Tenant warning signs

I've had a new tenant for 9 months and there are a few warning signs that have made me uncomfortable.  Now I could wait for a tenant car crash or I could take action.

Listen to your landlord instinct

My approach to letting is always to listen to your landlord instinct.  Is there such a thing?  I think so and mine has often proved to be right...  My new tenant...is 9 months into her tenancy.  From the start she was not the sort of tenant I would normally expect to take on.  In other words they haven't got a regular job and a clear means of support.  Like many landlords keen to let their property you sometimes have to make compromises.  Sometimes they work out.  I have had one tenant who is a DJ.  God knows how she makes her money.  I don't think she is any kind of David Guetta but she always pays her rent and has been with me for 6 is it 7 years.  The gamble paid off!

Tenant warning signs

My new tenant.  Tenant XX (a woman).  She's a victim.  Life has happened to her.  That's not good! To date she has been locked out twice and had to break in once at my expense when I had the locks changed.  The place has turned into a tip.  No self respect or pride in your appearance generally means no of a lot of respect for others including the landlord.

Missed rent payments

The latest incident was a missed rent payment.  She did subsequent make up the full rental payment during the month but missing out on the rent is again a worrying sign.

Time to act!?

I'm thinking that all these factors are makng me nervous.  It's time to act.  What I can do is to issue a section 21 notice.  In that way at least I have an accelerated route to possession.  I know that if that's the route it goes down it wont be easy.  But it does give me the certainty that I will get my rental property back in a reasonable time frame.

Live ain't ever easy when you get a new tenant.....but don't ever ignore the warning signs!

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