Easter Lessons... and Blessings!

 

A very Happy Easter to you!   Easter is my favourite holiday, and I have many happy memories of Easter as a child, and loved learning the stories of it.   It reminds us of the lesson of due diligence today particularly, and I hope you have a happier Maundy Thursday than Jesus did…   If you remember, Jesus was betrayed by his fellow apostle Judas Iscariot. Judas was known for betraying Jesus to the Roman authorities for 30 pieces of silver. After all the disciples had had the Last Supper together, Judas then identified Jesus to the guards in the Garden of Gethsemane by betraying Jesus with a kiss, leading to Jesus' arrest and subsequent crucifixion.

It’s a story that still enrages and infuriates me every year - how could he do that to his friend?!?   Sadly in life, it’s never strangers who cause us the most upset and betrayal - it’s those we know and trust.   In the property industry, there are many wretches about. Every so often in the community, a story will pop up about somebody who has ripped somebody off.   I myself have inadvertently been scammed by someone I’d been involved in a property scheme with for a few years.    It came to light that we had been betrayed badly by a Judas, who purposely let us down through an elaborate scam to extort investment money from us.    He seemed a good guy, knew his stuff, showed us evidence of his previous work, was kind and charming and professional and talked a good game… but in hindsight we now realise this was likely all part of his several-year plan.   The projects never happened, the sites were left half built and / or abandoned, and we last heard that the main guy had fled to live in France, presumably living off our stolen money.   All of us in the cohort lost about £12,000 each, and some people that had actively invested even more, lost even more - tens of thousands of pounds, some hundreds of thousands. Majorly stress-inducing for them, especially as it was their own savings, or they’d borrowed it from their own friends, family and neighbours 😱   We did try to recoup our funds using Action Fraud, without joy. I am annoyed with this deceit myself, but I am even more enraged for my lovely friends who lost even higher amounts, because they trusted him. Thus, the story of Jesus and Judas today on Maundy Thursday is a timely reminder to do thorough due diligence on those that you choose to do business with.    Some people will smile at your face then stab you in the back.   So check, check, check everybody you work with, because sadly some people have no shame in ripping you off.   I would rather die than not pay someone their money back.    Even the thought of me dying mid-project without repaying someone their investment funds really bothers me.    So I have an insurance policy in place to prevent that, a key (wo)man insurance plan with Royal London.   My death is not an excuse for someone not getting their money back. I have a conscience, and I like to sleep at night. Even if it’s the big sleep!   But do, please, check out anybody you work with, fully.  Ask those awkward questions, especially if you’re going to be lending someone tens of thousands of pounds of your own money.   Because those of us who have nothing to hide, have nothing to worry about. 😊   PS - footnote… Not commonly known, but did you know after witnessing Jesus' death, Judas returned the money, and took his own life? The Gospel of Matthew states he tried to return the money he received for the betrayal and then hanged himself. Some suggest this act was driven by remorse, guilt, or a desire to redeem himself.   I’m a strong believer in karma - so even if your conscience doesn’t get you for your bad actions, karma will… Cheery story over…. now you have a lovely and peaceful Easter!   I hope you enjoy it with friends and family, and plenty of chocolate.  😊🐣🧆   My very best wishes, Kellyann Martin x x x  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kellyann Martin is a UK-based property investor. She has a book available for purchase on Amazon, click here to buy: STARTING OUT IN PROPERTY...: What I Wish I'd Known At The Beginning! : Martin, Kellyann: Amazon.co.uk: Books

A Top Ten Countdown of The Naughtiest Things Tenants Have Done in My Properties:

 A Top Ten Countdown of The Naughtiest Things Tenants Have Done in My Properties:

 

I’ve got the old-skool Top of the Pops countdown theme tune in my head; you know the one: Der derrr der der derrrrrrr….

Anyway, here’s a top ten countdown of the naughtiest things tenants have done in my properties so far…. In at 10…

 

10. Let someone sleep in the shed in the front garden

 

Yes, they really let some randomer sleep in the knackered old shed outside in the front yard. God knows why.

Why not let them stay in the house, if it was their friend?

Why let them sleep in the shed at all, if it was a complete stranger?

Bewildering.

I got rid of the shed. No squatters allowed.

