Author Archives: Steve Roulstone Marla

01Feb 2012

Lettings News: Are Landlords Fully Aware of Their Responsibilities?

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By Craig Smith

There are many reasons why someone may want to let out their home. A lot of home owners at the moment are struggling to sell their property but still need to move on with their lives, perhaps a job offer in a different part of the country or moving abroad. Putting a tenant into the property can keep the mortgage paid and the house looked after whilst the Landlord is away.

Basic Health & Safety

A lot of these Landlords can come into this situation knowing nothing at all about renting a property and it is our job to keep them on the right path. The Landlord would be responsible for ensuring that the property is safe, for example ensuring that any gas appliances are tested annually and that anything that the tenants are left with a safe environment to live in. Don’t forget that Landlords can (and have been) jailed for failing to ensure that their rental property is safe!

Then there are the less well known items that can catch out unsuspecting homeowners, such as ensuring that stairways are safe. One property that we looked after for a Landlord had no banister rail along the stairway and although it did look great, something did need to be done before a tenant moved in to prevent any accidents occurring. A simple banister was fitted in order for the stairs to be deemed safer, the Landlord would much rather have a small expense at the start of the tenancy than a claim for damages from an injured tenant!

General Repairs

Repairs also need to be covered by the Landlord throughout the tenancy, not just to the building itself but also to any items that have been left for use by the tenant. Of course, if a property has been let furnished and a tenants pet has ripped the cover on a sofa then the tenant would be liable for the damage. But it is the Landlord who should cover any wear & tear such as a cooker breaking down or rotten window frames.

Who Can Carry Out the Repairs?

For general repairs such as gardening or decorating a lot of Landlords prefer to do this themselves which will help to reduce any costs but for more specialist items such as electrics, qualified contractors need to be used. Some of the most well known include using a GasSafe registered engineer for works to gas appliances and most electrical works that are carried out must now be certified under Part P building regulations. 

01Feb 2012

Property Landlord advice: Basic Health and Safety for Landlords

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By Mike Edwards.

Todays post by Mike Edwards, represents information that the Castle Estates group have been posting for many yeras, but just never changes. Giveing truth to the old adage, you just cant beat good advice!

Many landlords are still blissfully unaware of even basic health and safety rules when leaving their properties for rental, according to The Association of Independent Inventory Clerks (AIIC). For example, one in ten rented properties have items such as soft furnishings, bedding and furniture that do not have the required fire & furnishing compliance labels and have to be removed. What’s more, AIIC members are still finding the dubious – and illegal – practice of landlords ‘selling’ odd items of furniture, without fire & furnishing compliance labels, to incoming tenants.

 It is also of course illegal to let the tenants happen to ‘find’ an ideal piece of furniture outside the back door and for the Landlord to offer to ‘hire’ the furniture for a peppercorn rent. Pat Barber, of  The AIIC, comments, “A recent tenant told us – ‘I bought the sofa for £1, it’s really old and tatty, but a great bargain.’ When we pointed out that he would have to take it with him or dispose of it at his own cost when he moved out he was not quite so excited.” But more to the point what the Landlord had done, to circumvent the regulations, was totally illegal and an offence punishable by at least a fine and heaven forbid had there been an injury or fatality that involved the illegal sofa,  a custodial sentence.

We ourselves see time and time again, properties with fire hazards such as gas cylinders and chemicals stored incorrectly by the landlord. There was such a case a few years ago where a discarded cigarette end ignited petrol being stored at the rear of the property fortunately in this case by the tenant. All landlords must ensure that all the soft furnishing, bedding and furniture is fire retardant with the correct labels and that hazardous materials are not stored in the property or garage. The motto must be “If in doubt, throw it out”

AIIC has identified the top 10 most common health and safety issues found in rented properties:

•          Non-compliant furniture, bedding and soft furnishings         

•          Loose sockets and light switches           

•          No smoke alarms or monoxide detectors fitted         

•          Obscured gas meters and electricity mains fuse boxes        

•          Curtain tracks and blinds where screws have been put directly into the wall
              without using rawl plugs

•          Loose/damaged steps, paving outside the property 

•          Loose stair carpet  

•          Poorly maintained decking          

•          Air vents and air bricks covered in rooms especially where there are gas
            appliances

•          Locked windows with no keys supplied

27Jan 2012

Current Property News: Conflicting reports on housing market, but confidence starting to appear.

