Posts Tagged ‘letting’

Property Management – How To Deal With Late Payments

February 28th, 2010

There is nothing more annoying for a landlord than when their tenant that usually pays their rent on time starts going down the slippery slope of not paying on time or even worse not at all. However this is your fault too.

Why My Fault?

Anytime you take on a new tenant at one of your property’s it is your responsibility to set the rules and make sure they agree by them.

With all new tenants there is normally a learning curve, it’s your job to ensure that the time spent on this curve is as small as possible.

Just like all tenants are not the same, not all landlords are the same either, as a rule of thumb just assume that their previous landlord didnt mind late payments. This way you wont be shocked when it happens. Always ensure they know from the start thought that ths is not the way that you opperate.

The first way to make sure that you start of well is to have it clearly in the agreement how late fees will be dealt with. Normally this is a percentage of the rent plus additional cost per day that the payment is not received. Obviously you should include a maximum which he late fee will not go over.

Next is to contact the person and simply state that if payment is not sent within a specific time frame then you will be providing them with a letter which states either pay the rent or you will be evicted.

I’m not a lawyer and I don’t claim to be one so please seek advice on the laws in your area before taking my advice.

Next step to take should you still not receive the money is to deliver the letter demanding that they leave unless they pay immediately. Make them understand that this will affect them from now on when trying to rent.

The final stage if payment has not been received is to issue a letter for immediate eviction. Unless you have legal experience, this is always a job left up to the professionals. If not done correctly this can cause all sorts of trouble.

The only company I could really recommend and whom I still use myself are Learmonts. They have offices in both Glasgow and Paisley so are well suited to someone looking for Letting Agents Glasgow or Flats To let Glasgow. Follow any of those links for more!

Letting Agents Glasgow – Make The Right Choice

February 26th, 2010

With so many letting agents in Glasgow, how do you make sure you choose the one which is right for your needs? It’s a very important decision so you need to give it some thought.

Many people prefer to think of their chosen letting agency as an investor or a member of staff. Rememeber you are giving them control of a very valuable piece of property. I always advise people to take into account certain factors before making any decision.

Stand By Reputation:

Make a list of firms which you think are in with a chance of getting your business. The most reliable way to start doing this is just by what you have heard of the various companies around. Normally you won’t be long and finding out bad experiences, everyone has had a bad experience at some point with a letting agent.

Remember, any letting agent in Glasgow who doesn’t at the very least have some testimonials of satisfied customers on their website should be avoided at all costs.

Inside Information Is Always Useful:

Having someone manage your property who has inside information about the area your property is in can be at the difference between filling your property 6 months of the year or 12 months. It really is important.

If you are looking to have someone manage your properties in the Glasgow area then having a letting agency with an office in Glasgow is a must. While it’s possible to get results without having an office in the local area, past results show that you just don’t get anything close to the same results in terms of rental price or the total time unoccupied.

Treating You As An Individual:

Not all letting agents offer a personalised service but I always use this as a quick sniff test to sort the real deal from the rubbish out there.

You want to ask the question, “will I get a personal letting expert”, as I said not everyone does this but the good ones do. You shouldn’t see an increase in price either as with the best ones this comes as standard.

Whether personally looking for Flats To let Glasgow or more often than not a Letting Agents Glasgow I alway use and recommend the same company, Learmonts; for more information follow one of the links, you won’t get a better service anywhere else.

Advantages Of The British Renting Laws

August 31st, 2009

Comprising of people from various cultures and countries, the United Kingdom has rapidly developed as a sub-continent. Renting facilities are one of the services out of the different household services and assistance that the British government provides to its nation.

To be eligible for renting a property in the United Kingdom, the Council has laid down certain policies and regulations, which a candidate needs to abide by. Residents usually are interested in living in rented apartments or houses, since it goes well with their conditions and because they can have them without any difficulty of finances.

The British council provides all UK citizens with apartments, for which they need to pay for to the council. The council takes care of even those nationals who are tenants of rented property and are not able to pay for the rent to the council until they are in the condition of paying off the rent.

