Need to sell property I rent out quickly - any advice

[mummyof2munchkins]

I am currently renting out my former home - tried to sell it 3 years ago, didn't sell so to to cover the mortgage I rented it out with an agency. (I moved in with BF - now husband).

All went well for a couple of years - rent didn't cover the mortgage but we were prepared to cover the shortfall. Our current tennants moved in 15 months ago - they have literally never paid the rent on time, always 1-2 weeks late, agents have discussed this with tennant many times, I even agreed to move the payment date to the day tennant is paid to make it easier. Also had many complaints about our tennats anti-social behaviour.

Anyway the tennant has now failed to pay the rent in December and January. Agents have served notice - tennant sent message to agent to say they will look for something else and will consider paying their rent once they leave. No hope of ever seeing that money then.

So I am now totally fed up of the pressure and uncertainty of being a landlord. I know it may take time to get the tennants out and the house is likely to need repair (it was a beautiful house - it makes me cry to think about it being ruined). I am so worried about the house being empty once the tennants have finally left.

Does anybody have any advice on selling as quickly as possible - anybody used the "buy your house immediatley" companies. Any recommendations?

Hubby thinks I'm just panicking because of the behaviour of our current tennants. I'm so worried about the situation Its making me ill. I can't see how this is all going to be sorted without us risking our current home. We are not in a financial position to have 2 mortgages indefinately and the risk of the house being empty really scares me.

Any advice is much appreciated.

xx

Once the tenants have gone, could you get someone to paint everywhere with magnolia just to tart it up a bit, get carpets/flooring cleaned etc so it is in reasonable condition to sell? An empty, chain-free property would attract buyers wanting a quick transaction. Also, you don't have to pay council tax for 6 months in an empty property, so that would save some money. Perhaps a light switch timer so that the house doesn't look empty might be worth investing in?

Can you try a quick sale yourself? These places generally only offer 75% of the valuation. Sometimes more. We have worked with a few and generally feedback is not great. Where are you?

the empty property council tax discount isn't everywhere - you'll need to check your local policy.

hate to say it, but your professional thieves may well not leave until they are good and ready, and will not pay any more. You need to wait two months for the notice to expire, and maybe another three for the bailiff procedures. Do you have any insurances for legal expenses, rent guarantee and malicious damage?

try not to cry, what goes around does eventually come around. If it does come to the above, get in touch with your mortgage company straight away - the thieves WILL leave eventually so you WILL be able to sell the house.

good luck.

Agree with specialsubject I would assume your delightful tenants won't budge until they are legally evicted & I would make bloody sure your agent has served an appropriate eviction notice 100% correctly otherwise if/when it gets to court it will be thrown out & you'd have to start the whole process again!! there's little point rushing to find a buyer as no one will touch this with a non-paying tenant unless you fancy selling to a property investor/dealer for significantly less than market value.

Thanks for the advice.

The house is in Merseyside. I have landlord insurance that covers serious damage caused by the tennant (I never assume insurance companies will pay out - they often have a get out clause) Its the time the house is empty for repairs, whilst up for sale and (fingers crossed) whilst a sale goes through that worries me. However long all of this takes means we will have no rent and run the risk of break ins etc, whilst house is empty.

Tennant didn't allow the last inspection to go ahead so i've no idea about the condition of the inside of the house, outside doesn't look great but we could fix it ourselves at a relatively low cost.

I am expecting a long fight, hence my worry.

xx

not allowing inspection at reasonable notice shouts 'cannabis growers' or worse. :-(

once they've gone, your buildings/contents cover should still apply, subject to conditions such as checks, draining heating etc.

but I'm afraid there's no way out of the no rent period. Which you are already in.

I'm so sorry. I hope all the landlord-haters on MN read this and take a long hard look at themselves.

If it is any consolation, cannabis growers usually pay their rent on time.

live and learn.

Had a call from the neighbour. She thinks the tennants have moved or are the process of moving. She said she saw them putting the carpet into a van last night and they have somebody there today taking up the flooring. That is my flooring and carpet by the way.

Agents have tried to contact them to discuss but as usual they have not answered.

I can't go into the house to check, the agents said they can ask to inspect but have to give several days notice. They say we may still have to wait through the notice period if the tennants don't admit the house is now empty.

This appears to be legal theft - I can do absolutely nothing about it. Ironically the neighbour was letting me know so I could get to the house quickly to stop them taking my property. If only.

xx

normal access notice is 24 hours.

you can't go in, but there's nothing to stop you going up to it and taking photos through the windows. Whether this is a safe thing to do is your call.

should be covered by your insurance, nicking carpets and flooring IS serious damage!

ps once it is empty, get there ASAP and get the locks changed, the place checked and get it secured.

