Do you hassle your tenants’ too much?🤷

You know what if they’re paying the rent I wouldn’t bother… A lot of landlords might think this and indeed when I first became...

You know what if they’re paying the rent I wouldn’t bother…

A lot of landlords might think this and indeed when I first became a landlord I was much more interested in how much I could earn a month, passively without any work, and the next deal I was going to do.

Not visiting your tenant can lead to lots of problems, some caused by the tenant i.e. if the property is not being kept in good order and some inadvertently such as not reporting a minor maintenance issue which becomes a much larger one.

So how often should you visit your tenant?

A tenant has the right to “quiet enjoyment” of their property and therefore you shouldn’t be visiting every 5 minutes. You also need to give at least 24 hours’ notice for any visit.

What do we recommend?

We recommend visiting tenants initially after six months to ensure the property is okay, then annually afterwards. There’s no reason to continually visit a property if the tenant is keeping it in good order. We offer annual reviews free of charge, so this also saves the landlord money!

What should I bring to an inspection?

• If you’re looking to increase the rent I’d bring some rental comparables to justify any increase – we look to increase rents to just below the market value to try and stop any voids, by making it cheaper for the tenant to stay. Usually being fair is the best policy and means our occupancy rate is over 95%.
• To check maintenance I’d bring:
  • Ladders: essential to check roof spaces, areas of dampness etc.
  • Damp meter
  • Tape measures – essential if trying to quote for works
  • Screwdrivers – you always need one to replace a smoke or CO2 alarm
  • Chisel – useful to look under flooring
  • Headlight – for looking in roof spaces

Why?

It’s best to deal with any issues there and then with the tenant rather than continually visiting and disturbing them. Also, it saves you time and money on petrol etc.

Chris, our senior property manager, recently visited a property to check on some damp and needed a pair of ladders to problem solve the issue.

See our video below:

For any sales, lettings or refurb help:

• Contact us today by phone or email to move your property to us.
• We’ll contact your letting agent to ensure a seamless tenant transfer, including the deposit, keys and all paperwork.
• We’ll contact your tenant to resolve any rent, maintenance or refurbishment issues you have, arranging a property visit if required.
• We’ll begin the process of maximising your income and wealth.