Print Page
Help! I’ve got squatters in my rental property and I want to evict them as quickly as possible. Can I serve a Court Notice myself – how do I go about this and what’s the best way of getting the Police on my side? Is it worth me buying Landlord Legal Expenses Insurance next time? C F Holden, Royston.
Yes you can serve the Court Notice yourself – make sure you do exactly what the courts tell you to do i.e. pin the notice to the door, put one notice through the letterbox, give one to the squatters by hand if at all possible. This will enable you to evict them more quickly.
Once you have your possession notice from the Judge, telephone the Police and ask them to accompany you to your property in order to avoid a breach of the peace. You will get your property back without having to go through the added trauma of paying and waiting several more weeks for the bailiffs to come out.
Landlord Legal Expenses Insurance will not cover you for the damage that the squatters do to your property – it will only cover you for the court costs which are minimal (max of £250). Make sure you have good buildings’ insurance with cover for loss of rental income – you will then be protected against extensive property damage and also the empty period whilst the squatters were there and until you have cleaned and prepared the property for letting once again.
Best to avoid squatters altogether by installing strong locks, shutters and a good alarm system.
My letting agent credit checks all tenants but I’m worried that the very young staff in the agency office don’t have the experience to know if a prospective tenant is going to be unreliable or troublesome. I suspect that, as long as they can match up vacant properties to rental demand, they’re not too worried about finding the ideal tenant for my 2-bed apartment. Because I’m an absent landlord I can’t vet all would-be tenants myself. Is there anything I can do to put prospective tenants through a more vigorous checking process? B Venmore, Peterborough.
With the law favouring tenants, make sure that you take out a Rental Guarantee to protect yourself against the tenants defaulting against the rent. Most agents should be able to offer this service to you for a nominal fee. The tenants usually pay for their referencing which costs between £50-100 per person. With the current climate it is inadvisable to allow any tenants to move into your property who do not qualify for the rental guarantee. It may take a little longer to find suitable tenants but in the long run it will be well worth your while.
When is cheap too cheap? I’ve been researching buying terraced stock in Middlesbrough, Burnley and Bradford and have been looking at properties on line. Because I live in Oxford, I’m not in a position to know if what appears a bargain on an agent’s website is, in fact, a can of worms. I can’t traipse around these places myself and I don’t want to use property clubs, as I like to keep control of my own purchases (which have so far been off-plan in big cities). The agents are obviously going to push their own stock, so how will I know if these supposed “bargain buys” are bargains at all, when they might easily become untenanted headaches? John Hay, Oxford.
Unless you are willing to spend a great deal of time and energy researching the markets in detail, you will have to give up some of the control. If you decide to use a sourcing agent, make sure that they have a good reputation and find some way to verify their track record. Take up references and talk to investors who have bought properties the company has sourced.
I've been advised by my bank to set up an investment vehicle to pay off the capital once my interest-only mortgage comes full term, but if the property market is a safer option than stocks and shares, isn’t it enough to rely on rising house prices to safeguard the repayment of the capital borrowed? Sarah O’Neil, St Albans
On your own residential home, I would recommend taking out a capital and repayment mortgage – then you can be sure that you will pay off the loan at the end of the term. I would not suggest taking out an interest only mortgage with an investment vehicle to pay off the loan, as this is not guaranteed. You may be left with a debt at the end of the mortgage term if the investment has not performed well. Try to pay off your own mortgage as soon as possible.
It is on the investment properties that you will make your money – invest any capital you have into as many properties as you can. You are best taking out interest only loans and not paying them off - ever.
I keep hearing that there are no more hotspots left to invest in. Is this true? Have they all dried up? M Lee, Leeds
Not by a long shot! There are lots of regeneration areas throughout the country where millions of pounds are being spent on new infrastructure. If you choose very carefully within these areas you can make a lot of money in the medium term.
I own my own home free and clear. I paid off my £150K mortgage a while back. The house is now worth about £400K. I am not much of a risk-taker, but is there any way that I could have a passive income without taking a monumental risk? Howard de Vries, North Lincs.
I would advise you to take some money out of your property up to a maximum of 65-70%. Invest in 2-3 properties where the rental yield is good and you will at least cover your costs. Buy in a regenerating area. There are many affordable homes in these areas that will some day be worth a lot of money – but if you can afford to wait 5 years or more for the passive income to start, the return on your money will be substantial.
Last year I tried to buy a house and the deal fell through because the solicitor could not get the necessary documents in time. It was very disappointing to lose that house because the price was right and I though everything was in place. I am now looking at another home. I am almost afraid to get my hopes up – is there anything I can do to prevent this happening again? D. Spelmann, Manchester
Yes. Offer to pay insurance indemnity for the missing documents. Even if you have to pay for documents that the vendor should provide, it could be worth your while. Better to pay an extra £200 than to lose your property once again.
Are the pundits right that the property market will drop by 30%? Should I wait before I invest?
The pundits have been predicting severe drops for the last 5 years, none of which have actually happened. As long as you are in for the 5-7 year term, there is no point in waiting to invest.
If, however, you are looking to invest in a potential hotspot, then some of the improvements to the area will not be in place. It depends on the level of risk you are willing to take:
a) "Where nothing is in place". Looks good on the planning boards. Potential hotspot where you can get in on the ground floor – however you might have to wait a long while to make a killing.
b) "Some things are already happening" – you will pay more, but there is more of an assurance that the prices will go up. May not skyrocket but they will rise gradually.
c) "Civilisation already there" - Rail links, shopping, schools etc. You are not going to find any bargains but you can still invest in that area knowing that, over the long term, the prices will rise above what you initially paid.
