Category Archives: Property Management

Comments, articles and discussion by landlords and investors

Landlords need to watch out for tenants’ criminal convictions

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Now criminal convictions of tenants can have serious consequences for a landlord’s insurance cover.

7.3 million people with criminal convictions are present in the UK and many likely to be the tenant population. Undeclared unspent convictions have the potential to be material facts in the assessment of risk resulting in invalidated insurance cover, if the crime has any relevance to the policy risk.

This is because insurance contracts are based on the principle of ‘uberrima fides’ (utmost good faith) on both parties involved in the contract. So the duty of full disclosure lies with the landlord who is the policy holder.

There is lot of uncertainty and confusion among landlords. So, what can we do as landlords? Do we ask the question in the tenancy application form, include a disclosure clause in the tenancy agreement, or just simply ignore it?

Some smart home insurers have an outright policy of not insuring people with unspent criminal convictions; irrespective of the relevance.

I feel this has stirred up quite a hornet’s nest. One has to decide between actively seeking the information from the tenant and thereby getting the insurers remove to the cover or just ignoring the issue.

More clarification is needed from the insurers to prevent landlords being effectively uninsured.

Landlords Property Manager and Windows 7

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Today sees the launch of Windows version 7, Microsoft’s new operating system. Let’s hope that the release of this new operating is a much bigger success than Vista. One thing can be said for sure, at least it has been delivered on time.

Our website visitors and customers have been asking for a while whether our landlords software solutions will be ‘Windows 7’ compatible.

The answer is off course ‘Yes’.

Our development team have had access to the new Windows 7 operating system and have been making sure that our software runs smoothly on it.

To learn more about the technical requirements of our software, please refer to our technical specifications section.

Could Rent Guarantee Insurance help you out?

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Finally things are looking up for landlords as rental prices have gone up, taking cue from the recent RICS survey. However all is not good as some tenants face financial pressures leading to increased rents.

The UK’s leading representative body for private-residential landlords, the National Landlords Association (NLA), in their research found that nearly three quarters of landlords are experiencing rental arrears. A dismal 43 per cent of these occurred in the last 12 months.  

Luckily all’s not lost. The NLA Rent Guarantee Insurance allows a way for us to minimise the risk that occurs due to loss of rent. Legal expenses and a 24-hour advisory service are also provided if other problems arise. Landlords can now relax with the NLA Rent Guarantee Insurance as it gives some much needed piece of mind.

Redundancy and unemployment among some tenants is making them struggle with the payment of rents but nevertheless there is a need to safeguard rental income.

Even as the insurance has come as a ray of hope, as landlords we need to take full references and make checks at the outset of a tenancy. Keeping in touch with your tenants will enable them be upfront when they face difficulties and you can make arrangements before rental arrears become more serious.

Water Woes for Landlords

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Unpaid water bills worth £500m of tenants are now being passed on to the landlords causing them to unite in anger to protest against such a possible move.

The British Property Federation (BPF) and Residential Landlords Association (RLA) responded to the Walker Review of the government’s water charging calling it unfair.

Prohibition on cutting off or limiting supply makes debt collection harder for water companies.  Increased   metering  has   been  proposed  to  conserve  water  and  the
Government’s decision to pay housing benefit to social housing tenants instead of the landlords who usually pay the bills has escalated the problem. Having a lot of unpaid debt themselves, small landlords will be burdened further as we already have problems collecting money which is due to us.

Landlords are suggesting alternative solutions to help with the problem such as water companies working with landlords to identify when tenancies started and finished instead of issuing bills to ‘the occupier’. As landlords we must find it easy to give such notice and water companies must promptly act on the information received.

Authorising local authorities to pass council tax bills to landlords in case the tenant cannot be identified has also been proposed.

It seems as though landlords will fight this inequity tooth and nail for the gross injustice it represents.

Some Landlords Ignoring Laws

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It is a worrying fact, according to the Deposit Protection Service (DPS) that a huge number of landlords are still ignoring the deposit legislation that requires them to put their tenant deposits with a Government registered body. It is true that the number of landlords choosing to ignore the law has halved over the past year but that still leaves an awful lot who are taking the risk of continuing to totally ignore it. According to the DPDS 30 percent of landlords openly admit to ignoring the law.

The result of this situation is that the DPS have now put their support behind the idea of a landlord register in the hopes that it will make forcing landlords to comply with the deposit laws easier.

