Better An Empty House Than An Unruly Tenant

Mike Jones

Description

For beginners and seasoned landlords alike, Better An Empty House... is a one-stop guide for landlords and investors, containing true tales of landlords/tenants and dealing with regulation, compliance and Government proposals.

Sujets

• Gestion et management
• Inglaterra
• Wales
• England

Informations

• Publié par: Waterside Press
• Date de parution: 07 septembre 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781914603242
• Langue: English

Extrait

‘Mike Jones’ Better An Empty House is a must read for anyone thinking of investing in property. There are plenty of people out there that will sell you courses to “get rich quick” out of property, but in my experience, many of them have gone bust as they haven't understood the basics.
It’s not an “armchair investment”, there is no get rich quick scheme that works ongoing. It requires building a good team of experts around you — like Mike — so you can avoid the pitfalls so many so-called “property gurus” and investors have fallen foul of. This book gives great practical advice, is easy to digest and most importantly has some cracking case studies to learn from.’
Kate Faulkner — Managing Director, Propertychecklists.co.uk
‘I found Better An Empty House a really good read. Pitched just right and something I wish had been around when we first started all those years ago. Everything is well-explained in layman’s terms and designed to enlighten in a methodical comprehensive manner. Plenty of information, not too much to bamboozle, but enough to encourage potential landlords to appreciate the legality of their role, the importance of the right choice of property and advantage of a good agent.
The book illustrates that being a successful landlord, in any guise, is not for the faint hearted and is certainly not necessarily a way to make a quick buck. Often in with one hand and out with the other but hopefully overall providing a decent return on a long-term investment.’
DL — Hampshire landlord
Copyright and publication details
Better an Empty House Than An Unruly Tenant
A Guide for Landlords
Mike Jones
ISBN 978-1-914603-23-5 (Paperback)
ISBN 978-1-914603-24-2 (EPUB ebook)
ISBN 978-1-914603-25-9 (PDF ebook)
Copyright © 2022 This work is the copyright of Mike Jones. All intellectual property and associated rights are hereby asserted and reserved by him in full compliance with UK and international law. No part of this book may be copied, reproduced, stored in any retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publishers to whom all such rights have been assigned worldwide. The Foreword is the copyright of Dorian Gonsalves.
Cover design © 2022 Waterside Press. Created by Christine Hammacott: book-design.co.uk
Main UK distributor Gardners Books, 1 Whittle Drive, Eastbourne, BN23 6QH. Tel: [phone]; [e-mail] ; www.gardners.com
North American distribution Ingram Book Company, One Ingram Blvd, La Vergne, TN 37086, USA. Tel: [phone]; [e-mail]
Cataloguing In-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book can be obtained from the British Library.
Printed by Severn, Gloucester, UK.
Ebook Better An Empty House Than An Unruly Tenant is available as an ebook including through library models.
Published 2022 by
Waterside Press Ltd
Sherfield Gables
Sherfield on Loddon, Hook
Hampshire RG27 0JG.
Telephone [phone]
Online catalogue WatersidePress.co.uk
Email [e-mail]
A Guide for Landlords
Mike Jones
Foreword Dorian Gonsalves
Contents
Publisher’s note x
Acknowledgements xi
About the author xiii
About the author of the Foreword xiv
Foreword xv
Preface xvii
Dedication xix What Type of Landlord Are You? 21
Type 1: The ‘Accidental Landlord’ 21
Type 2: The ‘Lucky Landlord’ 25
Type 3: The Property Investor 27
Conclusion 29 The Name(s) on the Deeds 31
Joint Tenants Versus Tenants in Common 32 Risks Associated with Letting Property 33
You Aren’t Making a Profit 33
No Demand for the Property 34
Voids 36
Rent Default 36
Tenants Abusing the Property 37
Fair Wear and Tear 37
Flood and Fire 38
Tenants Not Vacating 38
Distress For Rent Act 39
Legislation 39
‘Cannabis Farms’ 40
Putting Risks Into Perspective 40
Conclusion 41 How to Establish Your Budget 43
Existing Home Loan 43
Interest-only Mortgages 44
Buy-to-let Mortgages 44
Mortgage Criteria 45
Interest 45
Leveraging 47
So to Your Budget — How Much? 50 Tenure 53
Freehold 53
Leasehold 54
Shared Ownership 60
What Tenure is Best for Investment Purposes? 60
The Grenfell Effect 61
My Flat in Andover 62
Conclusion 63 Sourcing Your Property 65
Sales Agent 65
Below Market Value 67
Auctions 69
Short Leases 70 Yield 71 Rental Expectations 73 Tenant Profiles 75
1. First-timers 76
2. Week-dayers 78
3. Long-termers 79
4. Students 80
5. Sharers 80
6. Secondees from overseas 81
7. ‘The Happy Tenant’ 82
8. ‘Mr Blue-Chip’ 83
9. ‘The Tenant from Hell’ 84
Restrictions 85
Referencing 87
Finding a Tenant 87
Discrimination 88 How Big? 89
Annexes and Studios 89
One-bed Apartments/Houses/Maisonettes 90
Two-bed Apartments/Houses 91
