Tenant offering to pay 6 months rent up front

Reply to the comment left by "Ben Reeve-Lewis" at "10/01/2014 - 13:48":

I agree with all that Ben, however, prevention is far better than detection, hence the points I've raised 🙂

Telling all prospective tenants that you always to an inspection within the first few months should help to put the bad guys off. if that doesn't, the referencing to RGI acceptance level definitely will 😉
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I think the inspection is the clincher. Although the farms themselves arent the model of sophistication, they can afford to lose a few, the gangs behind them are very organised.

Usually Vietnamese around my area but not everywhere. A colleague tells me Russian in Leamington Spa and I have heard a few Afghans in Somerset..

The person the landlord or the agent meets is what the american's call a Patsy, a front. Often putting their name and contacts up for a cash payment from the gang who never set foot in the place, which is usually run by poor people whose family is under threat by the same gang.

One person I met who foolishly agreed to let them use his shop as a front got cold feet and wanted out. the gang demanded £16,000 as an exit clause. When he refused a bullet was posted through his letterbox and the next day his house was firebombed.

The places frequently catch fire too.

It annoys me when people not in the know make comments about a 'Little bit of weed for a Saturday night" when they dont realise that that baggy gets in their pocket by way of people trafficking, blackmail and death trap properties.

I have offered to go into several local estate agents who have been caught out and offer them a quick talk on how to spot the signs but nobody is interested once that money gets slammed down on the table.

Anyway I'll shut up now. I'm dragging this off-post 🙂

Reply to the comment left by "Ben Reeve-Lewis" at "10/01/2014 - 14:07":

You raised a very important new point in your penultimate paragraph Ben.

Naive agents fall for the scam all the time and less scrupulous ones don't care. They seem to struggle seeing beyond getting their entire six months letting commission paid up front. When the 5H1T hits the fan they show sympathy for the landlord at best and protest their innocence but guess who pays for the damage?
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Reply to the comment left by "Ben Reeve-Lewis" at "10/01/2014 - 14:07":

I agree with eveything you say and the sentiment behind it.

However as you said in a previous post, you do deal with the grubby end of the market, and there can be genuine reasons for a decent tenant offering to pay 6 months up front.

So - I suggest this new landlord take all of the advice, ask lots of questions and then make an informed decision.

Reply to the comment left by "Sue P" at "10/01/2014 - 14:39":

Totally agree Sue.

........................but do a courtesy visit 6 weeks in with a bottle of wine to be on the safe side haha

Reply to the comment left by "Ben Reeve-Lewis" at "10/01/2014 - 14:43":

i have discovered several smaller cannabis farms in the last two years. Two of them i was gob-smacked when i found them after the tenant left - butter would not have melted in those tenant's mouths - the height of respectability. However, to my horror they had also tapped into the neighbour's electricity supply via making a hole in the roof party wall and attaching their equipment to her cables. they had cunningly covered the hole they had made with a black plastic sheet, so it was only when my plumber went up into the roof space to mend a leak that we found the hole and realised the extent of their theft.

Having said that - i currently have a 6-months-rent-upfront tenant and she is sound. We did check her out thoroughly before agreeing to house her. She was working for a temp. agency and no one else would give her a property. i do trust my agent 100% she has the "nose" for a baddun as good as any i have come across.

Hi,

Having been letting property for over twenty years I have seen most tricks, however I still learn every day, so the best policy is always, always be cautious. As Mark states make sure every document is correct with every 't' crossed and every 'i' dotted. I have taken twelve months rent in advance from a lady (broken marriage) who had a lovely family who with no credit scoring of her own, she needed security in knowing the family had a roof over their heads. She stayed in the same house for six years and was a model tenant. I have always taken property owning guarantors on all tenants, and since the financial melt down I insist on two guarantors for added security for me.

Reply to the comment left by "Ben Reeve-Lewis" at "10/01/2014 - 13:48":

ideally visits should be every month (isnt that what agents are supposed to do). for new tenants we do first inspection even sooner to make sure we get off on right start from beginning. dont understand need for wine or subterfuge...surely landlord is not doing anything wrong by carrying out a periodic inspection.

Every month ? If i were a tenant i would think that wholly unreasonable.

Joe there is periodic and there is "PERIODIC????"

You have to ask yourself "If I was a tenant and my landlord kept coming around to visit the property every month would it make want to leave?", because the definition of the criminal offence of harassment in Section 1 (3)a; of the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 is acts that are done that are 'LIKELY' to cause the residential occupier to give up their accommodation.

Periodic visits are totally acceptable and advisable but every month could p[ut a landlord in a tricky position. Even if a council took no action under the PFEA then the actions can still be considered as a civil offence of "Breach of covenant for quiet enjoyment".

You have to balance out reasonable safeguards with a tenant's rights to occupy peacefully without interference or being treated like a naughty school child.

Micro-managing like that is also just as stressful on the landlord. I was one once, I wouldnt do it again, I think there are easier ways of making a living. Cannabis farming for instance haha