Meet The Landlords TV programme – fair representation?

Just come across this and i can see there are quite a few varying opinions out there already. What is very clear is that as always, peopl only have half the facts and are quick to shoot people down, Pretty pathetic if you ask me.

Firstly The ASBO tenant, is not in any arrears, and keeps his house in immaculate condition, BUT no one was bothered about that were they

Secondly hes been in the new property 7 weeks now and is ahead in his rent and no issues at all, as he has the right support BUT no one bothered to ask that did they

Thirdly its MY house we put him in, so i was taking the risk BUT you wouldnt know that would you

Fourthly we got him the help and support from professional services he needed to turn his life around

Fifthly he was a nuisance due to the company he was keeping and since he has moved into a different area, hes been a model tenant

So next time you just to complete conclusions, try and get some clarity on the situation and ask questions.

Mark, I agree with all of your thoughts and comments on this programme. It really showed the bottom end of the market for what it is - a shambles.

Unfortunately, a lot of the problems associated with our industry seem to manifest from the shabby HMO culture that exists in many of our larger towns and cities. I cringe when I hear that perfectly good houses on decent developments are to be turned into HMO's. Eventually, no matter what good intentions the landlord may start off with, neighbours feel forced into selling up to escape the problems these properties cause and slowly the area descends into a mess. It has a knock-on effect and eventually devalues not only the landlord’s property but the whole area. Just look at the areas that many student flats are in. HMO's and crime infested areas go hand in hand.

No, I wouldn't label you as a snob but as a responsible person and landlord, who thankfully reflects the backbone of this countries private rental sector.

Hi John

Thanks for the update and let's hope, for your sake and for his new neighbours, that he doesn't "fall off the wagon".

I sincerely hope the guy get's better and that his life continues to improve.

This is one of those cases where I dearly hope you will come back in 12 months time and be able to tell me "hand on heart" that I was wrong, i.e. your solution was better than institutionalising the man.
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Dreadful programme ; young woman "never received a penny from her tenant" - so why did she not get at least a deposit and first month's rent? This was not explained. As for the HMO Daddy, why was he not embarrassed to be portrayed so negatively? A modern day Ebenezer Scrooge without the happy ending. A very bad press for the PRS and totally unbalanced. The only good thing is it might make people think carefully before entering the sector.

I watched the programme and I am a landlord -The HMO Daddy made me feel sick to my stomach - the lack of respect shown by his tenants towards him was generated by his lack of respect for them and it became a viscious circle. I make sure that the standard of my lets is excellent but I still know what it's like to get a bad tenant - I used a lettting agent, vetting procedures etc. My last tenant was a young local business man - very smart in his personal appearace, drove a mercedes, was from well off parents, passed credit checks and vetting procedures - unfortunately he lived like a pig and the place had to be decorated throughout after removal of 22 bags of rubbish, needles, vomit stained duvets, broken furniture etc etc. You can get bad tenants from all social "classes" - it is dangerous to stereotype. Would I let to an alcoholic? - I'm afraid not because the fact is that drink often comes before the rent and I cant afford to take that risk.

relpy to shirley above, i agree with you 100%. when i first started letting i let to a young man who's farther was a director of a well known garage group here in norwich, this young man lived worse than a pig, i was so pleased to see him go. but in another case i let to a couple who had been living on one of the worst council estates, the man worked in demolition , they proved to be some of the best tenants i have ever had. never judge by appearances, and certainly not by the flash car, most of these are on contract hire, or h.p. in any case.

Snob ha ha.
It was a bit like the Britain I know.
Oh here we go again, please don't attack me everyone, I've just got back off hol & am snowballed under-And still not done Mark's membership thing.
Was gonna' reply to Vanessa when she asked me if I watched it, but you're on here now, so yes watched it.
U can treat people with respect & yes should get it back, but sometimes they don't ruddy respect u or the property back.
I'm not gonna' defend Jim here, but did any of us see his properties BEFORE the tenant moved in. I know, 'cause I got slated on here for showing an 'after' video, without any Landlords knowing what I'd gave it the tenant like 3 years previously.
And I would give the lady with Cancer a house tomorrow with no deposit, nor rent up front.
I do think some got away lightly with how their houses were left. If some of mine were left like that, I'd jump for joy. A few holes in ceilings-Wow, that's birthday time.
Ha ha & now we get the truth on the ASBO man. Yes u clever Landlords, please understand you're sometimes commenting on only seeing half the story. But yes, it is early days for him, but who knows, could really look after that nice place.

I am a fan of HMO daddy. He is a landlord, I respect him as an educator. He is one of the few landlords, who is above that is heads and above the rest in imparting with knowledge. I picked up his training manual, which truly gold. He suggest putting HMOs near busy roads, or on edge of town so it does not cause nuisance... etc... lots of good advice. Being an HMO landlord is not for me, as I did n't want to deal with the tenants we saw on TV....

Someone asked, why would a landlord have training course. I think this is because he was a college professor. So he must want to teach!.

I am on HMO Daddy's marketing mailing list and and this is the email I received about the TV programme.

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Jim Haliburton - HMO Daddy here.

I recently appeared in BBC1's ‘Meet the Landlords'
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0377w72/Meet the Landlords/

which was viewed by 3.4 million viewers, this is high number of viewers for 10:30pm at night for BBC1.

I was surprised that I received so many positive comments (and several hundred new subscriptions to this mailing list) and only one negative one.

It was certainly fun to do though I had no say in the final product:, and would just like to bring to your attention a few items:-
I did not feel it really represented very well what I do, as it showed only my problem tenants which thankfully there are very, very few - less than 1% and did not show the appreciative, good ones.
Nor did it make it clear that I house a large number of working/professional tenants.
It did not make it clear that I have never evicted a tenant who could not pay the rent, only those who wilfully refused to pay the rent and are usually causing problems.
It also failed to show what the properties are like before the tenant moved in - here are a couple of pictures of one of our best properties, a Gothic gatehouse converted into studios, this may be an extreme example, but its a look we try to aim for for our cheaper studios.

The programme only showed how bad the properties were left after the tenants departed, with the inference that it is always the landlord's fault that the property is in such an awful state. They did not ask why a tenant chooses the property if the prospective tenant did not like it!

Nor was it mentioned that we deal with 90% of tenant requests for repairs within 48 hours of reporting the problem, and employ a team of 6 trademen full-time to deal with repairs.

The benefit for us landlords, from the feedback, is that it has put people off being a landlord! It benefited the landlord up north, Castledean, because he was shown in a positive light with a nice clean property and it has resulted in a lot of extra demand for him. I am sure that Castledean have the very same or even worse tenants and problems than I have.

Please feel free to call or email me to discuss any questions you may have about the programme or the range of courses l run to ease your way in owning and managing HMO Properties.

Regards

Jim Haliburton

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As a Landlord with a large portfolio in the N. East I can speak from experience. I'm a responsible landlord and that responsibility extends to myself to get the best possible tenants. There's no way I'd take the ASBO/drunk, I'd let him be somebody else's problem (and he will be a problem, leopards, spots and all that).

About 60% of my tenants used to be HB claimants. With HB cuts to 30th percentile, general benefit cuts, imminent introduction of Universal Benefit, and increasingly disaffected "benefit lifestylers" I now have a policy of no. H.B. If this means reducing the rent, so be it. The hassle, Admin and ultimately, cost doesn't make it worthwhile.

Reply to the comment left by "Anon " at "02/08/2013 - 01:28":

There u go people, two sides to every story.