 

9. Painted kitchen cupboard units red

 

To be fair, this wasn’t an act of naughtiness, more a misunderstanding of the terms and conditions on their part.

Tenant asked if they could redecorate kitchen. I said yes. Tenant took this to mean that EVERYTHING could be painted, not just the walls, as I had assumed everyone knew. So yes, it was a shocking revelation to discover on a tenancy inspection that my lovely pine-coloured units had been coated in a garish red.

“You said I could decorate” they said… And they weren’t wrong, I did!

So THAT was an interesting lesson on explanation and clarification!

Luckily the tenant likes red, and luckily, they are good long-term tenants who are not going anywhere.

 

8. Had a stash of 6 secret dogs which ruined all the laminate flooring

 

And thus began my hate-hate relationship with letting agents. Because had they actually been inspecting and managing the tenancy properly, like they were supposed to - nay, like they were being PAID to – they would have realised the tenancy agreement at the time stated no dogs. Not a single one. Let alone 6. It was the neighbour that told me that, after they left.

The tenants had inherited a deceased relative’s windfall and bought their own house, which no doubt now resembles a chaotic stinking zoo.

Meanwhile I had to tip all my lovely laminate wooden flooring, which was steeped in dog piss.

 

7. Fill their room to the rafters with hoarded junk, stopped paying rent and dumped a caravan on the drive.

Oh, this one annoyed me immensely, not because of what they’d done, but because when I questioned their behaviour, their stinking, stroppy, rude and threatening attitude towards me was appallingly vile. An absolute arsehole: I’ve never before wanted to punch a tenant in the face so badly until this one, and they would definitely have deserved it. Still, there’s always time, should I ever see them again…

Or maybe I’ll leave their fate up to karma; it always catches up with and reprimands wretches in the end. Karma’s a bitch… but I quite like her!

 

6. Moved into a HMO room, stop paying rent, make up a cock-and-bull story about being investigated for fraud, and dragged his poor ex-wife into his lies, claiming the rent would be coming out of her bank.

 

Never in my life until this guy had I met such a plausible liar who seemed the real deal – and I am suspicious and mistrusting of most people!

 

Billy Liar spouted lies with such charm and conviction that I am convinced he actually believed what came out of his own mouth. When I spoke to his ex-wife on the phone, who was lovely, it became very clear he was full of shit, and his life on a downward spiral trajectory. Absolutely no doubt at all that this clown will end up in the jail.

 

5. Created a marijuana growing farm in a loft

 

Discovered this after the tenants had left. Had to pull all the ‘gardening garb’ down from the loft, and then the police didn’t want to know or care, and just told me to get rid of it. So I did. Made about £60 selling the pots to keen gardeners on Facebook marketplace. Which saved me traipsing them all to the tip.

 

4. Flooded the bathroom which then poured through the ceiling, water damaged ceilings and cut the electrics out.

 

Tenant couldn’t understand why the bath had overflowed at 11pm at night.

I could, and so could the insurance claims man: tenant clearly fell asleep whilst the bath was running late at night, and the bath overflowed.

But no, tenant argued the toss and swore blind that there was something wrong with the pipework.

Hey, people make mistakes, and I accept that, and am ok with that.

It’s when they try to bullshit me with lies to try and absolve their own responsibility that it infuriates me.

 

 

3. Tenant caught child grooming in an online child-pretence sting operation which was filmed for a paedophile-hunters programme and then shared on the internet.

 

Erm, yes. The other occupants of the shared house informed me of this video, and then I had to have a very awkward conversation with him, whereby I pretty much said to the guy: Look, I’ve seen the video. You can’t really stay here anymore, can you?

He left swiftly without a fuss – leaving the room immaculate.

Hopefully no actual children were harmed in real life from this guy.

 

2. Tenant caused chip pan fire in kitchen, took on knobhead boyfriend, got into drugs, trashed house, door kicked in, windows smashed and neglected own children

 

Same naughty tenants as drug farm above. Cost an absolute fortune to get fixed and put property back to the (newly refurbished) condition it was in when they moved in two years before. Absolute nightmare, and the worst house trashing I’d had.