Kevin Firth, director of the DPS, said “More needs to be done and ignorance is no excuse. We believe that the introduction of a national register would make landlords more accountable and offer tenants a greater level of protection. Mandatory registration and deposit protection would leave rogue landlords with nowhere to hide.”

Whatever you make think of this legal requirement, the fact that so many landlords continue to ignore it is great fodder for those who wish to make sure our industry is tightly controlled by Government. Perhaps it is time we all thought about doing the right thing as this demonstration that we are unable to self-regulate can only lead to trouble as far as I am concerned.

Property Software Vs Property Management Company

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Lots of landlords start off with no need for any help at all with their property management. They have a very small portfolio and trick themselves into thinking that they are just as efficient with their hand records as any software or management firm. That is clearly a mistake, but the fact is that when the going gets tough and landlords finally face up to needing help, they often make another error. This one has the potential to cost them a lot of money. They choose property management firms over property management software.

When they start to struggle as their portfolio grows, many landlords panic and throw the whole lot into the hands of a property management firm. This can be a major mistake for a couple of reasons:
 
Of course, first there is the money. Most property management firms charge a substantial block of money every week. The alternative of buying and setting up decent landlord software does involve an initial cost but once that is paid the monthly outgoing is minimal, if anything at all. In contrast, a property management firm will cost a huge block of cash and it will charge increasingly more as your portfolio grows.

Landlord software does not work like that.

It does not care how big your portfolio gets, it just allows you to enter more into the system and does not hit you with a huge bill for the privilege.
Another thing that landlords do not anticipate about property management firms, is the sense of disempowerment they bring with them. Most people go into property in their own business to achieve a sense of being in control of their future and their finances. With a property management firm you lose all of this. They take over the whole thing and you have little say in how they run things. They may claim you will but when it all comes down to it they have their policies. On the other hand, property software dramatically reduces the hours you spend running the show but still allows you to be completely in control and in charge.

Property management software allows you to build your own reputation just with the help of a tool to make things a lot easier. When you hire a property management firm, you are placing your business reputation, the most vital thing of all, in the hand of strangers. Some of them are probably very good but no matter how good they are mistakes are made and it is a very frustrating feeling when those mistakes that harm your business are not even your own.
 
If you are getting to the point where your property portfolio is growing and becoming unwieldy, do not make the knee jerk decision to turn it all over to the property management firms. Not without at least giving property management software a try first. It will help you to reduce your hours and maintain control, so it really is the best of both worlds

Landlord Software Keeps Tenants Happy

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It is an unfortunate fact that landlords are often not terribly popular with their tenants. This is often not the fault of the landlord, it is just that they are the ones collecting rents and deposits and initiating cleaning inspections, making some tenants view them as the interfering authority figure, whether it is fair or not. Many tenants see landlords as focused solely on getting hold of their money with very little care for their needs.

It is for these reasons that the landlord/tenant relationship can sometimes be a little fraught. Tenants want to live in a clean and functioning environment with as little interference as possible, and landlords wish to protect their investment and make sure it is profitable for them. This causes tension and often a stressed out landlord. But there is a way to make the relationship that is so central to property management run more smoothly: landlord software!

This property management tool makes sure that landlords are better organized and more efficient in the running of their property. Sure, they could hire a property management firm to facilitate the relationship between them and their clients but that would mean paying out a substantial dividend every month to another client. That is money the landlord could be putting into their own pocket if they have invested wisely in the correct property management software.
The correct landlord software will enable the landlord to economically control his or her property empire while at the same time remaining in close communication with their tenants. Nothing is more frustrating for the tenant than when they want to speak to the top guy and it takes them three or four lower down people to finally reach them. Not a very clever start to the beginning of a new relationship.

As a landlord you have a responsibility to keep the lines of communication open and with a ratio of ten to one with your tenants in many cases, doing it all manually is a killer for some of us. Good property management software will allow you to do everything more efficiently and, therefore, free time for the vital one on one communication that many tenants demand.

Landlord software will allow you, as a property manager, to keep meticulous, exhaustive records. This fact alone can prevent tenants from trying to argue the point about lack of notice for an inspection or something similar. If they can see that the landlord is completely organised, they will know that that kind of dispute is not going to go their way. This often makes for smoother communications.

Property software definitely makes a landlord’s relationships with their tenants easier. This is because it makes excellent record keeping a snap. The tenants always know exactly where they stand because the landlord remains one hundred percent consistent, thus avoiding confusion. This most certainly gives the landlord the advantage.