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By Steve Roulstone

It would seem that nobody can agree on how the property market is going to perform this year, with the same news being reported at both ends of the scale in news that has been released today. It just makes decisions so much harder for the ‘man in the street’ who  appears once again to have started to look with interest at property as a favourable route for investment.

The only way is up!

It was said on a BBC news report recently (sorry I forget the context) that the property market should be interesting for potential investors, as the only way was up! But it seems that different parties are still prepared to place the slant that is more relevant to them when market information is released, with the Mortgage Provider giving a positive slant to the news and  a community site taking the same information and presenting it in a negative light!

Professional view.

But what we are noticing is confirmation that people are reviewing property and making that decision about investing through ‘Buy to Let’ once again. Only today I have been to value two brand new properties that are nearing completion and the builder has decided that it is in his best interest to retain and rent the properties rather than sell them now, because of the perceived growth over the next few years. This was not a decision I had to encourage, it was a decision that had already been made before I even met the Landlord. What it does prove, is that professionals feel that the market has probably bottomed out or is very close to doing so.

Individual investment.

The same then happened when I returned to the office to find a couple that had dropped in for advise (I am very pleased to say because of recommendation!) who again, had already decided to ‘Buy to Let’ and were looking for information about where to buy as well as what type of house. It was good to see such confidence from both parties, who represented both the general public and the housing industry, both in just one day.

Differing responses.

Now I know as well as anybody, that one swallow does not make an English summer! But it would be good to see figures such as those reported today given in just the plain context of what they say, rather than opinion of what they represent when translation of information can mean different things to different bodies, but it does seem that gone are the days when news was reported and we were all allowed to come to our own conclusion about what that news meant to ourselves!

26Jan 2012

Current Landlord advice: Furniture repair services in Staffordshire – ‘Top of the class’

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By Steve Roulstone

 

Our job as Letting Agents sometimes means we get involved with tasks which just cannot be expected and can stretch our knowledge and capability beyond what we would expect. One such case has just happened to us in our office in Stafford when a Landlord from overseas had damage (accidental in this case)caused  to an antique item of furniture. What we needed to do for both the incoming Tenant and the overseas Landlord, was find somebody to carry out the repair as a matter of urgency and one that would be both efficient and not cost a fortune.

Looking for the impossible.

Do such situations exist I hear you ask? Well that was what we thought as well with the full knowledge that we would probably struggle to find a furniture repair Company that would overcharge us, never mind one that would make a problem go away by carrying out a repair at a reasonable cost!

Good British endeavour.

What we found and I am pleased to say without too much effort, not only fitted the bill, but restored my faith in human nature at the same time! Timothy Warr Antique Restoration services in Staffordshire, has won the dubious honour of being the first property related (well just) Company to receive a recommendation through these pages! Not bad considering we have been going now for two posts a week for 18 months!

That’s what I call service!

What Tim did, in making special arrangements to allow us to drop the furniture off when he was not present at his workshop, carrying out the repair in good time and charging a very reasonable fee for what proved to be a highly professional job, was all put into real context when we turned up to pick up the said table, without the ability to pay! Even so, he allowed us to take the goods with the promise of payment and allow us to complete the task in hand in good time and let me not forget, that the repair was so good it is almost impossible to tell that it had been damaged in the first place!

Payment made with pleasure.

We have now paid Tim in full, but it has been a pleasure to find not only a professional in his field, but a good business man to boot who could see the pickle we were in and allowed us to complete our task without delay – thanks Tim, as well as hoping that this Blog helps in its small way, we will continue to recommend you whenever and wherever the need arises!! And P.S. yes that is Tim in the picture!

24Jan 2012

Tenant issues: Tenants resort to payday loans to pay rent.

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By Mike Edwards.

 

During 2011 when in theory the latest credit crunch has still really to hit home, data shows that almost one million people have had to take out a payday loan at 4,000% within the last year to pay their rent or mortgage. In total, seven million borrowers and tenants are relying on some form of credit to pay their housing costs.

As well as payday loans, struggling borrowers and tenants are taking out unauthorised overdrafts and other loans, or using credit cards. A survey carried out by YouGov for Shelter asked 4,014 people if they had used these forms of credit to help pay their rent or mortgage in the last 12 months.

