Tenant in situ the good and the bad
What you need to know before purchasing a tenant in situ property - our experience
When things go surprisingly great
We took instructions from a client to manage their property with a ‘tenant in situ’ – someone who stays in the house upon completion. Now this was in one of the worst neighbourhoods in Sheffield, and we were worried. The neighbourhood was a state, but the house was great and the tenant was responsive.
Moral Never judge a book by its cover
When things don’t go so well
We took instructions from another client with a great property which was in a great part of Sheffield, again another ‘tenant in situ’. Now we were chuffed, great property with no problems – this would be a walk in the park! We were so wrong
The tenants did not engage, they refused to pay rent, and at one point slammed the door on us – we found out later the previous landlords had struggled with them, so they had sold the property off with them in.
Get to know both landlords and tenants before you purchase
Top 3 tips before purchasing a property with ‘tenant in situ’
1 – Get to know both the landlord and the tenant when you go to the viewing
2 - Ask to see a rent payment schedule
3 – Talk to us – we can view properties on your behalf and manage these properties so you get an all-round service
Be warned about ‘tenants in situ’
What is 'tenant in situ' it is a house that is sold with a tenant inside it.
What you need to know before purchasing a house with 'tenant in situ.
It sounds great, doesn’t it? By a hous,e and you don’t have to do a thing, you can close your eyes and the rents will come in. Don’t be fooled!
Never ever purchase a property with a ‘tenant in situ’ without getting to know the tenants and landlord first. Recently we have had a mixture of experiences thanks to more and more landlords purchasing in this manner.
In a poorer area of Sheffield, we were instructed to take over the property after completion, and this experience was great, even though we were a bit worried about this. The neighbourhood was a state, but the house was great inside, and the tenants were very responsive.
In a more affluent neighborhood we were instructed by another client to manage their property and things could not be any worse – the tenant refused to engage, she refused to continue to pay rent and at one point slammed the door on us (we found out later these were problematic tenants and the landlord struggled to evict them so just sold the property with ‘tenants in situ’). The landlords have made this mega expensive purchase and have not had any rent come in. They have had to serve eviction orders.
So, as I said earlier, when viewing these types of properties, get to know both the landlord and tenant. You will get a good sense of what they are like at initial meetings and even on viewings. Whenever we look at packages for our landlord, these are the types of checks we do – needless to say, with both properties, we were not involved with the purchase.
We provide a complete package and can advise on purchase and property management, so you deal with just one company. You are not a piece of luggage being passed around.
Are you thinking of getting into property, and are not sure what the ideal property is? Then talk to us – we are happy to always take your call
Do you need a letting agency?
The answer is no – you may think this is strange coming from the founder of a letting agency. You can definitely do it yourself, and I advise many people to do this initially to learn the ropes if they are able to. By doing it yourself, you know what is entailed. Sur,e there is a lot of learning to be done – last I read, there were 168 pieces of legislation around property lettings.
It is like when I set up my website – it was such a hard process (I am the most anti-tech person I know – just ask the kids!) But I did it, am I proud of it – yep! Does it look beautiful – most definitely –NO! But now I know what the process entails when I contract a web developer to do the next page, I definitely will know what to ask for.
If you are working full-time, have a family, and other life commitments, then offload. If you use a letting agency, avoid the big dogs – you know the ones I am talking about, where one agent is looking after hundreds of properties.
Look for an agent who is local and knows the area. And make sure you like and trust them because this is a long-term process.
Would you manage yourself or use a management agency?
Top 3 things to look for in a letting agent
1- How well do they know the area
2- What vibes do you get when you speak to them – remember gut instinct is hidden intuition!
3- How many properties do they currently manage
Our Not For Profit letting agency is born
Care 4 Renters CIC is born
We have always been guided by our ethics and moral principles. We were told by many that we don't need a not for profit structure to demonstrate ethics but somehow this felt a bit contradictory to us.
A CIC is a community interest company, where all profits are re-invested back into the community. As we set up this organisation our vision is to focus solely on our letting agency support through this.
Our aim is to support all our tenants so they can access a service which is responsive and puts care in the heart of everything. This is something we were looking for when we were searching for letting agents to manage our properties while we were working full time. So we decided to trial our approach with our personal properties, this approach was so successful that our reputation proceeds us and now our tenants have become our biggest advocates.
By creating a not for profit we are able to bring in more socially minded landlords and create more bigger lasting impact in the private rented sector.
How reliable is a previous landlord reference?
Imagine if you had the worlds worst tenant but you just wanted to get rid of them. Now these awful tenants have found another property but want your reference. Now be honest as a landlord that wants your property back would you be honest to the new landlord? Will you tell their new landlord how awful these tenants have been and risk them not moving out of your property?
Most landlords will provide a good reference just to offload the tenant. That’s why at My Landlord Cares we run more extensive background checks to put the right tenants in your house. Never take anything at face value and run the right due diligence checks on all tenants. Even if this take a little more time, because the time invested here will save you thousands of pounds later on in rent arrears and voids!
