Yeah it is my flaw, I wanted to make sure my tenants were happy. Oh and i filled in my self assessment each year. Bloody fool that i am Yeah, maybe i shouldn't class myself as having been being a landlord as I certainly didn't behave like 9/10 of the landlords i have had myself.
All depends on the landlord a d letting agent. I used to manage my families property portfolio and now only look after my own. I'd like to think I was a good landlord. I used to make a point of collecting the rent myself every month so I could visit and sign the rent receipt book myself and build a relationship with my tenants. I find that this works well, but my got letting agents are ..... Fees to me for finding a tenant, Fees to the tenant for finding a property. Use their own handyman services at inflated prices. Fees for doing sod all. I hate using them. They get up my backside to raise the rent knowing full well the tenant will find it hard. They don't care they get a new one and earn all those fees all over again. The best tenants I have are without agents. I like for my tenants to feel it's their home. I had one who lived in one of my places for 6 years, not once did I raise his rent. He started off at 853 pcm. He finally decided to move out as he had a second kid and the place was too small and I was sorry to see him go. Found my own replacement for 1150 which was over 10% less than market rate but no agents. Again great tenants and because of the relationship they treat the flat with respect like it is their own. Did I mention again how much I hate letting agents!
-Yeah, Dude. I've been away from my project for a full year and dropped over $20,000 into ONE house rehab after a bad tenant. A large deposit probably means the landlord was screwed over by the last tenant, or they are trying to guarantee the next tenant has enough fiscal responsibility to pay regularly. Here, a small claims court judgement against a bad tenant is just that: a judgment. You don't get anything from the tenant, you just put a bad mark on their credit. Here, the tenants have so many legal loopholes to play with, it can take 6 months to get a bad one out for non-payment. -Hell. I know someone that let a room out, had the tenant come in piss drunk with some guy they met in a bar, and they came in and started trashing his house at 3:00 am. When he called the police, she said he was her boyfriend and hit her. He spent the night in jail and had a restraining order filed against him. The tenant got to stay in his house for free while he had to live in a hotel until he got it sorted out in court. To make things worse, the floods in Houston have made them pass some nasty property tax laws to make up for the losses. Now when you protest the tax value of a property, you can only get a $10k break. Last year's assessments were $50-70k higher than market value. -Anyway, rant over. You've never caught someone hiding a 600 pound pig in the master bedroom.
