Whats haunting Gravesham Landlords?
How can Gravesham Landlords avoid common property nightmares.? We’re sure you’ll see lots of scary ghosts trick-or-treating this Halloween, but here are three frightening scenarios that haunt landlords all year round.
Being a landlord can sometimes be unpredictable – but the experience is much less scary if you have a good letting agent on your side.
Read on to find out why.
Emergency
Picture this: It’s 11pm, you’re on holiday relaxing on the beach with a drink, enjoying the late-night warmth we just don’t get here at home. Then the phone rings and your evening turns into a ‘fright night’.
It’s your tenant calling. She has water pouring through her ceiling and doesn’t know what to do. You’re needed ASAP.
No matter how organised or diligent a landlord is, things can go wrong. And when they do, the landlord has a duty of care to rectify the situation promptly.
So what happens if you’re on holiday when an emergency occurs? If you have a letting agent managing the property, you can relax – they’ll deal with it. If you don’t, you’ll have to stop whatever you’re doing and take charge.
Red tape horror show
Did you know that there are more than 200 laws that apply to landlords in the UK? Legislation is continually being changed and updated which makes it very difficult to stay up to date – its almost a full time job.
We’d suggest spending time researching and learning these regulations … you may end up feeling like a zombie by the end of it...but you must get to grips with it as failure to follow the law could leave you with a heavy fine or even a jail sentence.
The alternative is to entrust the job to a letting agent who will be up to speed on all the relevant rules and regulations.
The tenant doesn’t pay their rent …
There is a lot to do when managing a property but at least you are making money right? But what if your tenant isn’t paying their rent so you don’t even have an income for all of your hard work.
A tenant who has fallen into rent arrears can be a distressing time for both them and you as the landlord, and chasing people for money is never nice. So, take a deep breath and make a plan. Our article, Has your tenant fallen into arrears? Will help. Obviously if you have an agent managing your investment they will take the lead, deal with the tenant (and the eviction if required) and keep you updated.
If you use a letting agent, they’ll help your tenant if problems arise at the property.
Should you be having a ‘scary’ time with your tenancy, we are here to help in any way we can! Contact the team today – 01474 321957.