Tips for ‘tenant proofing’ your property

Reply to the comment left by "Peter Hindley" at "02/09/2014 - 18:57":

Use quality grout and sealants and check them at least annually.

Showers over baths often cause problems due to water escape regardless of whether you fit shower curtains or screens, both of which also add another layer of problems. Wherever possible have both shower bath separate , if not I find showers are better than baths because tenants will also ask for shower fitments on a bath.

If you have a shower and a bath your property will be appealing to more tenants. If you only have a shower and no bath that will be more attractive to the majority of tenants than a bath but no shower in my experience.
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Reply to the comment left by "All BankersAreBarstewards Smith" at "02/09/2014 - 18:49":

HAHA - but if Carling made marketing people .................. 🙂 🙂 🙂
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Reply to the comment left by "All BankersAreBarstewards Smith" at "02/09/2014 - 17:12":

That only comes about when a tenant has the gas/electric account on a quarterly basis - in comes the bill for several hundred pounds and they cannot afford to pay it. The power supplier agrees not to disconnect them - if they agree to have a pre-pay meter fitted. Every time they top-up the meter, an agreed portion of the money goes to pay off the arrears.

Except of course that after a few weeks or months, they do a bunk, leaving a large sum outstanding on a pre-pay meter.

If there had been a pre-pay meter in the first place, it would not have come to this.

Silly mistake that I made was putting quality vinyl down in the kitchen. One hot item dropped on the floor means the whole lot including the levelling screed has to be ripped up. Use Wicks cheapest tiles. Pay a good tiler. He will moan that the tiles are not as precise in size as more expensive examples but you will save money both in the short term and later. It doesn't matter if the tiler rejects quite a few tiles. The remainder can be used as the cuts or just kept as replacements for cuts if required. They are also robust and about as cheap as you will find.
I used expensive Magnolia paint (Johnsons) and I found that washing the wall and painting over those marks that remained brought it up like new. I'm not sure if everyday paint is that good.

Advice your tenants that they cannot change any colour scheme without your written express permission, recently one of my tenant left my property in a disgusted state, having defaulted rent by 7 months and when finally left after I had to serve her a s21, I had to paint all the rooms 3 times over as she used disgustingly deep shades like deep purple, deep blue, horrible red, and deep pink and that also in vinal, which is like oil paint! which meant that when you paint matt, it would not cling easily on that surface, it was complete nightmare, and also fix all smaller problems before they become bigger problems or lead to more complications, like another one of my tenant did not report a small problem with a tap that needed a new washer, so it was trickling water all the time, (fixed water charges obviously) but one day they went to work in a hurry, leaving the tap leaking a small stream, and the sink was partially blocked, so it overflew and flooded the downstairs flat, causing another tenant who lived downstairs to call the police thinking the tenant above may have collapsed as the water was dripping into his child cot, so the police came in busted 3 of my doors, to get in, found no sign of anyone collapsed, but saw the bathroom sink overflowing, then closed the water mains, and left a note apologising for the broken doors! That I had to fix at my own expense. pay the downstairs tenant for a new baby mattress, and repaint his ceiling, But I claimed through the amount through my tenants for being negligent and not notifying me that one of the taps needed attention, but there you go, each property to its own problems, best is to make regular inspection which are far more important than anything else, keep on top of any repairs, and keep tenants from abusing or exploiting your property.

The only way to "tenant proof" a property is to never rent it out .....

One thing is certain, if it is unbreakable a tenant will find a way to break it and manage to blame you, the item or Uncle Tom Cobbly as he/she will have been out at the time it suddenly imploded for some bizarre, inexplicable reason, or the original photos didn't show that gaping hole - "but it was definitely there before we moved in....", or "we pointed it out to the inventory clerk but he/she forgot to make a note, but we did - look!!!" That's why we have so many arguments over deposits.

Just fit reasonable quality items and simple white ceramics then imagine every tenant will mistreat them, so make them as water resistant & hardy as possible and expect the unexpected, then when it happens you'll be able to fix quickly & move on.

I always do a pre-vacating inspection around a month before any tenant leaves to help them prepare for leaving. I lift every rug, covering, picture etc., to find all the damages they are trying to hide from me and require these to be repaired before they leave. A classic is a toilet cistern lid with a doily covering it and/or tape holding it together underneath. I've found two broken over the years and if it's a coloured suit & you can't find a matching replacement it can end up a mess or with a complete bathroom suite being replaced - very expensive and rarely covered by a deposit.

R

My most important tip would be..... accept that a void is better than installing a bad tenant ... it can cost a fortune to get one out... and a few mortgage payments would be nothing in comparison.

If you are new to landlording, or new to an area, research a lot until you get a few private landlords' opinions as to who is the good agent in town (IF there is one); make sure you see all the tenant's credit checks, references, bank statements (4-6 months) etc etc before agreeing they can become your tenant; if your gut instinct says 'no' - trust it.... and refuse; always make especially careful investigations about a prospective tenant who wants to move into your property in a hurry - there are rarely good reasons for this; always get a guarantor - if their family wont act as a guarantor why should you trust them ? Inspect the property 3 months into the AST - If they refuse, issue a Section 21 immediately.

But mostly - try to develop a good working relationship with them, being calm and professional and interested inyour tenants as people, not just as "rent-cash-cows", will pay dividends in the long run.

Re: All BankersAreBarstewards Smith
That's about as wise a piece of advice as anyone could give.

Use scrubbable (Johnsons Durable or Dulux)wall paint, note your products to purchase the same next time.

Hi Smithy If you leave the electric and gas accounts in your name and the tenant fiddles the meter are you not held responsible as the account holder.