Hey guys,
I just wanted to update you on my thoughts about whether to settle for the ‘Let only’ service or paying the extra to have your property ‘Fully Managed’. My answer is now clearly to get the property ‘Fully Managed‘.
Let me explain…
Let only is simply not worth the risk anymore, unless you have unlimited spare hours and a degree in Property Management. There are now far too many things to consider when letting a property and the odds are stacked against you. Every court in the country loves to side with the tenant and for this very reason you need to use a professional lettings agent to manage the property.
If you’re not up to date with the many changes in the legislation then you are just asking for problems, and these problems can end up costing you a lot of money. Add to the fact that tenants are becoming more and more aware of the law and the fact that the law is in their favour.
Besides this the sooner we all learn to be more investor and less landlord the better. It’s in all of our best interests to fully manage.
If you are unsure which way to go, just ask yourself the following questions:
How often do you have to get a gas safety certificate?
What is a PAT test?
What happens if you issue a Section 8 without having a section 21 in place?
What happens if you issue a section 21 without having a section 8 in place?
How much does the landlord have to pay if the deposit isn’t in a Deposit scheme within 14 days?
By the way, if you don’t know the answers then I suggest you start using a professional lettings agency like Ezytrac Property Management and call us on +44 (0)1522 503 717 and speak to the team. Also check out the answers below.
Regards,
The team at Ezytrac
ANSWERS:
How often do you have to get a gas safety certificate?
If you have Gas fitted to the property you’ll need it every 12 months. This has to be the test specific to Landlords, it’s called a Corgi CP12 Gas Certificate.
What is a PAT test?
This is a Portable Appliances Test and is only required if you supplied things like irons, kettles, vacuum cleaners. They will be less than 18kgs and are portable in nature.
What happens if you issue a Section 8 without having a section 21 in place? and What happens if you issue a section 21 without having a section 8 in place?
Ok I will put these two together because they are more of a trick question. The Section 21 is Notice to Terminate the Tenancy – This gives notice to the tenant that you require possession of the property at a certain date which will be given on the form. These days it makes sense to issue this at the start of the tenancy so that if the tenant stops paying the rent and the Section 8 isn’t working or is taking too long you have legal right to gain possession.
Section 8 is Notice of a Possession Notice – used when the tenant breach the Tenancy Agreement in some way. The most common one is failure to pay the rent.
How much does the landlord have to pay if the deposit isn’t in a Deposit scheme within 14 days?
Three times the Deposit so if the deposit was £1000 then the court will fine you £3000. This is not something you want to stuff about with.
Hopefully you are getting the picture.
May 3