Landlord (don’t lynch me!!)

[LGY1]

We kept my first house & rent it out.
My tenants text last week to say they had split up so would like to end the tenancy ASAP.

I’ve advertised via OpenRent & I’m confident I wont need to hold them to the 2 month break clause notice.

The house has always rented easily & I usually have a couple of people wanting it each time.

This time though the demand has been ridiculous! I’m doing a viewing day, with 15 min slots and have had to stop at 25. So have been turning people away for the last 3 days.

The thing is, this time I’m starting to get ‘desperate’ follow up messages from people, wanting to not wait until the weekend and saying they will just take it unseen or please can we view first, we need a house etc etc
I feel like there is a shift in the air from the last time I rented it out (2 1/2 years ago), people seem to be in panic situations, not looking to move at leisure.

Im starting to feel so bad that

1. I’m being firm about seeing the viewing day through
2. How on earth do I make a decision on who to go with when people are telling me they ‘need’ to move - not moving in with boyfriend etc like it has been before (Usual credit checks etc aside)

I know at the end of the day this is a business decision and it’s an investment but the shift in the rental environment is really making me uncomfortable about how much this affects peoples lives!

Are you doing the viewings yourself? If so, just choose the person you get the best feeling of (credit checks etc) and cancel the rest of the viewings.

@Googleplexa
Yes doing the viewings myself.

Not 100% sure what the point of my post is, just that, my gosh, the rental market is competitive / stressful for tenants at the moment!

It's a tough time for renting and also for landlords. The cost of mortgages have gone up due to interest rates rises but also profits have been cut drastically due to no longer being able to claim back interest, meaning since April 2020, landlords no longer been able to deduct mortgage interest expenses from rental income. Whilst some people might think this was a good thing (people for some reason are quite anti-landlord) it means that landlords are no longer making a profit and are selling up meaning more competition for rental properties and/or rents going up. I am both a landlady and a renter and I am very glad my landlord isn't yet putting up my rent and also I haven't yet put up the rent on my BTL property. However I have fixed the mortgages for another couple of years at a low rate, once that comes to and end I will have no choice but to put up the rent quite significantly. It seems so punitive, there are very few other businesses that cannot claim back business expenses. Yes housing a necessity but so is food, so is fuel etc etc and it's a business like anything else.

Op, As per my username I'm a LL and have used Open Rent recently. Lack of supply of rental properties means that demand is through the roof. My previous property had 76 enquiries.

Okay, renters will not want to hear this but make sure you have some type of filter on your ad. Eg who do you want living in your property? Working professionals? Families with children? People receiving housing benefit? Pets or not? guarantor? Whatever type if tenant you want/don't want put this on you ad.

Also on your ad state the income they and if using, the guarantor need to earn. I use this:

https://blackstonesresidential.com/rent/affordability-calculator/ rent affordability calculator]]

Credit check your tenant and be strict. If they fail the credit check, rent to someone else.

Moreover, do not be rushed into renting to someone you have doubts about. An undesirable tenant will hard to evict.

And lastly, remember you decide who lives in your property not someone who is rushing you to make a decision. Think long and hard about your ideal tenant. Ie someone who will pay the rent every month and look after your property,

Good luck zip

Out to curiosity, where are you OP? There’s definitely a lack of supply in some areas at the moment!

Stick with open day but don’t be afraid to be strict on references and the criteria you’d prefer (a family etc).

@LGY1 I was in exactly the same situation three months ago. Advertised through OR and had about 35 enquiries in 2 days. A quick sift through, chose 6 couples to view (and paused ad in the meantime). To be honest each couple I would have gladly rented to as the quality was high and all lovely and professional people. In the end I chose one couple because they (politely!) pressured me- they had been offered another flat and had to let LL know by the following day but they preferred mine.
I, too found it very hard to have no say no to the others..I had to steel myself to phone them as I felt awful but obviously couldn't rent to all of them! They all told me horror stories of being one of 20 + couples being shown round tiny, over priced, dingy flats in a huge block veiwing.
The government and organisations like Shelter (who shelter no-one!) have a lot to answer for in driving out small landlords.

on the flip side, I was looking for an apartment to rent in 2021 and it took 5 weeks! I was finding properties were being taken off the market the same DAY they were posted. As someone who worked 9-5 M-F, it was so hard to arrange viewings and agents would give the property to the first few viewers.

I was very tempted to just blind-rent, but managed to find the perfect place. The agent had about 20 viewings and offered it to me. He said he felt like I would take care of the place and was trustworthy/stable.

so ultimately yes the market for renting is dire, but always follow your gut and you’ll make the right decision. You don’t want to get the wrong person in.

What size house are you renting out out of interest?

Also if people tell you they need to desperately move in asap, you need to reply that it takes 20 days or whatever for tenant checks to process. Make your expectations clear that you will be carrying out all relevant checks and can’t waive them

@LGY1 I'm sorry to say but you almost have to treat viewings like a job interview. Do you have a list of screening questions you ask them at the viewing?

tenant screening questions

It's really important to dig deep on how many people will live at the property. Times are hard, rentals are scarce and many times 5 people wanting to live in my 2 bed flat. Make sure you see the person moving in and not their "friend".

A lot of landlords are leaving the market due to increased taxation, potential new EPC requirements and loss of Section 21. They are often vilified and would rather skip the hassle and risk for slimmer returns. I’m surprised that there isn’t more noise about the dire state of the private rental sector- it must be awful not being able to secure a roof over your head whilst bidding on several properties. Small time landlords aren’t charities, though and big time ones are definitely not.

^ good point. I became a homeowner through inheritance last year. I considered living there or selling up, but never renting it out. My colleagues tried to convince me to use an agency to handle the tenant, but there’s still so much potential for things to end badly.

It's absolutely mad trying to find a property to rent at the moment. LLs are selling up, mortgage rates are higher and institutional investors are buying up.

OP, we were in a similar position. Our tenants moved out, we advertised on open rent, the ad went live in the evening and 20 hours later I had 81 messages and somebody had paid the holding deposit (which we immediately returned). I found it very stressful and without wanting to sound over dramatic also anxiety inducing.
I want to be a good Landlord and wanted to be fair to everybody and respond to everybody, but as I am a small scale landlord and also have a full time job, I just didn't have the time.
In the end we decided on a few criteria, picked 5 prospective groups and then rented the flat to the ones we liked the best.
Our son is planning on moving out next year and I'm already dreading him having to go through the stress of finding a place.

I would advise arranging a meeting at their house maybe to fill in forms, so you can see how tidy/ clean it is or even drive past - I turned someone down without even seeing inside, the random broken furniture and rubbish on the front lawn was enough.

It’s a small 3 bed in Leeds.

@Notanevillandllord thanks for that!