Guildford Property

My name is Simon Carey, I am the manager of Calendar Lettings and I have good news for Landlords.

 

The risks involved when letting out your property have been significantly reduced.

At Calendar Lettings, we have responded to our Landlord clients needs and adapted our tenant and property management service to help them plough on through the recession, where sales and rental prices are fluctuating and peoples circumstances are uncertain.

 

In Property, there are always risks to be considered, even when the financial climate is stable. But we’re not in a stable economical climate, and we all need to keep our wits about us in order to ride out this turbulent time.

 

So what are the risks?

 

Number 1 – Well, it has to be the rent not getting paid.

Thankfully, we’ve not had too much trouble with tenants not paying the rent in the past. By correctly vetting our tenant applicants, we are able to provide our Landlords with quality tenants that pay rent and respect the premises. But there is little anyone can do to prevent a tenants employer from having to cut back on staff and make redundancies. This can happen to even the best tenants, and when they can’t pay the rent, where does that leave you? You have a mortgage to pay, maybe several. What if more than one tenant can’t pay the rent? Doesn’t bear thinking about!

Calendar Lettings are now able to provide Rent Guarantee Insurance (RGI) with nil excess and £25,000 in legal expenses. What that means is, unlike other RGI policies, you won’t have to pay the first month of lost rent yourself. What a relief!

 If the tenant stops paying rent, your insurance kicks in to cover it, and if the tenant continues to miss payments and notice has been served, but they put up a fight and refuse to move out, you have £25,000 available to you for legal expenses. Of course, evicting tenants is a last resort, and we have a number of techniques where we can help tenants manage their money, and keep up to date with their rental payments

 

Number 2 – Burst pipes

Has it ever happened to you? When water is spraying out from a burst pipe, and your tenant can’t remember where the stopcock is, it can be pretty frightening. Especially if it’s gas. I’ll admit it has happened to me, and i panicked. Water can cause real damage, particularly on flats above the ground floor. It effects the neighbours below, dripping down through floors, walls, ceilings and electrics, ruining carpets, wood and the decor. Gas can be even more dangerous. These nightmares can strike at any time, whether it’s 3pm or 3am, and we haven’t come across many landlords who want to take THAT phonecall!

We now provide our tenants with a 24/7 emergency telephone number to call in events such as these. So even if it’s 3am, we can get a specialist out to your property in super-quick time, to get things under control and minimize the damage, danger and expense.

 

 

Number 3 – Boiler Breakdown

Most of us take hot water and central heating for granted, but when the boiler breaks down, it’s time for cold showers and thick jumpers! Plumbing and heating engineers tend to be pretty busy people and for a tenant, it can seem like a lifetime before one finally arrives to fix the boiler. Most tenants are of the opinion that they are “customers”, and they shouldn’t have to go through it, and rightly so.

To keep things running smoothly for you and your tenant, we have included an annual boiler service into our management service. Not only does this mean there is far less chance of you having to get a new boiler installed due to breakdown (have you seen how much this cost these days?!), but it also helps to keep your tenant happy, and happy tenants stay longer and pay the rent more regularly!

On a more serious note, as a landlord you have a  duty to ensure your tenants safety, and one of the dangers of a faulty boiler is leaks of carbon monoxide which, although is undetectable to humans, can kill. An accident like this could cost you dearly, so it makes absolute sense to keep your boiler in tip-top condition… or have us do it for you!

It’s one of the simpest ways to maximize the income from your property, and reduce risk.

PLUS - we cover boilers up to 15 years old, not 10 years like other providers AND we provide a boiler service report so you can track its condition year by year.

 

  

Number 4 – Tenants Safety

Rented properties have to have gas and electrical safety checks every year. It’s the law. As a landlord, it is your responsiblity to ensure the safe conditon of the gas and electrical appliances in your property for your tenant.

Some DIY landlords skip this duty, considering it a chore and an irritating expense, but it must be done nonetheless.

By using Calendar Lettings as your managing agent, these checks are carried out for you automatically and at no extra cost. It just makes landlords lives easier.

 

So to recap…

 

Until now, our Full Management service includes:

 

 

• Providing a rental assessment of your property
• Marketing your property on all the major internet property portals (Rightmove, FindaProperty etc..)
• Arranging viewings
• Vetting tenants
• Arranging the security deposit
• Preparing an inventory and schedule of condition (extra charge)
• Checking tenants in
• Receiving and forwarding rental payments
• Managing your tenants
• Quarterly inspections of the property
• Arranging any necessary repairs
• Taking appropriate initial action in the event of rent arrears and other breaches of agreement
• Liasing with tenants on a routine basis, arranging agreement renewals
• Check-outs, re-advertising and re-letting to new tenants

 

 

And now in response to the economic conditions and to reduce risk and relieve stress we have introduced these fantastic new benefits to our management service:

 

 

• Rent Guarantee Insurance with nil excess and £25,000 in legal expenses
• 24/7 Emergency phoneline for tenants
• An annual Boiler Service
• Annual Gas and Electrical safety checks

 

 

Many landlords agree that whether you have one, two or twenty properties, this kind of hands-free, low-risk service allows you to relax and enjoy the profits your investments give you, rather than having to run around ‘putting out fires’, and generally wondering why what should be a ‘passive income’ feels more like a full time job.

They also agree that paying a 15% management fee is a small price in return for having the TIME to enjoy your profits.

 

Get in touch with us today on 01483 232163 to discuss any properties you would like us to look after for you, or visit our website at www.calendarlettings.co.uk

 

Kind Regards,

 

Simon