Landlord Software Saves You Time and Money

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There are very few landlords with any sort of sizeable portfolio that try to struggle through their day to day business without some form of property management software. The large majority of modern landlords are now fully aware of the kind of benefits that property software can bring to their business and have jumped on board.

For those stubborn few still holding out or those that are relatively new to the game and looking for some advice, let’s take a quick look at the advantages of decent landlord software for the smooth running of your business:

It will Record and Update Your Tenant Reports
We are all aware that having spotless and up to date records of everything pertaining to your tenants is one of the biggest tasks of residential property management. This time consuming task is also one of the most vital and, as a result, takes up loads of time in the average landlord’s week.

Any slacking in this area makes the landlord vulnerable in the event of a dispute with the tenant regarding payment, lease terms or any other conditions of a tenancy. Landlord software will make sure that your records are beyond dispute.

Property management software will also allow you to make up a report when it is time to send a late payment notification, renew a lease, or prepare an eviction notice. Most landlord software contains templates that let you adjust them to your individual needs and save loads of time and effort in the process.

It Can Help With Accounting and Filing Your Annual Tax Returns
Most of us dread tax return time even though we know everything we have done is above board. It is the fear that we have forgotten something that usually causes this anxiety. It is also because, no matter how thorough we have been in keeping our records, the job of putting it all together to fill in the tax return is always a daunting prospect. Property management software will take all the worry out of this time of year for you.

It will allow you to track all your rental income and expenses in real time so when it comes to completing your tax return you are sure to have all the data you need. Excellent record keeping will also ensure that you won’t miss out on any possible tax deduction, which is a hugely important (and beneficial) reason for getting hold of landlord software in the first place. No one likes the idea of giving the taxman more than they are due!

Landlord Software Keeps Track of Your Rental Property Inventory
Keeping an inventory allows you to track your rental properties with ease, and property software can save you so much time in this depatment. You can include information on important property details such as location, square footage, rental information or any type of maintenance issue with your rental properties.

If you own a large number of rental properties, you can also compare the returns of your properties by any number of elements such as monthly rental rate, property values, location and so on.

All landlords that use property software agree that it has made their lives easier and their business more profitable.

Buy to Let Landlords Still Worried

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Despite the fact that we seem to be hearing a lot of good news about the state of the economy, and in fact the state of the property sector specifically, some landlords are still very concerned.

A recent poll conducted by an organization called Direct Line for Business found that nearly a third of landlords are still losing sleep over the current economic situation and many are very worried about their future in the property sector.

Personally, I don’t find this news at all surprising. For a lot of landlords the recent huge upheaval was the first time they experienced how quickly things can crash in the property game. The shock of going from boom to near bust will have had an effect on the confidence of a lot of landlords and rightly so. Hopefully it is this kind of experience that prevents us from repeating the same errors perpetually.

There is a worrying aspect to all this, though, and it is the news that some landlords are cutting corners by cancelling insurance policies. That is a very dangerous practice and, in my mind, is akin to gambling; the odds may be slightly more in your favour than in a casino or bookies but the stakes are very, very high.

One of my rules in this game is to make sure I am fully covered. It is imperative that you keep your insurance up to date. If the worst happens and you are uninsured you stand to lose everything. As harsh as it sounds, my advice is to leave your insurance policies alone and find somewhere else to cut corners.

Brokers Want Buy To Let Regulation

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Exact Mortgage Experts claim that it was revealed this week that fifty four percent of brokers believe the FSA should step in to regulate the buy to let market.

It is also being said that figures show a large number of mortgage brokers say that two thirds of their clients, who are buy to let landlords, are amateurs in the property market. It seems many are equating this amateur status with a need for more serious regulation in this sector. It is sensible to assume that those with less experience may require a more hands-on approach and extra guidance.

Alan Cleary, managing director of Exact, has this to say on the issue:

“The ready availability of mortgage finance and credit up until two years ago opened the door for a lot of amateur investors…The lack of regulation meant it was too easy for amateurs without a commercial head on their shoulders to jump on the bandwagon…It was a mistake to assume that because buy to let was viewed as a commercial endeavour, it could be left unregulated. The number of amateurs landlords in the private rented sector with sizeable portfolios now well under water is proof of the fact.”

It seems to me that FSA regulation, so long as it is not too intrusive, may be a good idea for this sector of the market. It should provide guidance and protection for everyone concerned including the landlords themselves.