Rituals and the need for change
I have always been a keen follower of the monarchy
The pomp, the regalia, the out-of-worldliness (very much reminds me of my South Asian and Islamic heritage, where there is a lot of place for formality)
But there is also space to grow within these rituals, which is what I see happening within the monarchy, always evolving and adapting old with the new.
As individuals, communities, and businesses, if we don’t change, we soon wither away. Many people hate change, but if you accept it and work with it, it can be a major power for good. Sure, it is choppy and tumultuous at the beginning, but you will find calmer shores.
What every small business owner knows and new ones should know?
As a business owner you are everything to your business, if you do not do then nothing will happen. It is completely different from working in a job, where you walk in and do your job and walk away (I do reminisce these days!). You are the life blood of your business, and so if you are looking to setting up your own business make sure it is something you really enjoy and it is a subject you are passionate about. My key strengths are
#multitasking
#helpingothers
#property
So you can see why I naturally gravitated around a property based ethical business. Find something that stimulates you. Running a business is one of the most challenging and rewarding things you will ever do.
Is this something that you are thinking of?
Will you defeat the odds of business failure rates?
Many business owners have to balance a lot more when first starting off, for example, like holding a job and managing their side hustle (unless you have rich parents who will bankroll you – something I didn’t have). So you have to be super determined to push through, especially when the odds are against you.
Did you know 1 in 5 businesses fail in year 1, and half of all businesses fail in year 5! But did you know most of these businesses fail because of burnout? People work so hard and expect instant results, and guess what, life doesn’t work that way. If you get instant results, then kudos to you. But play the long game, then you are more likely to succeed.
#longgame #buisness #hustle #workhard #worksmart
People overestimate what they can achieve in year 1 and underestimate what they can achieve in year 5.
Have you heard this? It cuts across all fields. In a culture of instant fixes, we struggle to undertake any long-term planning. For example, when you are planning, most people only plan for the year ahead – holidays I will go to, job I will apply for. But long-term planning is super helpful. Don’t get me wrong, I am yet to be convinced on visualisation (where if you see it you can manifest it!), but by putting your thoughts to paper, you are more likely to achieve them or more than likely find a roundabout way to get there.
Life is not linear, so expect some ups and downs, but if you are patient and you persevere, you definitely will get there. We all want to avoid the fifty-something burnout!
Go on, give it a try, scribble a few notes down (make these realistic by the way.
3 Top tips for better mental health for busy people
I am a busy person, and it has taken me ages to find the right balance. Trust me, it is still not perfect, but it definitely is better. I would like to share this with all my like-minded friends.
1. Create a to-do list not just for the day but for the week – categorise the most important (chunk out time to do this), the stuff that is fluff (like emails, admin, etc.), put them in together for one day. Trust me, you can’t avoid this,s so you might as well call this a ‘have to do day’ and reward yourself with cake afterwards!
2. Put in some time for self-care - in your busyness, do you forget about you – I know I did! I know what you're thinkin',g I am so busy, how can I find time to do this. I felt the same, but I dedicate a small chunk of my time to you every day. This could be anything, reading a book, going in the garden, having a bat,h but just consciously tell yourself this is my 5/10/…minutes to myself.
3. Mix it up – you know when you focus so much on one thing that you forget about what is around it, don’t be that person. I know what you're thinking, I am so busy already, how can I do something else! Trust me on this, by switching things up, you get a more rounded picture, and it somehow creates different neurons (brain cells – don’t ask me about the science) this stimulates you to work better. For example, if you normally do Zumba, mix it up with line dancing; if you read a certain type of book, then try another genre, instead of walking around your usual path, take a side path. By pushing yourself out of your comfort zones, you get a totally different perspective, and you can bring this different frame of mind to your busy schedule.
Do let me know how you get on
My nightmare tenants
Why should I care about my tenants?
Landlord Cath says, 'it was easy in the past to be a landlord, now things are so bloody tough. My properties used to be an asset; now they're a burden.
She is not alone. Did you know there are 168 rules and regulations around being a landlord, and many of these have fines associated with them?
The constant legislation change means many landlords have sold up their portfolios.
With the soon-to-be-imposed abolishment of section 21 (no eviction notice) many landlords are worried about how they will evict tenants. Imagine if your tenant
couldn't afford rent, could you survive up to 52 weeks without this? How would you stay afloat?
My tenants are a nightmare. What do I do?
The only way to make the situation any better is to work with agencies like My Landlord Cares LTD (Ethical letting agency), who care about you the landlord, and tenants.
Are things so bad that you can't speak to your tenants? Then we act as a trusted middle party and help both sides come to an amicable solution.
I am a landlord, and I am having problems
Then please do speak to us. We listen to you and try to help you get to the roots of your problem. Our first initial consultation is always free. So you have nothing
to lose. Abdur Rehman says 'I am a landlord and I was struggling with my tenants not paying rent, and they left the house without telling me. I wanted to know what I can do, so I Googled Landlord Advice and My Landlord Cares came up. Mahara listened to me. She got me the right advice, and she spoke to the Council on my behalf.
I feel so much better now.
Are you in a similar situation then do drop us a message