Hot tips to getting that property
Guys to secure a property with a private landlord, you will need to provide references (which we will look at in more detail in emails to come) and you will also have to provide some form of rent in advance and importantly a deposit. In this blog i want to stress the importance of paying a deposit to a landlord to secure a property.
People, the bottom line is you need to pay a deposit, let’s make this clear and pay a bigger deposit if it means closing the deal with a private landlord.
Remember an average 3-bedroom property in Greater London costs let’s say a on average £500,000. This probably being the biggest investment in the landlord’s lifetime. Now if a landlord is going to let his property to you, let me tell you he wants to see some cash upfront before he releases those keys. Private landlords need some security and by paying a deposit shows your commitment and an intention that you will look after his property. From experience they are not interested in ‘rent deposit schemes, ‘bond schemes’ etc. Remember you are competing with privately working tenants who have references, can provide a deposit and rent in advance. You need to put yourself on par with them. One of those in our opinion is to pay a deposit.
Remember this about landlord’s, cash makes them happy :-)))
I remember to get the deal done, on top of the one month’s rent in advance, we would offer the landlord a higher deposit just to get them to sign on that dotted line. Borrow from a friend, save up, do a garage sale as one of my tenants did, offer him one month’s deposit, 6 weeks deposit, even 2 months deposit. We were doing that day in and day out to get the deal done. So make this a requirement – GET THAT DEPOSIT NO MATTER WHAT IT TAKES.
Don’t worry too much about unscrupulous landlords and not getting your deposit back at the end of the tenancy. As from the 6th April 2007 all new tenancy deposits must be protected in a government scheme. It’s a good initiative not perfect but you can see it’s there to help tenants which means protecting you. The government wants to make sure tenants’ deposits are protected so that:
- Tenants get all or part of their deposit back, when they are entitled to it
- Any disputes between the tenants and landlords or agents will be easier to resolve
- Tenants are encouraged to look after the property they are renting
Remember the landlord must notify you in 30 days as to how the deposit is protected.
I will look further into the different tenancy deposit schemes at a later date.
So you take note of what’s been said…….be positive, smile and be smart
We’ll do it together
DSS Select Coming
