Landlord Products / Services
Dear Diary,
We did it! I’m big time now! I’m going to start walking around with a briefcase and a pocket square.
I guess I’m officially a BTL landlord!
But why the doubt? Because nothing feels different. I don’t feel any different. But then again, what am I supposed to feel? Maybe this is it.
There was more of a pop when I officially became a property owner because of the grind I had to go through to get there. In comparison, jumping to the next stage of becoming a landlord didn’t really involve anything other than employing a greaseball agent to push my ass over the line. I didn’t really do anything other than scribble my signature on a few contracts, and then before I knew it, I was a landlord.
Okay, marvelous. Mission accomplished!
So now what? I dunno.
The last time I checked in, which was approximately 10 days ago, I had given an agent the greenlight to track down suitable tenants and get them into the property ASAP. Apparently my agent conducted several viewings within a week and there wasn’t a shortage of interest – they could have kept going and going.
Of course, you never know what the truth is in these situations, least of all when the words are coming out of the agent’s slippery hole. Blind faith it is then!
I don’t want to be one of those people that makes prejudgments based on stereotypes, but I’m probably going to be that kind of person. Because it’s fun.
Anyways…
Since I’m a brand new landlord with literally zero experience, I pretty much gave my agent full reign of choosing the tenant. I’m sure it’s a decision that will eventually come back to bite me in the bollocks, but the reality is, I’m so hopelessly inexperienced that his poor judgement should be better than my best judgement. Once again, blind faith.
I was told that the process of finding my new tenant’s went as follows:
- All scheduled viewings were conducted
- A handful of the most promising applicants were referenced and credit checked
- My agent then picked the applicants’ that came back with positive results and were able to move in the soonest (keeping void periods to a minimum)
I really don’t know if that’s a winning formula, but on the surface and through the eyes of a novice, it seemed logical. And it seemed to work, because now I have tenants’, which came in the form of… a single-mother.
Hmm… no judgement. But an odd choice for a property that was allegedly being overloaded with enquiries.
I keep reminding myself that they’re (my letting agent) the professionals. They know what they’re doing.
How rigorous are their referencing protocols? I don’t know.
Although, as I’ve clarified, I really don’t know the difference between fact or fiction, and I’m putting a heap of faith in the hired help. Maybe too much.
In any case, at the end of the day my initial mission is complete, but I fear my journey is just beginning. I feel tired!
I have no idea what comes next, but I’m sure I’ll blog about it.
Thank you for following!
If you’ve been following me through this journey from the beginning, middle or very end, I’d like to say a big thank you.
If you’re embarking on your own journey best of luck to you!
The Landlord :)
Disclaimer: I'm just a landlord blogger; I'm 100% not qualified to give legal or financial advice. I'm a doofus. Any information I share is my unqualified opinion, and should never be construed as professional legal or financial advice. You should definitely get advice from a qualified professional for any legal or financial matters. For more information, please read my full disclaimer.
