Being the landlord and neighbour at the same time thread.

Soldato
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house next door for sale - thinking of buying it FTB
purely for investment purposes so > likely get it rented out.

any of you been the the landlord next door to tenants before - is this a good idea? what can I expect?
 
Soldato
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great idea, just pick your tenant carefully. in the end i converted a victorian semi, into two flats, put the one downstairs up for rent (1 bedroom) got a few inquirys, but in the end went with a lady in her 50's and her partner. never had a problem.

she was a joy to have there, always helping with the kids. and if there was any issues, i was there to deal with it there and then, but there never was.

my only tip would be for you, and that would be dont get too precious about the property, once someone is in there, you will have a tendency to 'pop round' to see if everything is in order...dont, leave them alone.

it will be fine.
 
Soldato
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I expect it could have it's pros and cons. It would be very easy to keep an eye on the property but if anything ever went wrong they would be round in a flash.

It could potentially mean you get a better tenant as well. Anyone who is happy to live next to their landlord would hopefully know that they would look after the place properly.
 
Associate
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Our landlord (and ex-dwellers) lives 3 doors down and its actually quite nice. Then again we are nice people.

We drop in their post every now and then (rather than go through the agency) and they have said to go straight to them if the agency is not being helpful. We always go to the agency first but its good to know if the boiler exploded we know where to go!
 
Soldato
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Our landlord (and ex-dwellers) lives 3 doors down and its actually quite nice. Then again we are nice people.

We drop in their post every now and then (rather than go through the agency) and they have said to go straight to them if the agency is not being helpful. We always go to the agency first but its good to know if the boiler exploded we know where to go!

Wonder why they even use an agency if this is the arrangement?
 
Man of Honour
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If you don’t use a management agency then expect frequent knocks on the door from the tenants. Personally I wouldn’t want that that and wouldn’t want to keep an eye on the place 24 hours a day.
 
Soldato
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house next door for sale - thinking of buying it FTB
purely for investment purposes so > likely get it rented out.

any of you been the the landlord next door to tenants before - is this a good idea? what can I expect?

If I was you, I'd rent it thru a letting agent, so althought you are next door, they neighbour doesn't have to know you physically own the property.
Lets you keep a friendly eye on the place without actually having to ask.
 
Soldato
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use an agent, the tenant does not even need to know you own the property

you need to put your address on the contract

also, if you want managed , its very expensive

for an agency to just find you someone, (not managed) you still have to deal with the problems directly with the tennant

and to repeat whats been said, its totally fine as long as you pick the tennant carefully.
 
Soldato
Joined
24 Sep 2007
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4,566
One advantage is you get to choose your neighbours.

In some ways it will be very convenient for you, because it will be a lot easier, because the property is right there if it needs attention.

As long as you can relax and not fret about having a tenant in the property it might be worth considering.

Rgds
 
Soldato
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If you don’t use a management agency then expect frequent knocks on the door from the tenants. Personally I wouldn’t want that that and wouldn’t want to keep an eye on the place 24 hours a day.

not true at all.

if you have maintained your flat and its fittings to a good standard and pick your tenant wisely then they would have no reason to contact you. on top of that it costs to have it managed.

i manage my own property and have had 3 texts from my new tenant over the course of a year. painless tbh
 
Soldato
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London
If you don’t use a management agency then expect frequent knocks on the door from the tenants. Personally I wouldn’t want that that and wouldn’t want to keep an eye on the place 24 hours a day.

so you would rather pay over £100 per month (fees here in london) to have your property managed than rather deal with any minor problems yourself

especially if you live next door ? :confused:
 
Associate
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Edinburgh
My landlady lives on the moon, took the agency over two months to get in contact with her.

Thorough dislike for her now, we were about to renew the tenancy but we wanted some niggles fixed first, took like 4 months :/ Unsure if we still want the place.
 
Soldato
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London
there are always going to be good/bad landlords and good/bad tennants

if you are a good landlord, chances are you will have less problems with tennants
 
Soldato
Joined
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OCUK Detention Centre
not true at all.

if you have maintained your flat and its fittings to a good standard and pick your tenant wisely then they would have no reason to contact you. on top of that it costs to have it managed.

i manage my own property and have had 3 texts from my new tenant over the course of a year. painless tbh

this is my experiance, as stated in my previous post, couldnt agree more here
 
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