Dear Landlords: How many applications would you normally have to process before finding a secure Tenant?
We’re currently up to 32 and have followed up all of them, but none of the applicants so far has the necessary finance or solidity, for us to be able to accept. Not being picky, honestly - but the people who are coming forward don’t seem to have the money to be able to rent & manage even a small house.
The rent is low compared with the rest of the UK. We’ve rented out before, with little trouble in finding the right person.
Hello. The property is in the North East, the applicants are almost all very local people. We’ve kept the rent extremely low (£450 for a whole house) but although there is interest and many applications, there aren’t the funds.
Guarantors have been offered, but they aren’t secure either (e.g. very low wages, temporary jobs).
We can’t reduce the rent any further.
People with money seem to be buying the small new houses…People without money seem to be applying to rent our house!
Is it just a question of patience, or will we have to wait years for the general situation to improve?
Yes, be patience like Colin said.
In London is really not good and so many estate agents are reducing price so much but we can do to certain level.
Please note you are not only one and there are so many landlords are like you in same position. I just say I prefer to wait and go for fianacial loss compare to having tenants at low price and then have stress on top and paying money for them for almost free.
Don’t take on too much risk. You will regret it in the long term. A little longer with no rent is infinitely better than up to a year of nightmare tenants.
And we did let ours.
No I have not let but I have decided to sell one flat 2 years earlier than I decide to sell.
Just put it on market this week and hopefully with no stamp duty extension, vaccination, lockdown easing and spring with daffodils and tulips people start looking to buy as interests rates are low and low deposit. So good time for first timer buyers.
As Colin said we have to have patience and I say to think positive and we are all affected some how.
Some gets extra financial help with their loss of income for small business.
It’s sad that government don’t think how badly it’s affecting many landlords financially and not helping at all.
But it’s better to wait for a good tenants. Sometimes we take risk and make mistake but now this time I don’t want make mistake to renting at lower price and renting to bad tenants and get into stress and legal procedure.
Understood. Better to be careful. OK.
Did you have to relax your ‘standards’, and take a slightly unsafe Tenant, or did a good one eventually come along?
We thought about selling too, but the prices here have dropped and not recovered - we’d lose £15K on what we paid for it - too much.
So it’s back to finding a new Tenant.
Can I ask: is it better to use (and pay) a Letting Agent to find a Tenant, than the DIY route? (like on Open Rent)?
We’re being told that applicants are more serious if they go to a proper agent… and they don’t try to sneak in all their family or 25 dogs, because they feel they’ll be more intensively checked out by an agent. (Which isn’t true, at least not in our case, but it’s the perception.)
The one we chose failed referencing on affordability but we met her and talked it through. She also supplied a homeowning guarantor who passed referencing.
I have been using Openrent for many years and I manage properties by myself.
I am very happy with OpenRent online advertising as I find it people use online to check rental properties and all properties are advertised on rightmove, zoopla So it goes not matter.
But from my experience most tenants like to deal directly with landlords if they can.
Open Rent seems to get a lot of traffic, yes, and we’ve had some very pleasant chats on here with applicants, but there are also quite a number who seem to be trying to dodge the normal systems. Just reporting what we’ve found in recent weeks.
I’d reached the maximum number of enquiries 100! at the point I’d found suitable tenants for my two bed terrace in Glasgow. Covid, unsuitable applicants and some upgrades to house meant a five month void. I’m able to have such a void and will be equally picky as I’m soon to advertise for new tenants .
