Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Rental arrears risk

Rental arrears are going to be an increasing issue for landlords as the country spirals down so this Citywire article might be of interest to those landlords starting to worry about unpaid rents.

I could always sniff trouble ahead.

You know the classic signs from a tenant, the shuffling on the spot and averting their gaze, expect to see a shortfall in that months rent.

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9 comments:

  1. RAYDONOctober 11, 2011 at 3:09 PM

    Will the increase in University Tuition Fees, cause an increase in student landlords having to deal with Non-UK Students, how do you collect rent arrears from internation students...basically there is no way of doing this.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Crown Property InvestmentsOctober 11, 2011 at 4:16 PM

    The thing that really made a difference to me in managing to minimise arrears was to absolutely insist on any tenant having a home owner guarantor. It has always been my policy to do this but too often I let a prospective tenant talk me out of it with a sob story and a promise to never pay a day late. These always turned out to be the problem tenants.
    Since implementing this rule rigorously I've greatly reduced the unrecoverable arrears on my portfolio. Sure, I've had a few get behind but usually one stern letter to the guarantor has done the trick.
    Regarding RAYDON's point, the answer may be to insist on full payment of rent up front at the start of each term (before they run out of money). That's what my landlord did in Birmingham did when I was at University.

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  3. Margo LeadbetterOctober 12, 2011 at 2:34 PM

    In times of extreme economic instability like these finger crossing is almost as useful as credit checking.

    ReplyDelete
  4. NorthWood NormanOctober 13, 2011 at 12:12 PM

    There are many issues which could cause rental defaults at the moment.

    High unemployment and rising education costs are just two!

    I believe ensuring a guarantor is recorded is a must during the current economic climate.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Paul BarrettOctober 14, 2011 at 6:01 PM

    Surely the only way to be risk free from non-rent paying tenants is to ensure that all tenants have an RGI policy on them or a guarrantor.
    If you cannot obtain these circumstances for your prospective tenant then you expose yourself to hving your property repossessed; bankruptcy and losing your residential home.
    Unless you have at least £10000.00 per tenancy to cover mortgage payments whilst the useless county court system eventually evicts your non-rent paying tenant then you will lose your property.
    Do you want to risk your personal financial circumstances on a tenant who for whatever reason does not pay you the rent.
    Thought not; therefore only take on tenants that will qualify for RGI or a guarantor.
    This will be tough on other tenants but we as landlords are not charities!?

    ReplyDelete
  6. RAYDONOctober 19, 2011 at 4:23 PM

    TO MARGO

    Great name by the way...yes agreed time must be spent to put your chances up, credit checks, employer referencing, checking things out, there are lots of potential tenants out there so we all need to take time to consider applicants. As a younger property manager, I used to take my Jack Russell dog, 'Tilly' into work a real character, she often ran round to our front office looked potential tenants up and down and either growled or licked them to death....damn good test I thought.

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  7. RAYDONOctober 19, 2011 at 4:24 PM

    TO CROWN

    Do you have a Guarantor Section, written into your tenancy agreement ? or do you use a separate Deed of Guarantor, which needs the signature of the guarantor, a witness signature and proof that the guarantor has had a copy of the tenancy agreement.



    I think it is easier to get the guarantor to sign the tenancy agreement containing the guarantor obligations

    ReplyDelete
  8. RAYDONOctober 19, 2011 at 4:26 PM

    TO PAUL

    Paul- Which Rent Guarantee Insurance do you think gives the best cover for landlords ? some policies just seem to offer cover for the legal costs required to recover the arrears.



    Guarantors are certainly a good idea, do you use a separate Deed of Guarantor or write in guarantor terms into your tenancy agreement, names the guarantor and has the guarantor's signature actually on the tenancy agreement.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Paul BarrettOctober 25, 2011 at 5:36 AM

    I use discountletting.co.uk RGI policy
    £99.00 no excess per year including credit check carried out by RGI company covers rent and legal expenses; cheap or what!!
    £50000.00 per claim

    ReplyDelete