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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To tell prospective tenants they can't move into our house...

34 replies

hellobello · 17/08/2007 19:13

For being rude and insulting and for not trusting us to clean the house properly. Finally, for expecting a second drop in rent before 2 weeks before they move in.

I am really upset and feel as though I have been trodden on. They say we have 'missing' furniture, whatever that is.

Frankly the people don't sound as though they want to be in our house - they are even suggesting that it is expensive for the area, which it is not.

OP posts:
hertsnessex · 17/08/2007 19:14

looks like they are looking for a get out - i guess its up to you if you want them there...

Original poster
hellobello · 17/08/2007 19:49

If they are asking for drops in the rent this late in the day, what would they be like once they were in? They have been cherry-picking and really treating us as though we are not good enough.

OP posts:
Earlybird · 17/08/2007 19:52

They sound difficult. Has anything legally binding been signed? If not, look for someone else who meets your criteria and is more agreeable.

NAB3 · 17/08/2007 19:53

You are definitely NBU. Look for better tenants.

alucard · 17/08/2007 20:03

If you can legally get out of it then I would if I were you. I've got a tennent at the moment who phones me every week to bitch about something. She has complained that the skirting board haven't been painted neatly enough, she can't fit her rubbish in the wheely bin (wanted me to go and stamp on it for her), her tv reception isn't good enough, the fridge freezer i provided (brand new) is too tall so she can't fit her microwave on top. She wanted curtain poles over the top of all the doors. If they are already being unreasonable there is no reason to think they will be normal when they move in.

tori32 · 17/08/2007 20:06

Be very wary. At the first sign of trouble get rid! Take it from someone who knows and has had a string of bad tenants. 1 stole post as my lodger, another didnt pay for 4 mths and also had a big fire at the house causing damage to all upstairs and smoke damage to downstairs ( and still expected to stay in the house while work was carried out!) Mind you was living in Cyprus at the time and couldn't keep a proper eye on it.
YOU ARE NOT BEING UNREASONABLE!

MyTwopenceworth · 17/08/2007 20:12

If they are like this before they even move in, they are going to be a nightmare! If you can get out, do.

thechickenlady · 17/08/2007 21:11

I agree with what everyone else has said, try and get out of it if you can.

Better to have a few weeks of having your property unrented, and then find decent tenants who won't cause you so much stress.

woodenchair · 17/08/2007 22:13

Wouldn't want them as tenants, they sound like a nightmare waiting to happen.

i agree with others and if you can get out of it then should, there are far nicer people to deal with out there, why burden yourself with these horrible people.

OMG at alucard what a nightmare

Original poster
hellobello · 18/08/2007 16:06

Thank you for your comments! We have not signed anything, and for now it is more likely that the girls could lose their deposit for messing us around. I have spoken to the agent about it who seems optimistic that we can get new people before we go away. It's a bloody nuiscance. The main girl left a message apologising and saying that there must be some misunderstanding, but I can't see where. I am not going to speak to them directly because I don't think there is anything to talk about and I don't want someone being rude to me again for decisions they have made.

A 20% discount in rent is quite a lot. It's more than any estate agent would take as their fee!

OP posts:
crokky · 18/08/2007 16:19

If they are messing you around at this early stage, dump them.

Our house was rented out by the previous owners before we bought it. These renters were a PITA from day 1 and absolutely destroyed the house.

Experiencing any shit at this stage it a total no-no IMO. Get rid of them! There are many good tenants around.

SofiaAmes · 18/08/2007 16:47

I have a lot of experience in renting out apartments and my houses over the years. And my advice would be to run a mile from these tenants. If they are complaining before they have even moved in, they will be trouble. And if they think the house is expensive for what it is, then they will never ever be satisfied and always give trouble over the rent.

By the way, I know rent out my places exclusively through the internet. I haven't used an agent in years and have had a much higher calibre of tenants than I ever got with agents. When I was in the UK I found tenants on gumtree.com and here in the usa I use craisglist.org. The latter has a uk website, but if you are not in London or another major city, it may not be quite so useful. Anyway, I judge potential tenants purely on their spelling and grammar and ability to write a neat, orderly, timely email. It has turned out to be a much better indicator of a good tenant than credit reports or references (which I always check anyway).

Original poster
hellobello · 18/08/2007 17:02

I think this lot are fairly articulate and intelligent, (though their spelling is careless), which is why I seriously question their motives to start making a fuss at this late stage. They seem to want everything their way, and have even called our garden 'overgrown' because they want a lawn and pretty flowers and our garden isn't like that.

We are travelling abroad so I don't know how it would work advertising privately. A friend uses Gumtree a lot to advertise her house, but she is back in the country quite regularly.

OP posts:
SofiaAmes · 18/08/2007 17:14

ahhh, careless spelling = careless tenants, in my opinion.

When I lived in the uk, I rented out my house in la through craigslist. After a bit of experimenting, I found that if I thought I wouldn't be visiting frequently, the best thing to do was rent the house for a few hundred less than the going rate (ie $2000/month rather than $2300/month) and make expressly clear in the description (and lease), that the rent was lower than the going rate and that in return I didn't want to be bothered with little bits that didn't work right (wobbly door knobs, overgrown gardens, chipped paint). I would of course deal immediately with any emergencies like electricity, heat and water. The tenants were very happy with the trade off and offering the house at a good rate gave me a much larger choice of tenants. And the reduction in income for me was more than worth the reduction in hassle (and repair costs).

