Do you get many problems?
Very few major ones and we pride ourselves on this, attributing our success to careful selection of tenants and enormous attention to detail. Minor problems such as standards of housekeeping or garden maintenance which do not measure up to landlord’s expectations, can nearly always be resolved by us, provided all parties are reasonable. Issues such as late payment of rent are dealt with quickly and efficiently.
What if the tenant falls behind with the rent?
What if the tenant does not leave at the end of the tenancy? By careful interviewing, selection and monitoring of tenants we can keep this potential hazard to an absolute minimum. However, in the unlikely event of a problem and when Whites has done everything possible to resolve the situation but without success, then the landlord must pursue the matter through the due process of law. This will involve instructing a solicitor who will instigate the necessary court action to obtain possession. It should be borne in mind that this can take several months to finalise and although the landlord may be awarded costs and rent arrears, he will almost certainly incur some expense. Where possible, rents are paid by standing order on the first of each month, but problems can arise. Sometimes these are due to a tenant’s changed financial circumstances, carelessness, forgetfulness or a mistake by the bank or building society. Where we are acting on a full management basis we monitor rental payments most carefully, informing the landlord if we feel that there is a real problem and we take every possible step to obtain the rent as soon as possible. Usually we are successful and can pay the landlord; albeit belatedly. On very rare occasions, where rent arrears are accruing, it may be necessary for the landlord to instruct his solicitor (or we can do this on his behalf) to take the appropriate legal action. We can also offer landlords a rent guarantee scheme which is taken out at the beginning of the tenancy and covers for any loss of rent, after the first two months of the tenant being in arrears. How do you set the rent? We visit the property and by comparison with others in the area we can advise a realistic rent. This is a matter of experience and we must take into account the standard of presentation. Clearly a clean and attractively decorated property will be more in demand and therefore command a higher rent.
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