Three-bed Houses 92
Four-bed (Plus) Houses 93
Changing Properties in Order to Let 94 More on Property Types: Merits and Demerits 95
More About Annexes 95
Studios/Flats/Maisonettes/Apartments 96
Upstairs or Downstairs? 97
Terraced or Semi-detached? 97
Detached Properties 99
Character Properties 99 Location 101
Local Facilities 101
Population 102
Schools 102
Risk of Flooding 103
Shops, Pubs and Entertainment 103
Trains, Buses and Taxis 104
Parking 105
Access to the National Road Network 106
Conclusion 106 The Property Itself 107
Furnished or Unfurnished? 108
Décor 110
Floor Covering 112
Bathrooms 116
Kitchens 122
Washing Machines 126
Additional Sockets 126
Lighting 127
Curtains and Blinds 128
Television 129
Heating and Drying 130
Carbon Monoxide and Smoke Detectors 132
Windows 133
The Garden 133
Driveway and Garages 136
Loft Spaces 137
Repairing Obligations 138
Are You Compromising Any of the Issues in Chapter 13 ? 139 Condensation Mould 141
What is Condensation? 141
Lifestyle Adjustments 142
Back to That 1960s House … 144
My Landlord’s Flat 145
Another Example: This Time Tenant-related 148
Conclusion 148 Preparing Your Property for Letting 149 Inventory, Tenancy Checks and Visits 155
The Inventory 155
Check-in 158
Periodic Visits 159
Check-out 162 Insurance 165
The Building and Its Contents 165
Liability 165
Rent Default Insurance 166 Tenancy Agreements 169
Lodging Agreement/Licence 169
Assured Shorthold Tenancy 170
Contractual Tenancy 172
Updating Agreements 173
Renewals 173
Always Take Advice 175 Sub-letting: Another Cautionary Note 177
My Experience of Sub-letting 178 Marketing 179
The Folly of Dual Marketing 180
Asking Too Much 181
Another Real Life Case 182
Guaranteed Rent 182 Deposits 183
How to Deal With a Deposit 183
Deposit Schemes 184
What is the Deposit For? 184
An Example of Landlord Who Was ‘Caught Out’ 185
How Much Should the Deposit Be? 185
Lifetime Deposits 187
Deposit Deduction Disputes 187
My Show Home Landlord 188
The Lottery that is Arbitration 189
An Extreme Example of Woe 190 The Law of Landlord and Tenant 193
Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 194
A Common Often Overlooked Example 195
GDPR and the Information Commissioner 197
Registration of Landlords 197
Retaliatory Eviction and the Deregulation Act 2015 197
Right to Rent 198
Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1996/1998 199
Electrical Equipment Regulations 199
Fire Safety of Furniture and Furnishings 200
Legionella 200
Non-Resident Tax 201
Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard (MEES) 202
The Government White Paper 203 Expert Advice 205
Selecting an Agent 206
Questions to Ask Agents 210
To Bear in Mind If Thinking of ‘Going it Alone’ 214
Epilogue 215
Index 217
Publisher’s note
The views contained in this book are those of the author and not necessarily shared by the publisher. As stated throughout the book, readers should always take independent advice before embarking on property ventures. Small variations in circumstances may have considerable implications. Neither the author nor publisher can accept any responsibility if this advice goes unheeded.
Acknowledgements
Running the business has always been a joint effort with my business partner, Andrew Lowery. Without him, I doubt I’d have become a lettings agent. Once it was suggested that I write a book, were it not for Andrew’s understanding, I’d never have been able to devote so much time to completing it.
Thanks to the individuals who saw it at various stages and encouraged me to persevere: my wife Laura, my sister Lynne, my buddy Karan, Andrew Lowery who I have already mentioned, a landlord named Bob Pike, one of our team, Carole Archer and Kate Shore (who read it while she was supposed to be working!). And thanks to Sammy Bateman, the publication of whose own book made me determined to finish something I’d started years before she’d ever put pen to paper!
Thanks also to Bryan Gibson and the team at Waterside Press for agreeing to take this on and to right all my various wrongs. And I mustn’t forget the ever-patient Christine Hammacott at The Art of Communication for unknowingly causing some of my inspiration and then coming up with the design for the cover. Oh, and ‘Coxy’, who lent me Bob Mortimer’s autobiography to read.
Mike Jones
August 2022
Mike Jones
About the author
Mike Jones’ first encounter as a landlord was in 1992 and he has been one continuously for over 20 years. Having experienced the services of letting agents across the UK and believing he could offer a better solution, in 2009 he founded his own agency with a business partner. They are now responsible for a significant portfolio, employ a team of nine, and also run a thriving property sales division.
Having been directly involved in the selection and purchase of hundreds of properties for his clients, Mike Jones has also assisted them by advising on and supervising refurbishments. In Better An Empty House Than An Unruly Tenant, he candidly describes his early experiences as an enthusiastic but naïve investor.