Sounds horrendous Mummyof2. There have been several threads regarding tenants complaining about landlords but we don't often hear the other side of the story. At least if they are leaving, you can prepare the house for selling and put it up for sale as soon as it is legal to do so. Though why they think taking flooring and carpets when they already owe you rent, I don't know. Some people are just so bitter. Look at your insurance and see if you can make a claim. Did the tenants pay an amount for damage at the beginning of their tenancy which you can claim? It may not cover the loss of rent and/or damage but would help a little.

Thank you,

Agents have said we are stuck if tennants dont hand the keys back. We still have 4 weeks to go for the notice period, then maybe court etc. Tennants are still liable for rent but they aren't paying anyway.

I've been to the house and without going in its hard to prove its empty. Blinds and curtains are drawn. Agents are going to go to the house tomorrow but nobody can enter.

Its even more frustrating thinking its empty but I still can't do anything to sort the damage. They paid a £500 deposit but they owe more than 1500 in rent. Agents have said there is no point in calling the insurance until we get the keys back and we can see how much damage is done. Alerting insurance to the property possible being empty could cause more problems in the long run.

I can understand now why landlords are starting to charge ridiculously high deposits. The tennants who are honest and respect property suffer because of those tennnats who have no respect and are happy to steal.

Sorry - Rant over for now.

I can highly recommend you post your situation on here as there may be a way round this situation without having to wait indefinitely for your tenant to magically reappear. Good luck

Sorry to hear you are going through this.Did the agency get decent references and check them for you? Just wondered if they have some/ any liability for finding you such crap tenants?
BTW I'm a tenant and wouldn't dream of f**king over a landlord like that, and rent is always arranged to be paid by bank transfer every month, and I stick to that. bad tenants don't excuse shitty or financially exploitative behaviour on the part of some landlords though.

Do not enter the property to change the locks until you legally have possession of the property.

Even if they've done a moonlight flit until they hand back the keys, or the courts award you possession, it is still their home and as such you have no right to enter the property.

Hopefully, the tenants will do the right thing and hand back the keys asap.....goodluck and here's hoping they've just gone without too much (any) damage!!!

Forgot to add.....

Your agents sound like they know their stuff, which makes a change from some I've dealt with!

I feel your pain op, I've been in exactly your position before. It is incredibly stressful. Lets hope the fuckers at least hand the keys in to the neighbours or something.

I completely accept that there are some horrible landlords out there... they deserve the bad press they get.

This was my home and the first tennants I had who lived there for a couple of years were lovely. We respected their right to enjoy the home and they upheld their agreement to pay their rent and keep the property in good condition. I'd like to think this is the norm for landlords and tennants.

Unfortunatley we have had a horrible experience with these tennants. They havent handed the keys back (so far). Agents do seem to know what they are talking about so I'm grateful.

The house isn't obviously empty, the neighbour has agreed to make a statement for the court to say she witnessed the tennants moving out. Agents have warned me that the tennants moving out could actually result in it taking longer to take possestion of the house... all the usual court times and when bailliffs eventually call round there will be no answer and they may have to try several times. I don't even know if tennants changed the locks... i have a key to the locks i fitted but haven't dared try it.

Brian, it is just so stressful. I hope your situation was resolved quickly and as painlessly as possible.

I get I'm not cut out to be a landlord. I will live and learn. At the moment I'm not sleeping, I have to cut my maternity leave short because we can't afford for me to be off work with no rent coming in. My children are suffering and I'm not coping well.

you are a victim of crime and that is always depressing and upsetting. They are professional crooks from this tale - calculated late rent, stealing and now the running away.

it will get better. May they get what they deserve.

Brian, it is just so stressful. I hope your situation was resolved quickly and as painlessly as possible.

It took 5 months from begining to end. There was damage, sounds similar to yours. Although mine turned up at court and tried to plead their case to stay longer luckily the judge wasn't having any of it.

I was pg at the time and had to cut my mat leave short too. The whole thing was hideously stressful. I suspect yours have gone if they have taken the carpet and floorboards. Obviously you could enter the property, or get an agent to do this if you suspected any of the services had not been left in a safe condition, ie water, gas and electric. I'm sorry, you're living this nightmare. Landlord-zone forum is a great place for advice from other landlords who have been though this hell.

I would strongly suggest anyone thinking of using one of these companies first protects themselves by reading the guidance published by the OFT - i8it.ly/3d7YH

We were badly ripped off by one of these "so called genuine" cash buyers. Not only did we not anything from them for ages but their final insult came on the day we were meant to exchange when they called up to say they have to reduce their offer.

They dropped their original "firm" offer by £15k but because of our situation we had no other option but to accept (and now live with the terrible feeling you get when you've been robbed blind).

Avoid these rip-off merchants at all costs!