One in seven respondents (15%) said yes.

These shocking findings which show the extent to which millions of households across the country are desperately struggling to keep their home. Turning to short-term payday loans to help pay for the cost of housing is a totally unsustainable form of financial existence.

Unfortunately following hot on the heels of lax banking regulation it appears the UK offers easy pickings and slow retribution for the world’s payday lenders who have been regulated out of other countries and find a far more relaxed regime given our lax supervision.

That is why these 4,000% APR lenders are exploding across British high streets. Yet the astronomical APRs aren’t the real danger – that comes from the rollover penalties where people cannot repay at the end of the month. Then what was intended only to be a short term emergency provision allows the compound interest rates to kick in.

There is now strong evidence now of people using payday loans to meet every day needs too not just to pay housing costs. Many households struggling with core rent or mortgage commitments will of course struggle to repay payday loans on time too.

17Jan 2012

Property Landlord advice: Self Management leaves Agents unprotected.

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By Steve Roulstone

We have had an interesting experience this week, where a property which was fully managed, has changed to self Management where we only provide the Tenant. The issue here was that the Landlord, having visited the Tenant, was left with the feeling that we had failed to protect them when under full management and had given poor service to the new Tenants because we were no longer instructed to manage.

Tenants advised the Landlord.

The main issue is relating to what the Landlord had been told by the Tenant, which left the Landlord needing confirmation that we had looked after them, no matter what service we were offering. Without repeating the details in full, suffice to say, that by confirming our normal processes, which included signatures confirming the receipt of information and the ability to prove timings through photographic evidence taken at the check in, the Landlord was left understanding that we had done the right thing and carried out our role professionally. The interesting point for me, is that had there not had been other issues, the Landlord may not have had cause to contact us at all and the only result may have been our dis-instruction, without even knowing why!

The bigger picture.

The reason for us being able to prove our case surrounded what had happened with the previous Tenant, as an extension had been built, without the Landlords knowledge at the next door property. The reason the Landlord phoned and mentioned the suggested lack of service to the new Tenants, was to see how this had happened without their knowledge. The answer was really straight forward, the past Tenants had failed to forward mail that was intended for the owners advising them of the neighbours plans and therefore failed to give the Landlord the opportunity to have their feelings taken in too account.

All points covered.

We were able to prove that our agreement included a clause confirming that the Tenant was supposed to forward all mail intended for the Landlord, especially that of an important nature and this is what they failed to do. We were also able to confirm that the agreement banned Tenants from interfering with the supply of services to the property, which was another issue that had been raised. The result of this event, confirms just how important it is to have an agreement whose basis is centred around the protection of the Landlord (and in our case is based upon 30 years of experience) and that ’of the shelf’ agreements have their rightful place – on the shelf!

Consequences.

The serious side is that because of adhering to processes, we were able to confirm our service had been proper and correct and that the Landlord, who of course had gone to self management because there had been no problems over the previous seven years, had received the services that had been paid for. In doing so we were also able to demonstrate that the agreement we use is there to protect the Landlord and clauses do have a purpose.  The Landlord left with the knowledge that they could pursue the previous Tenant for actions that had left them disadvantaged, but this time, because of self Management, the letter would have to be written by themselves, rather than by us!

13Jan 2012

Tenant issues: Notice to leave must be correct.

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By Steve Roulstone

One issue which happens again and again is the need for a Tenants notice, to be in line with the rental payment period and time and again, we receive notices which do not reflect the correct timescale. The problem that has arisen in our offices this month, highlights another way in which this occurs and despite the fact that I have written about this before, I feel that there is an additional point here which could help to both clarify and assist in enabling Tenants to get this right.

Last person to hear.

The problem this week, in both cases, was that we ended up being the last person to hear what the Tenant was planning, and it has struck me that the reason is because it is highly likely (confirmed in one of the cases I am referring to) that the Tenant feels that when notice is given, it is not what we wish to hear and will be looked on as bad news. This is of course, not the case. In fact, when available property stocks for marketing are low, exactly the opposite!

Minds at rest.

The issue for the Tenant is to be assured that when they advise us of their intention to leave, it will not be bad news and that by being involved from day one we may be able to assist the timing and circumstances surrounding the move to the benefit of all concerned. Certainly advance notice as far as the Landlord is concerned is always good news and should we be able to allow the existing Tenant to leave early (only of course when a new Tenant is moving in to replace them) nobody is disadvantaged.

