| Do I need to take out insurance? | - Landlords should definitely obtain building insurance – there are landlord specific packages.
- In order to sell this a company needs to be SEA trained, therefore James Anderson cannot sell them but we can point you in the right direction.
- Your property manager can also liaise with insurers if any claims are made (with the landlords permission) and they will arrange quotes or works if maintenance repairs are required.
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| Am I able to increase the rent during the Tenancy? | - Not during the agreed term, however when the tenancy comes to renewal/extension there is an opportunity to discuss and negotiate rent changes with your tenant(s).
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| Do I need to inform my mortgage lender that I am renting out my property? | |
| Can I hold the deposit? | - Yes you can. We recommend doing this via DPS through James Anderson but there are many schemes available.
- If there are any disputes, having a property manager to mediate is really beneficial. The only stage we do not get involved with is discussions around what is owed on the deposit.
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| How do I end the Tenancy if I need the property back? | - There are a couple of ways of going about this, dependent on the details of the tenancy agreement. The simplest way is to serve two months notice upon the tenant – where the tenancy agreement allows you to do so.
- If not, the end of the tenancy is the final date stated in the contract and you cannot take the property back before this date.
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| Am I allowed to inspect the property? | - Yes, so long as suitable notice is served (at least 24 hours) and this is arranged with the tenants.
- Part of James Anderson’s full service is quarterly inspections. We recommend that when possible, inspections are carried out by a non-biased, third party.
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| What happens when tenants don’t pay rent? | - When a tenant is a full two months in arrears, a landlord is able to serve a section 8 notice that requires the tenant to surrender and vacate the property because of this breach of contract.
- In this unlikely circumstance, your property manager would pursue the tenant at three days, seven days, fourteen and twenty-one days.
- The benefit of our comprehensive service is the ‘rent guarantee’. With this, if a tenant stops paying rent or if the property is vacant, rent will still be covered and paid to the landlord.
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| What happens if a tenant buys a dog or cat without my knowledge? | - If stated in the agreement that pets are not allowed, this is a breach of contract. The property manager would liaise with the tenant on the landlord’s behalf to resolve this.
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| Am I responsible for pest control? | - The tenant is responsible for keeping the property clean and well maintained.
- If the infestation is due to natural circumstances, and the property has been well maintained and kept clean, the landlord is responsible for taking care of the problem.
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| How can I keep up to date with what’s going on at my property? | - Most correspondence will be carried out over the phone, in person or via email. We can be guided by client on their preferred means of contact.
- As well as being kept up to date regularly by the property manager via these channels, we have the MyHome portal for things like invoices and statements.
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| What services can you offer for overseas landlords? | - Paying utility/council tax whilst vacant bills, forwarding on post etc …HMRC reporting, responsibilities and client’s non-relevant exemption number, we can help with all of these!
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| How do you handle out of hours emergencies? | - We have a dedicated out of hours team, available by phone from 6pm on weekdays until 8.45am and from 6pm on Fridays – 8.45am on Monday. You can contact them using a dedicated phone number. This service is to be used for emergencies only such as gas or electric failures and leaks
- Our offices and your normal property manager will be contactable at all other times.
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| What is the difference between Full management and Comprehensive management? | - The rental guarantee. This is provided with our comprehensive management service and means that if a tenant stops paying rent or if the property is vacant, rent will still be covered and paid to the landlord.
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| What are the property management hours? | - Your property manager is contactable 9-6pm Mon-Fri. For out of hours emergencies, contact our out of hours team.
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| Are the management fees tax deductible? | - Yes agency fees are tax deductible and you can claim these back.
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| Is there a management fee for the property whilst the property is vacant? | - We offer a reduced ‘vacate manager service’ that includes quick and less regular inspections and reports back to the landlord. This is offered at a lower fee (£180 inc VAT pm).
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| How many properties do James Anderson currently manage in this area? | - We currently have 250-300 on our books (Barnes ~112 East Sheen ~58 and Putney ~83 respectively).
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| How many contractors do you have on your books and what services do they cover? | - We have a core set of five go-to contractors who we trust and have a long-term working relationship with (they have been with us for a number of years).
- Some are more specific e.g. locksmiths, carpet fitters, flooring, sash windows.
- Where works are required we always obtain three quotes or more.
- If a landlord has a preferred contractor, we are happy to use them.
- We review contractors according to quality and their quotes – our team meet with contractors quarterly for review meetings.
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| How are maintenance issues dealt with? | - The tenant or landlord will report the issue to their property manager directly.
- Your property manager will then decide on the best course of action, on behalf of the landlord.
- Where significant works or cost are incurred and it is non-emergency, the property manager will liaise with the landlord prior to go ahead.
- We do our best to alleviate issues over phone where possible e.g of flicking switches or changing settings and go and to inspect the issue ourself if necessary.
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| Will you notify me when my certificates are going to expire? GSC, EPC, etc…. | |
| Do landlords need to use our trusted contractors or can they provide details of their own preferred for regular use? | - If a landlord has a preferred contractor, we are happy to use them.
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| Are your property inspections and inventories conducted in-house or by an independent company? | - These are currently conducted by an independent company.
- The company we use can usually update the landlords previous inventory, if it was a professional one.
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| How often do you do inspections on the property? | - These are offered as quarterly (with our full and comprehensive plans) but we are happy to go with what the landlord would prefer e.g. six months.
- We are not able to carry out more than four per year – this breaches the tenant’s right to quiet enjoyment of the residence.
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