The story behind a 1 bedroom apartment at Mill Green, Congleton on the outskirts of the town centre: from rent arrears to revamp
The story behind a 1 bedroom apartment at Mill Green, Congleton on the outskirts of the town centre: from rent arrears to revamp
The tenant had fallen into serious rent arrears and was suffering from mental health issues. He was hoarding items in the apartment and the property was falling into a state of disrepair. When the tenant eventually left he had been in tenancy for over 11 years.
As Rob was in the Middle East it was important that the rent arrears was dealt with in a timely manner and he was represented at court for the possession hearing. The decision was made to re-let the apartment so a significant revamp was needed after the 11 years of tenancy.
We decided to opt our client in to our Rent Guarantee product; this was done as a blanket transfer in 2016. In total once the tenant was evicted he owed £4,771.89 in rent arrears plus interest and legal costs. Fortunately, Rob was not out-of-pocket as the rent guarantee policy covered all the rent arrears plus legal expenses associated with the eviction. Please see video below which tells of the procedure and you’ll also see the state of the living room in the background:
We attended court on the landlord’s behalf and also met at the bailiff and locksmith at the property to conduct the formal eviction. What’s more, the tenant even had the audacity to appoint a locksmith of his own to regain entry to the property to recover some personal items. There is a copy of the checkout report below to show you the extent of what we were up against:
To view file press the “Ctrl” key and left click the link below
https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:EU:7063d069-555a-4089-8add-4445424dfbd6
Once we eventually got possession of the apartment the objective was the get the property turned around as quickly as possible. First and foremost the property needed emptying of all the tenant’s belongings and waste. It wasn’t an easy job, particularly as it’s located on the third floor.
The kitchen needed to be updated as well as deep cleaning throughout, redecorating, reflooring and bathroom attention. We appointed 4 different contractors in total to complete the works so it was an extensive project. Please see the video below which shows the finished result:
Rob was thrilled with the final result, yes it cost a significant amount to revamp but the tenant had been in there for over 11 years so would have needed attention regardless. Most importantly the landlord was not out-of-pocket in terms of rent arrears and legal costs so it proves how essential it is to protect your rental income as you never know what may happen!
Here is a copy of the review left by Rob:
I am an overseas landlord and the rent guarantee set up by Belvoir has saved me in the region of £4,000 in back rent and legal fees, a great recommendation and service from the team at Belvoir.
For more information on how we could help with managing your rental property in Congleton then please call our office on 01260 272737.