To be pissed off at having just seen my tenants spending a load of cash whilst they're behind on rent?

[JennylovesRosie]

I am fed up to the back teeth.

This is the third month now where they're falling behind.

(I know them by their appearance and we have a mutual friend on a social networking site)

I have just seen them paying for a spa and no doubt it'll be up on social media next week (they like to brag and display all their newly acquired gains in Instagrammed glory.)

Next month my kids won't have the birthday parties they wanted because I'm subsidising these idiots living expenses and incurring charges as for their late/part payments.

Has anyone managed to get tenants out despite then not being 2 months late on rent. The Lettings agency have told me I'm stuck with them . Can I fine them?

They got a 12 fixed contract in January and surprise-surprise they started to default from day one of it.

I'm so upset.

3 months expenses saved is £7000 impossible
12 months?! pigs might fly

My tenants do this, I want to say borrow from your friends or relatives, not me! Paying your rent is the first thing you shouLd do! And your other bills...

Cruikshank your posts have been making me cringe. Everyone has to start somewhere. Instead of being condescending why didn't you just give her the information. You have been rude and downright cringeworthy, along with Martha who has been a tad less so. I'm sure you were born knowing the ins and outs of the universe and were perfect at anything you tried. Gosh this forum irritates me sometimes! Get your head out of your a*se and don't comment if you're going to be so negative and to try to be superior by knocking people down.

Wverylittlething landlords should research the law before they go into the business. It's really basic information she is asking for and far, far too late

Mumsnet used to be a supportive place. Whilst Matha and Cruix may have given sound advice (made it sound like it anyway ) their delivery, sarcasm and barely veiled contemp for the OP's situation is anything but.

Same goes for the other running landlord thread.

Red rag to a bull to those two posters

Vince whether that's true or not. The way you put something is crucial. There is never a need to be rude if someone is asking to learn!

Agreed sonnets and hands.

This kind of thing puts people off asking for help when they need it.

As adults we should be able to advise without patronising someone whether you agree with what they're asking and is background or not!

I don't know
Clueless accidental landlords make life very hard for many (decent) tenants. The way so many blithely rent out their home without doing basic checks beforehand as to their rights and responsibilities makes me angry.

Even if it makes you angry, as an adult you (not you in particular) should be able to advise someone without an attitude. She has letting agents and she is double checking what they have said.

The tennant should pay on time - they have a contract and are breaking it. Why they don't pay on time is irrelevant as most of the time the LL has no idea of how they choose to spend. I am not sure of the law regarding fines or eviction at all. However they are the ones in the wrong, I would like to think there were ways of ensuring this did not keep happening. The L L is the innocent party and has done nothing wrong

The length of your emergency fund is not universally agreed.

www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/emergency-savings-how-much-is-enough

I never said it was easy :-( You start off saving very small amounts and keep going. When you have it, it makes life so much easier.

Some people say at least 3 months because if you lose your job then you then have 3 months to find one without getting into debt and using credit cards.

If you're a contractor though you might need more because you can be much longer in between contracts without work.

If you lost your job in 2008, then you might not be able to find an equivalent job with equivalent salary in 3 months, so you might need a bigger emergency fund.

You don't want to get into debt, it sucks.

OP I work in commercial property, not sure if this applies to residential tenancies, but if chronically late payers are late, we get our managing agents to issue CRAR notices on them. They're a kind of pay up now before we bailiff you notice.

Haven't read whole thread but suspect there are a fair few "so what" landlord hating type comments. Fuck those. You're running a business just like any other, your tenants have entered into a contractual obligation and it's down to them to pay up on time. If they were late payees on say car finance, everyone here would be saying "oh they shouldn't have taken on a car they can't afford". Different for housing - emotional response. People hate landlords because it's easy and socially acceptable to; good old fashioned politics of envy. Your tenants sound like twats.

Everylittlething87

I am sorry but you're wrong.

Good advice is often uncomfortable.

If someone chooses to take it as being condescending, when it is not, that is a chip on the shoulder of the ignorant.

OP should take legal action against the shirkers who are not paying rent.

As a tenant, rent should be your #1 priority - even before food and sofas.

But I do think there is a learning experience for the OP too - you need to better manage the finances and do some research to stop this from happening again.

Even if we agree that the tenants are crappy, that does not absolve your own lack of foresight or the fallout from your tenants.

What I am saying is, just because something crappy happened to you, does not mean that you cannot learn from it and cannot change your own behaviour.

Even if it is not your fault, you can still learn from this by beginning to put more money aside and save for your daughter's birthdays.

Nothing is a given in this world, even your own paycheck or your tenants.

Paramedic.

I am sorry but I am not wrong, the way you say things is very important.

It may not be nice to hear but that does not mean you have to be snarky, patronising and condescending. This is just plain rude and ignorant in itself.

I also believe how you tell someone will either help them to take it in or make them just think about how it was said/ I would be much more likely to focus on the content of a conversation if it wasn't said nastily. However if it was said nastily then I would tend to focus on what a b*tch they've been.

Cruikshank... ouch, super patronising!
Being a Landlord isn't an 'exclusive club'.
'The very important business of providing shelter'... seriously. This lady is just venting (quite justifiably) over some irresponsible tenants who think their Spa day is a greater priority over paying their rent.
She does not need a school lesson from Head Girl on budgetting! (Jesus, in the current climate we are all struggling.

Can I just say I use proper, reputable agencies and there is always a professional credit and tenancy check done by an independent company, and they are bloody useless, not worth the paper they are written on. Better to rigorously interview the tenants yourself and decide if they are people you can do business with (in addition to the agency checks and so on). There's a lot to be said for seeing the whites of people's eyes.

Just read this post in its entirety and am left reeling.Totally agree with Hands and Sonnet. The OP stated quite clearly that she fell into being a Ll by accident; she isn't a slum Ll or a trust fund babe living off the sweat of others. She behaved properly and employed an agent to act for her precisely be cause she doesn't understand the ins and outs of property law. Whether or not she can afford a birthday party is really irrelevant. Tenants should pay their rent unless there are genuine extenuating circumstances, in which case a payment plan might be agreed upon. As other posters have pointed out there are very few scenarios where goods/chattels/services can be enjoyed without payment being made in full.

I agree with whoever said you don't sound cut out to be a landlord.

Late payments are going to happen. You need to have a system in place to deal with it.

Firstly, get your own finances in order. You clearly need more of a savings cushion. Scale back the birthday party if you can't afford it.

Secondly, investigate what you can do within the boundaries of the law to deal with late payments. Some good advice on this thread.

But you need to accept that it's not all going to run perfectly on your terms. people are late paying rent sometimes, it's life.

Everybody should have an emergency fund of between 3 and 12 months living expenses

I originally read that are 3-12 months of income. Though saying that, given the small difference between my living expenses (essential ones) and income I reckon it'd take me about 15 years to save 12 months of living expenses.

I don't think my situation is unusual (that is not a lot left over to spare each month). No matter how sniper and patronising your response is going to be.