Why renting your Welling property yourself isn't always a wise idea if you want a "good" tenant

If you are a landlord with a property to rent I would imagine you want a good tenant. Likewise, your tenant will want a good landlord. It works both ways.

But what is a good tenant? There is no guaranteed way of finding one, and there will always be some risk to a landlord as even the best tenant could be made redundant at any point. But quality over quantity and doing things properly are definitely the order of the day.

Anyhow, proving someone is “good” isn’t always easy. What even is a “good” tenant? Just someone that pays on time?

An agent, or a landlord, will do whatever checks they deem necessary to make sure that the person moving in to the property is financially sound via a credit check and proof of income/employment. On top of that you’d expect them to consider a previous landlord reference, and to check their employment is secure for the coming 12 months, irrespective of what they might be earning right now. Then there are the legalities of photo ID, and to make sure the tenant(s) has(have) the right to live and work in the UK. All of this could be provided and the tenant pass with flying colours, but there is no knowing what the future might bring.

What many landlords sometimes fail to remember, especially if their property is empty and they are temporarily losing income, is that once in a property, the tenant often has more rights than the landlord, so doing things right before they move in is critical.

A Welling landlord we know recently had to evict a tenant who was in rent arrears to the tune of over £7,000 having intentionally stopped paying rent. The landlord was making up the shortfall in the meantime, as well as dealing with the stress and inconvenience, the frustration, and the various court forms and fees, as well as taking time off work to attend court dates to re-gain possession of her own property. The cause of this eviction? 

Little more than deliberate avoidance of responsibility and any morale compass by the tenant. Finally the saga was over and the tenant was evicted, where the landlord then turned to the issue of pursuing new tenants via the Gumtree. Again a high risk strategy, most people searching for private listings are “not looking to do things properly” and are they the tenants you would want? But this landlady was doing so under the guise of “saving money”. Ironic having been £7,000 out of pocket the last time she went down that path. Her next tenant she let have the property amongst a collection of 10-15 possibles, because she “felt sorry for her”.

Similarly we found the below article in the Evening Standard from earlier this year a ridiculous state of affairs from an “experienced” landlord.

http://www.homesandproperty.co.uk/property-news/renting/renting-in-london-the-accidental-landlord-takes-a-chance-on-a-tenant-without-a-guarantor-a103486.html

Very risky, and a risk simply not worth taking in our view.

I don’t mean to be heartless, but it never ceases to amaze that some landlords can take such unnecessary risks. Your property or properties are your business, your income, your pension. The tenant has more rights than you, you are taking the risk, would you not want that risk to be as small as possible, no matter what the personality, back story or income of the prospective tenant?

Do things properly, otherwise, whilst you might get lucky in the short-term, cutting corners and taking risks will one day catch up with you, and then you won’t feel like you saved much money.

If you are looking for an agent that is well established, professional and communicative, then contact us to find out how we can get the best out of your investment property.

Email me on kevin@dansonpropertyservices.com or call on 020 3397 4499. If you are in the area, feel free to pop into the office – we are based on 116 High Street, Welling, Kent, DA16 1TJ. There is plenty of parking and the kettle is always on.

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