Keeping people informed.

The media is quick to jump on any situation where Tenants are ill informed and rightfully so, but if we can re-assure our Tenants from day one that any news, including the desire to move on, is welcome, then perhaps we can save ourselves and all involved the problems that occur when we have to point out that the notice, which normally coincides with the date they have already arranged to move, is not actually in line with the payment dates and (at times) still has a further three weeks to run for which they remain liable!

Communication.

So, not so much Location, Location , location – more Communication – well you can see where I am going. At Stafford we will be introducing notification which tries to assure the Tenants that any news will be treated equally by our office, no matter what and try to encourage them to advise us as soon as they are able when they are considering moving, so at the very least, they understand the existing liability and need to serve notice in the correct manner. But the issue here is not what we say to Tenants, rather what Tenants say to us, because it is they who need to improve their communications and all we can do is encourage them to speak to us.

Point of contact.

How we deal with this, because we have a busy office where any tenant may find themselves speaking with any of our different Agents, is ensure that the person who originally moved them in to the property, deals with them through to and including the Check in and out. Therefore they will be referred to somebody they already know and that, hopefully, makes it easier for Tenants to speak with us!!

12Jan 2012

Current Property News: Mortgage arrears climb as Tenants struggle.

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By Mike Edwards

Arrears are set to rise in the buy-to-let market, as more landlords face having to deal with tenants who cannot keep up their rent payments. According to research by Templeton LPA, a specialist practice of LPA Receivers, the number of court orders to evict tenants is up by 11%. In the last quarter, 24,966 tenants faced eviction notices – an increase of 11% on 22,558 a year ago. The number of tenants in severe financial difficulty has also shot up in the last three months, says the firm and during the last quarter of 2011, there were nearly 11,400 more tenants over two months in arrears than in the same period of 2010 – a rise of 18%.             

At the end Q4 2011, nationally there were 78,970 tenants in England and Wales in severe arrears.              

It is clear that a growing minority of renters are falling deeper and deeper into payment difficulties, and the number of severe arrears cases is rising. While the wider tenant mix has changed since the mortgage market downturn – with a greater number of financially sound yet frustrated first-time buyers – a growing number of tenants are seeing their job prospects affected by the UK’s economic malaise. Arrears levels on buy-to-let mortgages have not yet felt the impact of growing severe tenant arrears and evictions, but this would change this year. In the last quarter of 2011, the number of buy-to-let mortgages more than three months in arrears fell by 7% compared to the previous quarter, representing an annual decline of 17%.
However, at 26,300, there are still more than five times as many buy-to-let mortgages in severe arrears compared with Q3 2006.       
 
Mortgage rates have kept monthly payments low, but there has also been a change in landlords’ behaviour. With capital gains falling by the wayside in the past six months on higher loan to value BTL properties as their values fall  rental income has become the most important component in an investor’s annual return – but it also pays a landlord’s mortgage cheque. As a result, many landlords are being less lenient with tenants facing initial payment problems, and are looking to use court orders to replace tenants quickly in expectation of finding a financially sound substitute – and potentially an increased rent. However it is highly likely that mortgage arrears will climb this year and that both overall arrears and severe arrears will rise. This in turn will feed into increased tenant evictions and hamper a growing number of landlords’ ability to meet their monthly mortgage costs.

10Jan 2012

Property Landlord advice: Utility Warehouse still getting it wrong.

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By Steve Roulstone

Last year I had cause to write a Blog about the manner in which Utility Warehouse try to invoice Landlords when they have closed their account and the Tenant has not sorted the new supply out to their satisfaction. Not because they had not been contacted, not even because they had no contact details for the Tenant, no, purely because they were not satisfied with the manner in which the new account had been opened.

12 Months on?

No change, even though at the time, I had several long involved conversations with them about the letters I was receiving, even though the Tenant was doing everything possible to pay for their own account, Utility Warehouse continued to write to me as if the outstanding invoice was my responsibility. I can assure you the resulting phone calls were many and heated, but it took something like six weeks to straightened matters out and confirm the new Tenant was in deed, responsible for their own costs!

Time for another letter.