Earlybird · 18/08/2007 17:42

Sofia - does that mean you have never used an agency to manage your rented properties?

We've recently relocated to America for a few years (maybe longer), and at the last minute decided to rent our flat privately to a business associate of another owner in the block. Like you, I reduced the rent by several hundred pounds a month in exchange for certain 'concessions'.

Recently, I've started to wonder if I am foolish not to have a local person managing the flat. All is fine now, but if there's a problem, I'm thousands of miles away and not really able to deal with anything.....

Pruners · 18/08/2007 17:43

Message withdrawn

pirategirl · 18/08/2007 17:55

i magine the stress you'll be under thinking of them in your property when you are away from it.

let them find something that suits them, in fact tell them to p off. If it were me tho, i would prob let them have their depsosit money back.

Original poster
hellobello · 18/08/2007 18:42

We had already negotiated a rent reduction - the total reduction they were after would have been nearly 20%. They don't need to be in our house. They would be better off somewhere else IMO. I hope we find some people before we leave in 2.5 weeks!

It's not up to me to take or return the deposit. Legally these girls are treading on dodgy ground, and I imagine that they may get their money back if we have found someone before we go away.

What is 'missing' furniture?

OP posts:
SofiaAmes · 18/08/2007 19:38

continue of highjack....

earlybird, even in the old days when I found tenants through an agent, I didn't use a managing agent because they cost a fortune and don't really get things done in a cost effective manner. Really only makes sense if you have lots of flats or just have no means of servicing them.

If you need some help with your london flat, my dh is still based in London most of the time and although he's now a full time student, he used to be a builder, so could be helpful. I'm sure he wouldn't mind. Just CAT me if you want to get my info (and his), in case of emergency.

I have just gotten back from holiday and have been off mumsnet...how has your move gone?

IsabelWatchingItRainInMacondo · 18/08/2007 19:46

I think that if you are happy to give up almost 3 months of your yearly rental income by lowering the rent that much, you can easily wait for a less problematic person willing to pay the full rent.

kickassangel · 18/08/2007 20:00

hello - are these students? (or been students recently?) - a lot of unis have a lost of necessary furniture - to stop people renting out tiny rooms - such as a bed, wardrobe, table & chair in each room. perhaps they are expecting this?

SenoraPostrophe · 18/08/2007 20:23

hellobello - it just sounds to me like they haven't rented before. presumab;ly the house is let as "furnished" and dfor some reason they expected wardrobes or some such? it sounds quite likely.

but anyway my advice is refuse to drop the rent, but go with these tennants. If they are the types to care about the lawn they won't be the types to have wild vodka swlling parties...

captainahab · 18/08/2007 21:08

On what basis would these girls lose their deposit, as you mentioned below? If you decide not to go through with their tenancy you can't keep their deposit.

Also, I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss them just because they seem demanding before they move in. (Obviously though you have no obligatoin to drop the agreed rent) Maybe they've been burned by prior landlords and are trying to protect themselves.

If you have reservations about their moving in you should tell them and tell them why --perhaps they'll agree that this does not sound like a good landlord/tenant relationship. If my landlord wrote the original post I'd have second thoughts about moving in myself.

Earlybird · 20/08/2007 02:54

Thanks for your advice. I interviewed a managing agent, but as you said they charged alot of money for the service. They also told me that the flat couldn't be rented furnished because of recent landlord/tenant flammability legislation that applies to any furniture made before 1998. Using them would have involved moving/storing all my furniture.

So, I made the decision to rent the flat privately and at this point I'm holding my breath that nothing will go wrong as I'm thousands of miles away.

Thanks very much for your offer of your dh's assistance. It's very kind. I will get in touch via CAT if I think I need help.

Did you go to Italy on holiday? That place you've linked to in the past looks amazing.

The move went fine. Leaving London was physically and emotionally exhausting, and we've now had over a week of temps above 100 which is a huge physical shock to the system. But, on the positive side, the house is gorgeous/spacious, life is easy/convenient, I feel safe, things are much less expensive here, etc.

My only concern at the moment is dd's school. Check out my recent postings on the 'all those in America' thread for the full story. Any thoughts/advice you have would be appreciated.

ghosty · 20/08/2007 04:33

We are landlords for the first time and it has been an eyeopener for us ...
Our house is a big family house is a very nice suburb of Auckland as as such we can command a very high rent ... our tenants are a high earning professional couple who have never owned their own home.
The Pros are that they are of good calibre, and seem to be looking after the house, they can afford the rent and apart from a small negotiation (drop in rent if they maintain the garden). According to our agent the house is in tip top condition 4 months in.
The Cons are that they are picky and out for what they can get - they got a handy man in to change lightbulbs and charged in to me , yes, I didn't mind buying the lightbulbs but paying someone $90 to put them in was ridiculous. They also had to buy a new gas cylinder (not on mains gas) but tried to charge me for the actual gas in it ... . As they are long term renters who have never owned a house they seem very lazy ... also they have a bit of an attitude that if they are paying such a high rent they should get stuff for nothing.

I am sooooo glad I have an agent. She is just fantastic ... she is a wily, no nonsense Scot who deals with my tenant brilliantly (apparently the tenant goes in to the office at least once a week with a moad) ... I pay her 7% and she is well worth it.
If we were in the country we would deal with all that ourselves but we are overseas and I couldn't do it without an agent.

In answer to the OP ... no, you are not being unreasonable. It is YOUR house and you should get more tenants ... don't let them move in ....