposit for the duration of the tenancy.
Rent dripped in and out and after a while the tenant stopped paying the rent altogether. This went on for an unbelievable eight months and as well as receiving no rent to pay the mortgage the landlord was going through the courts to regain possession.
It transpired that the tenant was known for moving in with the same story each time and then not paying the rent, this could have all been avoided if the landlord had opted to spend a little more and choose a service where we referenced the tenants.
Figures for this particular case:
- Cost of fully managed service for 12 months:£1195.50
- Cost of management only service for 12 months:£477.00
- Cost of rent arrears and court fees:£9645.00
- Total ‘saving’ made:-£8926.50
- Cost of tenant referencing:Priceless!!!
Contact me on 0207 993 4719 to find out more about our fully managed services
Richard Bond
Lettings Manager