It was not that they had written again or even the consequences of the content of the letter that has dismayed me this time, but the fact that they had failed to close my account, even though their operatives tried to tell me they had (strange because the letter had my name and the same old account number on it!) Well, I say my name; they had managed to change the spelling and actually written to my next door neighbour therefore having the wrong address.

Unbelievable arrogance.

The letter was a request to set up a Direct Debit because mine had just been closed and whilst I have to admit that when I first called, my temper was not at its best, I did not take kindly to the UW representative trying to tell me they must be correct and that I was wrong in my assumptions, even when I asked what dates they had on the account and she confirmed it had closed in August 2010, the penny did not drop. I left her to work out that if the account had been closed in 2010 there was no longer any need for a DD to be set up!

Human error or system.

I called again! The excuse for the error, for error it obviously was, was what really gets to me about such organisations, because they tried to tell me that the letter with the old account number on it, with the change of spelling of my name and my next door neighbours address, must have been a technical error. Now is it me? Or is it blindingly difficult for a computer to randomly contact me a year after our last contact, with the name spelt wrong and at the wrong address? No, to me this must be human error and it just raises huge questions about the manner in which they operate.

Do they care?

The reaction that you receive from UW confirms without doubt that the answer is no, they really don’t, I laughed sarcastically at their representative when he said it was computer error and he indignantly asked me why I was laughing. Well the actual answer is the frustration of dealing with them, what he got was me asking if he wanted to know the full story of my dealings with them because then he might just understand! No they do not care and I would love somebody to convince me differently, because as all Letting Agents are aware, the most difficult and unorganised companies we have to deal within our day to day dealings would be confirmed by everybody as Utility Companies!!

 

04Jan 2012

Current Property News: New Year wish list for Letting Agents

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By Steve Roulstone

Happy New Year everybody and I hope that 2012 delivers what you wish for especially in these difficult financial times. If you like me you do believe in the New Year bringing in a wave of optimism with it (always have been an optimist, even though some would have you believe I am just another grumpy old man!) then you too will have a wish list of what you hope the year will deliver. For what it is worth, here is mine:

Continued growth

In the last few years of financial difficulties the one thing that has shone through as a person working in the property industry is that the uncertainty in housing prices has only added to the instability we are suffering. I believe that the figures for the last three quarters of the year are stabilizing (told you I was an optimist) and I wish for continued growth and stability in house prices. Small growth (with seasonal fluctuations that a slow growth market gives us and is what I believe we are now seeing) will help confidence come back to our market and is something all markets will benefit from.

Safe Agent achieves the recognition it deserves

The new ‘Kite Mark’ for professional standards in our industry deserves support from every Letting Agent who has the same standards and wishes to see professionalism receive its due reward (Should be the same in any industry) Too often the reason given for not joining professional bodies or schemes is because it means nothing to the customer – no it never will do until everybody joins in!! Why membership is not used as a reason for customers choosing your Company above non members is something I have never understood!

Professional status enters the world of politic debate again!

But what our Industry needs more than anything else is that Politicians realise how important professional qualification IS needed. The reasoning given for the present Government dropping the plans of the last are cost based alone and would re-introduce much needed credence to a sector of the housing market which is growing in unprecedented numbers year upon year at present. Rented property is not only here to stay, but has to be considered as a major player in the housing market and as such deserves the professional recognition that the numbers demand.

Professional bodies push for recognition

But in order for us to get the best out of any legislation introduced or changes made, we need our professional bodies to sing from the same hymn sheet and as loud and as often as possible. I understand Gareth Malone is looking for a new challenge, well here’s one for him, because until the bodies present a stabilized and combined front, the Government will continue to have an excuse not to listen. We are very capable of self policing any qualification and we need the Government to recognise this more than ever, right now!

Market recognition of the difference between Letting Agents and Estate Agents who run Letting departments.

All and sundry have now joined in the massive increase in numbers enjoyed in property renting over the last three years, either out of necessity, or recognition that our market can no longer be ignored. What we need to do is continually point out that professional qualified (Professional body recognition and membership) Letting Agents are as different from unqualified Agents as Beetroot and Radish (we may be the same colour but the taste will never be the same)! and it is only because anybody can open as a Letting agent without qualification that this has happened. Quality should always rise to the top and unless as an industry we continue to point this out, the difference will not be seen. Normally, it is only when problems arise, that the problems are spotted by which time the problem has already damaged the industry as another horror story hits the press.