Tenant moved on by council into a lovely new property, in a much nicer area, only to repeat the same toxic pattern of new knobhead boyfriend, drugs, arguments, violence, house trashed.

Some people just don’t learn what’s good for them, do they?

Sadly even when they’ve their own kids to look after and protect.

 

1. Allow local naughty waste dumpers to dump several tonnes of asbestos on the drive in exchange for drugs

 

Same naughty tenants, as above, again. Again, cost a fortune to have asbestos and rubbish removed, but not before local yokels had been breaking and entering into the property and also setting fire to the crap in the garden a couple of times and caused the fire brigade to be called out on each occasion, causing chaos with the house, garden and neighbours.

What is wrong with some people?!

 

So there we have it: top ten countdown of wretch behaviour. Some from tenants which didn’t end up last long as all…. NO MERCY FOR NONSENSE!

 

Surely that’s it for my bad luck of tenants now?

And no Mr Universe, this is not a request to send me more testing problems to compile another countdown list, thank you!

 

I’m quite happy with having lovely, well-behaved tenants who do the right thing, thank you very much! 😊

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kellyann Martin is a UK-based property investor.

She has a book available for purchase on Amazon, click here to buy:

STARTING OUT IN PROPERTY...: What I Wish I'd Known At The Beginning! : Martin, Kellyann: Amazon.co.uk: Books

MY RULES OF PROPERTY INVESTING

  

1. Never buy a house I wouldn’t live in myself

A nice simple self-explanatory rule to start with!

With all my houses, even the ones in the less popular areas of the city, I would still be content to live in them myself if I had to. Because if I’m not prepared to live in the homes I’ve created, why should I expect anybody else to?

If the street or area is rough and ropy or unsafe, or the house is not refurbished well enough, then it’s not suitable for customers / tenants / people. And if I think it’s not good enough for me, it’s not good enough for others either.

 

2. Only buy houses within 20 minutes from my front door

I’m Leeds born and bred, and have lived here all my life. Whilst I can understand the appeal that some other investors have about buying property in different areas all over the country, that’s just not for me.

My goal was always to provide local homes for local people in my home town.

And because my houses are relatively close, I can visit them easily, or get there quickly if there’s an emergency to deal with.

 

3. Ensure the property cashflows a minimum £250 net profit from the rent per month

From a monetary business aspect, each house must create positive cashflow every month after the mortgage has been paid.

 

It astounds me to hear of landlords where the rental income only just covers the property’s buy-to-let mortgage.

Or even worse - the mortgage is more than the rent, so the landlord is effectively paying for a tenant to live there!

Make sure you make money from each property, or you may end up in debt, stress, and trouble.

Another key property business mistake to avoid is this: don’t get too emotionally attached to the houses either - it’s a business, so they are effectively just boxes that you make money from. As long as you maintain and look after your boxes and their contents (people included!) all should be well.

4. Have the potential to add at least £25k to the end value

Buying houses below market value is not always easy. But that’s the way my business model works. I’ve got to be able to uplift the value via refurbishment to be able to pull out mine and my investors’ money when the property is revalued, after all the work is complete. So you need to be realistic when checking end values and ceiling prices of the rest of the comparable houses nearby.

Be cautious when researching likely end property values, so take your cheerful rose-tinted glasses off!

Here’s one of the very few places in life where it’s better to be cautiously pessimistic / realistic in the financial figures rather than overly optimistic.

5. Don’t deal with dickheads

There’s no other way to phrase this nicely.

Some people will just cause you chaos, stress, anxiety, and cost you time, money, effect and energy.

There’s lots of lovely people, tenants, contractors, and professionals around…So we don’t need to waste our time with unscrupulous and unsuitable people who just do not respect us.

They may be rude or disrespectful or patronising to you, not do as good a job as they promised, trash your house, lie to you, and generally cause you a headache. The key is being able to spot these types of people before you engage with them.

Which leads us to…

6. Use your gut instinct when working with other people

Spotting genuinely good people from those who just pretend to be, is difficult.

I’ve had a plasterer that promised me he was awesome - then walked off the job because he couldn’t get his plaster to stick to the ceiling.

I’ve had a HMO tenant be such a charming manipulative liar that he lied to my face with ease - only to then stop paying rent, and become an avoidant problematic bullshitter.