If one is a migrant, the case is a bit different for him. He needs to hire a state agent, to pay his administration fee that usually starts from 150. There are different categories for different cases. If the tenant is a student, he needs not to pay the council taxes. He simply has to generate his verification certificate from the college where he is studying.

A non-citizen employee has to go through a different procedure, which involves providing documents such as the salary certificate, statement from the bank and documents proving residency in UK. It is the duty of the state agent to confirm that the tenant will be able to pay off his rent in the future. In the case of a businessperson interested in renting a property, the estate agent will ask him to provide documented proof of his business establishment in the UK showing the stability of his business.

After getting these things, the agent goes for the credit history of his client to get proof to assure that the tenant was not involved in any fraud case. The procedure usually takes two weeks.

At the accomplishment of this step, the state agent approaches the owner of the required apartment and conducts a meeting between the tenant and the owner. There, the two parties sign the contract. As a security, the tenant has to deposit 1-month’s rent. If in case, the tenant leaves before the time signed and mentioned in the agreement, the owner reserves the right of usurping the deposited cash of the tenant.

The owners mostly offer a property to the tenant that has all facilities and appliances. In the case of a break down or malfunction of any item, it is the owner is responsible to get it fixed. This law really is in the favour of tenants who do not have to worry about furnishing the house. Hence, it is preferred by people to find such facilitated rentals.

James Harrison is a real estate expert and has written many books on this subject, to know more about leftbank apartments please visit his recommended sites

Landlords And Letting Agencies

August 29th, 2009

Every year numerous landlords suffer with financial crisis due to their poor effort in selection of any suitable or professional letting agents, agencies or the tenants. These landlords meet their disastrous end for checking the standing of an agent incorrectly or doing the preceding check for appointing any agency for their property matters. They avoid checking the details, which is a great flaw in their planning. In England and its peripheries, it has become a real tough job to pick any proper letting agency. Still, you can have some security only if you can follow certain set of rules in this regard.

First, mark it that you are wrong if you consider that an agent is an angel, and you shall start collecting rent just by handing him over the keys of your property. You need to evolve a counter check system and must have a written legal contract, which should also be endorsed by the authorities.

Many landlords take it too easy, as they think that they can simply hire the one who throws the card in the open window, but this is not as easy as it seems to be. Every year many small landlords face loses by having unprofessional letting agents, or they become the victim of tenants who are unable to pay their rents.

Hiring any inappropriate agent is like nailing your own coffin. This step is the most imperative of all and at the same time, this is the hardest part. The experienced and reputed agents give great weight to the process of selecting the tenant who would not cause any trouble in the case of monthly rental or any damage to the property.

Furthermore, you have always to invest upon your premises without getting any output. Sometimes tenants run away because of an unskilled agent and as a result, the agent too seeks another shelter. In this case, the landlord has an option of taking an action against the agent for the repairing of the damage, but for this, one needs to have a real contract.

Give your maximum effort to the process of finding appropriate agent or agency. In fact, you should prefer the members of recognised industry body that assures you the quality of services from the agency or agents. You must check their background, reputation of work in the field and ask them about their practice of getting a tenant. For instance, if they get the tenants on their own or they are prone to get the services of any other referring agencies.

It is strongly suggested that you must check that whether they know the location and the area of your land and if they have any previous experience in that exacting area. You must not settle upon any charges unless you see their schedule of service charges. Before going to them, check the charges of other concerned agencies of similar category dealing the same kind of cases.

If you are not acquiring the services of an agent, you must choose your tenants very carefully. While renting out your property to the tenants, you should ask them the precautionary questions about your future security. Make an estimate about their affordability. Try to check if they are self-employed, if the answer is affirmative, you must check their past record.

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Important Factors Of A Tenancy Contract

August 28th, 2009

A Tenancy Agreement can be defined as an agreement or a treaty between two parties i.e. the tenant and the landlord. It is a contract, which allows the tenants to occupy the property or a house, and authorises the landlords to receive rent for letting their property.

