Landlord Today are reporting about the added importance of a professional inventory.
With the average age of a first time buyer now reported to be 29 years old or 33 (if they don’t have financial assistance), gone are the days of renting being more commonly for the very young, inexperienced tenant.
Compare this to research which shows that more than three quarters of landlords only own one single rental dwelling and potentially you have a situation whereby tenants are becoming more experienced than landlords.
Kate Campbell-Balcombe of Inventories Everywhere, provides some thoughts on this matter: “Savvy tenants can cause a nightmare for the inexperienced landlord at deposit release stage. Suddenly, at even the faintest suggestion of a proportion of their deposit being withheld for damages etc, their knowledge of the importance of Inventories, Check-Ins and Check-Outs suddenly knows no bounds!
Unfortunately, from our experience, it is more likely that inexperienced landlords will either elect not to have an Inventory or look to produce one themselves, than it is for experienced landlords who have potentially been through the trials and tribulations associated with not paying for a professional Inventory to be produced.
For landlords whom elect to not have an Inventory completed or even not to prepare one themselves, they really are leaving themselves wide open to any damages caused to the property by the tenants as any tenants with even the smallest amount of knowledge will know that the landlord has not protected themselves against any damages (even wilful neglect) that they have caused and will be more than happy for the case to be sent to arbitration, knowing that it is more than likely that the disputed amount will be awarded in their favour.
Whilst there are now many DIY inventory reporting solutions on the market (some which look pretty fantastic) it is our opinion that no amount of software can replace the knowledge and experience of a professional inventory.
We at Belvoir Northwich always encourage landlords to have one of our very professional and thorough inventories.
