It’s always a worry for landlords and do you know what I deal with the fall out so it’s a worry for me too as a letting agent.
So what does Belvoir do tenant referencing and property management wise that might be different to your typical Estate Agents?
Do you know who you are renting out your property to? How do you know that the person you meet is the person they say they are, and not planning on sub letting your home? Would you knowingly want to be involved with dodgy tenants, or would you rather steer clear of them? Ok enough of the leading questions! We all know where we stand.
Fright Night on Lettings Street
What if your tenant ruins your property, destroys the new carpets, places locks on the outside of the living room so they can sub-let or runs a cannabis factory from home? Where do you stand – probably not where you want to be, that’s for sure. Your month and a half’s deposit won’t touch the side of the problem. We taken on property where this has happened and had reports of these horror stories from some of our seasoned landlords, who all had enough experience to cope with such matters. But many other landlords decide to pack it in altogether after this sort of thing happens.
The key issue when letting is that this is a people business. I’s all about how you deal with them and how they interact with you, how you pick the good from the bad in the first place, and how do you know who to trust? If you don’t do thorough good due diligence on your new tenants at the start of the relationship then the truth is you won’t ever know.
Tenancies Which Go To Court
3.4% of tenancies in Hillingdon resulted in court action in 2011. When throwing two dice your odds of rolling a double six are 2.78% Played enough games and you will roll a double six. It’s soon going to happen to someone. Frankly better it’s the next landlord or the next letting agent.
In fairmess the vast majority of tenants and applicants we come across are decent.
Marry in haste, repent at leisure….
We take our time over references. They take as long as they take for us to complete a through review and get the information back from relavent parties who often need a good chase. They have to be complete.
“Marry in haste, repent at leisure….” when moving a stranger into your three bed semi in Hillingdon which costs the best part of half a million pounds.
Employment References
So any tenants who apply for a property I want to take up references from their current addresses and take a detailed history of previous addresses, I also want to contact their employer to confirm salary and also that their contact of employment covers them for the whole period of the tenancy agreement.
We also check carefully for CCJs or financial default. I want to know because these tell me if the tenant is a financial risk you and I could well do without.
Shame on Those Who Think Evil Of It*
I also want to check documents, especially passports and visas in my document reading machine which can read the document and chip in the passport to guarantee it’s a genuine document.
We let tenants know we’ll call round after a month to make sure they have settled in okay and got to grips with everything at the property – oh did I mention, I’ll be back in a few months and every few months after that, just to keep an eye on the property. I am very clear about this when I show tenants the property so that it will put of people that I want it to put off. People who have nothing to worry about don’t!
Belvoir Service
You see at Belvoir, our landlords get the protection from the detailed level of service and tenant referencing we offer. What we want our landlords to understand is that we do know our applicants even before they become our tenants, and that’s one of the things you pay your monthly fee towards.
*This is the motto of the Order of the Garter and which appears on the front of UK passports as Honi soit qui mal y pense. Which is Anglo-Norman for Evil to those who think Evil of it….. but I am sure you remember that from your Anglo-Norman lessons!
