Which deposit protection scheme?

Reply to the comment left by "Paul Green" at "01/03/2017 - 16:33":

Thats the beauty - we all have different ideas on how to run our portfolios.

They're not going to be driving my properties away. I know who they are and where they come from and have a detailed history.

So if needs be, I can issue court proceedings should it come to it.

On a £1,000 deposit - versus a £5,000 cannabis farm - you only get the £1,000 back anyway.

So it's a risk.

In 19 years I've only had one cannabis farm.

So thats 19 years x 12 months a year at say £50 a month extra ?

That's £11,400 I've missed out on.

Of course it's not a straight line and so it's impossible to say for certainty - but then imagine that figure over a portfolio.

Anyway - it works for me, it may or may not work for others - but it's a different method of dealing with deposits - I hate taking deposits - this way is much easier.

Different people doing different stuff - whatever works for them really. Or not as the case may be.

Reply to the comment left by "Mark Lynham" at "01/03/2017 - 15:27":

I've been using reposit since last year and it does the best of both, the tenant still pays something but you get six weeks of cover without having to do any registration. Not a fan of DPS either, TDS is the best of the schemes but deposits are way to high now.

I do a mix depending on the property and the tenant.
Each one I see as an individual business so I decide accordingly at the time
If I take one I use insurance based with My Deposits. I like to control the money and never had a dispute i couldn't resolve reasonably myself

Quite often I do what Daniel does and collect a higher monthly rent instead .
I often used not to take a deposit on my LHA ones. They simply didn't have it . Or I may take £50 which to them was the equivalent of £500 so it showed a personal commitment .

I bought downtrodden properties and selected tenants who may not have a deposit but were willing to move in straight away enhance them and add value over time. I should have in fact paid some of them back at the end of the tenancy. due to the work they had put in at their own time and expense.

I've had tenants put in new flooring bathrooms and kitchens all at their own expense.
I target and select tenants often who have trade skills.
Four of my tenants are part of my maintenance team
Its all in the tenant selection for me. If you interview well and in depth you get a good tenant Once in a while you make a misjudgment and get caught out but over the 18 years I have done it the positives easily outweigh the negatives . But deposits are really because you don`t trust someone. I don`t want people in my houses that i don`t trust.