Don't Be Given the Run Around by Demanding Tenants

As a landlord you have a duty to keep the property you let in a good state of repair and in a safe condition.
However, you need to be firm with tenants who suddenly demand all sorts of improvements before or after they move in.
Be wary of agreeing to paint this or that wall or make this or that improvement unless you are required to fix something to meet your legal liabilities.
My advice to landlords is to give prospective tenants a good chance to look around the property before they sign up so they know the state and condition it is in. That way they can have no complaints.
If they would like some improvement doing before they move in, consider what it will cost you and whether you want to do it.
And don’t be scared to say, “Yes, we can redecorate this or put that new unit in, but it will mean the rent will be X pounds higher.”
If you don’t do this you risk being given the run around when the tenants move in.
Back to main site: www.lettingfocus.com to find details of my next evening seminar and networking event.
Don't forget at lettingfocus we can provide unbiased consulting and mentoring advice on buy to let and other aspects of property investment - and we can do this over the telephone too.
Copyright: D Lawrenson 2007

House Prices in Berlin Residential Property Market Could Be About To Boom

Prices in the Berlin residential property market stand at one heck of a discount to other big and no so big European cities.
Just how long can that continue I wonder?
True, Berlin’s housing market has some structural problems, lots of people rent and the tenancies are quite well protected – even compared to the UK.
Also Berliners have never really got into the habit of buying their own houses or flats before - mainly because they have never really seen house prices go up.
And, as they get good cheap rental accommodation, they have rightly asked why they should bother becoming home owners.
However, many UK, Irish and other investors have seen the decent rental yields and the lack of any price downside - and the fact that Berlin just looks plain cheap, even when compared to Bratislava and Warsaw.
And so quite a few are now piling in and joining some of the big funds who have recently bought up whole blocks.
Eventually, the locals will join in too and if German banks start doing sensible mortgage deals then we could, at last, see a Berlin property boom.
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Copyright: David Lawrenson 2007

The Next Mortgage Lender Rip Off - Have They Done You on Valuation Fees Yet?

You know I can’t resist a dig at the mortgage lenders.
Recently, mortgage lenders have been in the news for the FSA ruling that says that they cannot say at the start of the mortgage that the “sealing fee” – what you pay them when you close the mortgage - will be £50 and then charge you £300 three years later when you actually close it.
I’ve just recently banked two cheques from lenders who previously tried to overcharge me in this way. A simple letter to them did the trick.
Now, I’m on the warpath again.
The lender with whom I’m taking out a buy to let mortgage wants £315 from me for a mortgage valuation. However, by going direct to one of the surveyors on the lenders own panel I will only pay £175 – a saving of £140.
Of course, most of the Great British Public don’t spend their days reading up personal finance news like me and don’t realise you actually have a choice.
So, they pay the full whack - thus further swelling the banks and building societies ever bulging coffers.
Naturally, the lenders won’t like me doing this and my lender is trying to charge me a £40 “re-typing fee” which is pretty daft as the surveyor is on their panel anyway.
Also, in the days of data transmission, this fee has to be totally unjustified.
So, I’m hoping that one of my journalist friends at one of the quality broadsheets will follow up on this story and put the lenders in the dock again.
Copyright: David Lawrenson 2007. Back to Main Site: www.lettingfocus.com