I’ve had a tenant wanting a fresh start of stability from her chaotic past and provide a secure home for her children - only to repeat her same mistakes, get involved with drugs and violent boyfriends and utterly trash my house and abscond leaving a horrendous and expensive mess for me to deal with.

The common factor in these, and every case I’ve had which has turned out badly, is that every time, I had a niggling feeling in my gut that something wasn’t right about these people.

But I chose to ignore that uncertainty I felt and gave them a chance anyway, because I try to be nice like that, and trust that they won’t let me down with their chance.

I don’t do that anymore.

If my gut instinct tells me something isn’t right about something or someone - I believe it.

 

7. A void is better than a headache

Following on from my last point, if your gut instinct tells you someone will not make a suitable tenant in your property, wait until you find one that is.

There’s plenty of people around needing housing, so we shouldn’t be so desperate to grasp rental money that we end up putting someone unsuitable in our properties.

Not only because if / when it all goes wrong, it’s then very difficult to get rid of them, especially if you have to go down the costly eviction route.

Do stringent checks on your potential tenants, and if someone’s not right or you just don’t get a good feeling about them, say no.

It really is better to have a void than a headache.

I’ve left rooms and properties empty for weeks and weeks sometimes, because I haven’t been totally happy about potential tenants that have viewed them.

The right tenant is worth waiting for.

You’re looking for long term stability and reliability in your tenants, not just filling your wallet with short term cash.

 

8. Avoid false economy during refurbishments

It may seem like a good idea at the time, not doing certain things during refurbishments to save time or money - but it is false economy in the long run.

Examples I have made like this which taught me this lesson include:

⁃ Not putting radiators in kitchens. Only to then later have to retrofit electric heaters.

⁃ Not replacing the old gutters at the same time as having a new roof done. Only to then have to replace them a few years later - and the majority of the cost was having to put scaffolding up again.

⁃ Buying cheap poor quality boilers - only to then have to replace them way before the usual boiler lifespan because they went kaput.

Better to do big jobs all at once during the refurb, rather than kicking the can down the road to have to deal with at a later time - and likely with more expensive retrofitting or replacement costs.

 

9. Be a good person

Unfortunately there are a lot of wretches in this industry.

They talk a good game, give a nice winning smile, extort money from people… only to then do them wrong or rip them off for vast amounts of money. Eventually though, all these wretches get found out, and rightly so.

Because it’s not enough to just PRETEND to be a good person - you’ve got to actually BE a good person.

And that means caring about other people, rather than taking advantage of them for your own selfish needs.

So be understanding when your tenant is genuinely struggling.

Pay your contractors’ invoice swiftly when they have already completed the work for you.

Repay your investors in full and on time - and if there’s a problem, be open and honest about it, and work hard to get it resolved.

Things do sometimes go wrong - in projects and in life - but radio silence and lack of communication just causes mistrust and makes things worse.

My final thought on this topic is one personal life rule I live by:

Don’t ever say anything or do anything or behave in a way that would make your favourite grandma ashamed of you.

Your Nanna and your conscience are watching - so don’t let them down, and do yourself proud.

 

10. Have great integrity and do what you say you will do

Last one, which is a nice follow on from the previous rule.

It surprises and appals me how many people in life don’t actually do what they say they will do. I think if you do have great integrity, you really are in the minority of people.

You wouldn’t believe the amount of people I book tenancy viewings or meetings for, who don’t even turn up.

They don’t appear, they don’t call, they don’t do the thing they agreed to. It tells me a lot about that person.

And an unreliable, untrustworthy, flaky person of poor integrity is not the sort of reputation you want other people to have about you.

Having great integrity is always doing the right thing - even when no one is watching.

 

So those are my own personal ten rules of property investing - and as you’ve seen, it’s not just about the tangible bricks and mortar aspect of it!

Best of luck with building your own property portfolio, because it’s not easy.

Because if it was, everyone would do it…

Wouldn’t they…?!?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kellyann Martin is a UK-based property investor.

She has a book available for purchase on Amazon, click here to buy:

STARTING OUT IN PROPERTY...: What I Wish I'd Known At The Beginning! : Martin, Kellyann: Amazon.co.uk: Books