The contract is signed as a legal formality and is a proof of the tenancy, in order to avoid any disputes between the parties after the property has been occupied. The tenancy agreement can be both oral and written. However, it is advised to have it written, since the oral agreement results in many arguments and clashes, as it cannot be verified. As a written document, the contract is more authentic as a proof of the consent. In case of problems, you can easily approach to the authorities with the agreement.

The Tenancy Agreement should be in accordance with the country law. It must privilege you with your statutory rights; otherwise, it becomes ineffective. Through this agreement, both the landlord and the tenant are liable to some privileges, and bound by some errands.

It is very important that the agreement have a clear mention of all the details point wise with the signature of the tenant as well as the owner. The presence of a person providing guarantee, that is a third person, is very vital. He has to assure that all payments and dues are dealt with as per the tenancy agreement. The duration of the tenancy, with starting and ending dates, should be mentioned in the contract.

The payment that the tenant has to submit to the owner, has to be stated in both words, as well as numbers next to the agreed due date for the payments. The owner of the property will then give a written testimonial about the security deposit that he has the right to keep till the tenure of the tenancy. Even the amount of the security deposit has to be in words as well as in numbers.

Even the system of the payments should be clearly mentioned in the tenancy contract for future reference, which will state the way the rent will be paid to the owner; either directly, by the state agent, by mail, cash in hand or by signing a cheque. This will be a written proof holding all the details of the payments.

Moreover, some other issues can be settled in the agreement, as the tenant will have to pay all the utility bills, reconnection fees (in case of disconnection of any service), license fee of television, etc. Besides, points like the tenants should keep the house or property in good condition, no changes should be made in property without the permission of landlord, property rented for the residential use should not be used for commercial or any other purposes, etc can be included in the agreement. Similarly, the responsibilities of the landlords like the repair of property in case of damages (not done by tenant), tax payment, insurance of property from hazards, etc are also covered in the Tenancy Agreement.

It is very important to have all the details of the mutual consents decided by both parties to make sure that all legalities are being fulfilled.

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Wiser Landlords Opt For A Fully Managed Service

August 25th, 2009

Are you thinking about letting your property out? Be wise and employ the services of a fully managed service for letting out the property. This will be a great idea, as you will get all the procedural work done by the experts and you would not have to bother about it.

For those landlords, who are relatively new to the process, a fully managed service carries a lot of benefits. Many features are offered by a fully managed service and they depend upon the service provider. The extent to which a landlord avails the available service varies according to the needs of the respective landlords.

Many reasons for a landlord to opt for a completely managed service are there. For those people who have other business matters to attend to, fully managed service is ideal. When you go for a completely managed facility, the representatives visit your property to see the different aspects of the property, as the service performs the task of advertising the property and looking for the tenants.

Advertising is one of the tasks they do for you, and they will check the possible tenants who shall occupy your property too. They will advise you to let your property to a tenant, which they think is appropriate for further relations regarding property. These service providers just play the role of an intermediary in the whole process.

Another painful job, which shall be hard for you, is to look after your property after it has been rented out. They are ready to do this job for you. They will keep track of your assets and property and shall perform the maintenance work, if required with out your personal involvement.

These service providers confirm rent collection from the tenants and you do not have to be troubled about it at all. They prepare all the legal documents like the lease agreement and totally fulfil the lawful requirements to protect your benefits.

Fully managed services are very much the first point of contact for the tenants as well as the landlords, and services are offered on a twenty-four hour basis in case of emergencies. Before the property is let out, a fully managed service performs a check about the electricity and gas facilities and the condition of other facilities.

Other than the initial property inspection, a fully managed service also performs regular inspections to look for any maintenance requirements related to the property. When a landlord gets a fully managed service, there is no need to be concerned about any matter related to the tenants. A complete managed facility also keeps the inventory of the property for the landlord and performs monthly accounting for the ease of the landlord. All these features of a fully managed service are great for people who are not able to perform any of the mentioned tasks because of their other engagements. Hence, a fully managed service is the right answer to the problems of landlords.

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