FAIR PRICE OR A FLEECING?

FAIR PRICE OR A FLEECING?

CHRISTMAS – WEDDING – NEW YEAR’S EVE – LANDLORD

What do all these words have in common?



I’ll tell you: they make the sellers bump up the price of items and services unnecessarily!



I’ve seen it today in the local shopping centre. We’re a few days before Christmas and shoppers were falling over themselves to buy, in short, utter tat. Christmas presents items such as soap sets, make up, aftershaves, tacky toys, novelty gifts etc. 

It’s always baffled me why the price of these goods massively increases just because the manufacturers have boxed them up in jazzy snazzy festive boxes aimed for the Christmas market. 


Look at the actual products inside people: you’re not telling me it’s worth the bumped-up value just because it’s in a nice glittery box?!



Ditto New Year’s Eve – where many pubs, free for 364 days of the year, now sell you tickets on the door just to let you in to buy their beverages – what’s all that about?!



And as for the word ‘wedding’ – ooof, it’s a free reign licence to sting you!



But my gripe today is when contractors bump up the price of a job just because they hear the word LANDLORD.

There is some bizarre assumption by the world as a whole that most landlords are super rich, greedy money-grabbing fatcats.


I am not most landlords. 


And although I acknowledge that there are some people in property world exactly like that, in my experience, most of the property landlords I know locally are just hard working people doing their best to provide a service, and they’re not super-wealthy. 


Even though we’d like to be!!


But sadly, this urban myth remains prevalent amongst contractors, who persist in giving you ridiculously-prices for services, just because they know you’re a landlord.



I have this running joke, when my friends and other people say “Oh, you must be rich, you’ve got all these houses!”


To which I reply “I’m not rich, BECAUSE I’ve got all these houses!”


Boilers don’t fix themselves you know! All maintenance and repairs works must be paid for – and sadly the Maintenance Monster rears its head in rental properties way too often for my liking!

Now when I talk about fair prices or fleecing, this is not about me being super tight, or mean, or pennypinching (oh ok, I am a bit, I’m Yorkshire, but we all are up here!)


I’m not saying that contractors aren’t worth their price. 


Some definitely are - and they’ll know I appreciate their good work and fair fees because I’m loyal; if they look after me, I’ll use their services again and again.


Several times recently I have had discussions with contractors, where they were nice guys, I liked them and wanted to give them the business – but then they went and gave me a stupid quote.


And then things get awkward when you have to tell them: ‘OWWWW MUCH?!?! That’s double what I’ve ever paid before, sorry, but you’re not getting the job.

I know people still need to make a profit, and they’ve got their own business to run and their own families to feed. 


I get that.


But I also know what things are worth, because of my experience and prices I’ve paid for things before.


Yes, I might be a landlord, but I’m not a gullible moron who wants to set fire to my money just because you’re greedy.


So yes, sadly, I do find it difficult to undergo any refurbishment work from fair people for a fair price. Add into the mix that I’m female and the amount of piss-taking pricing and patronising doubles. 


(Don’t believe me? Ask any other female property investor!)


I just want a good job done by good guys in a decent timescale for a fair price - without being ripped off – is that too much to ask?!!

It’s sheep that follow someone blindly and end up getting fleeced – so you need a fair price, not a fleecing.


Here’s a couple of tips when looking for contractors to do work:

1.   Find some local firms who provide the service you need. Meeting them in person is good, such as at networking meetings, or ask for referrals from people you know who have used their services.

2.   Check them out online, look at their social media, examples of work, testimonials.

3.   Arrange for each of your shortlisted contractors to come and do a site visit. Not all at the same time though!

Ps - some of these contractors won’t even turn up.

I’m not joking…

If they don’t even ring you to explain with a genuine excuse for their absence, remove them from your list. 

4.   Bear in mind their attitude, personality and demeanour on the site visit.

If you hate them automatically, your gut instinct is giving you a stark warning to avoid avoid avoid!

Like the recent patronising guy who kept calling me ‘flower’… Imagine the drama I’d have had getting him to do what I needed without a load of hassle and fuss?!

5.   Await quotes. This can be anything from 2 hours to never.

Yes really. Some people you will never hear from again.

I’m still waiting for a quote from a guy 18 months ago who spent two hours travelling and pricing up a job!

(Makes interesting fun seeing him dance about to avoid me when he attends the same networking meeting…

…hey, maybe he just decided he hates me, and that’s ok too!)

6.   Assess all the quotes for the best. This might not necessarily be the cheapest.

Stupid quotes can also be removed at this point.

In my head, that’s basically the contractor saying: “I don’t like you, I don’t want to work with you, so I’m going to rip you off”. 
So that’s those guys doing you a favour, they’ve heard the word LANDLORD and those pounds signs starting flashing in their eyes. 
Not today, and not with me, my friend!

7.   Pick your favourite contractor with their fair quote.

Book them in for the job. Ideally, it’s someone you know, like and trust.

8.   Let them do the job! 

Oversee their work, address any queries that arise, but no need to micromanage. They’re competent experts, not schoolkid apprentices.

9.   I’m going to add this in, as it seems to be a rising problem for contractors…

Once they’ve done their job to a great standard – pay them!!! There’s been a horrendous rise lately in service providers not being paid for the work they’ve done, or people withholding their payment for ages - and that’s simply not fair.

If they’ve done you a great job, delivered what you asked, why would you not pay them immediately?

And if you can’t afford to do that, then you shouldn’t be booking them in for work until you can. *RANT OVER!

10.               Appreciate their efforts. Make sure they know you’re thankful for their super work. Leave them online testimonials. Refer them to other people you know. Use their services over and over again.

So there we have it… we all love a fair price, but we hate a fleecing!



And yes, for the record, I am a Libra starsign – the sign of the justice scales, of fairness and equality – so woe betide anyone who tries to upset that balance!



Have a super Christmas and a very happy new year!



Kellyann x x x 

Who Surveys the Surveyors?!

Who Surveys the Surveyors?

Who invests in property?

And of those, who has ever had a surveyor make an absolutely ridiculous valuation on the property?

Hmmm, that’ll be every property investor then!

Despite our best due diligence, our most recent sold and for sale comparables, our best work, time and money spent in refurbishment…  there will always be some utter clown of a surveyor who is more interested in covering their own arse than daring to admit what your newly-refurbished property is now actually worth.

What’s all that about?!

Sadly, it’s becoming more and more frequent to have a downvaluation: I’ve had it, my friends and all the local investors have had it, so it seems it’s a scourge across the board.

Surveyors obviously belong to some evil underground unit, where they get rewarded with downvaluation commission. There’s no logic to their madness.

What’s more infuriating is when the surveyors appear not to even look at the comparables, even when you give them them in their hand. And what’s doubly infuriating is that sometimes you are charged a surveying fee for them to go out and shaft you... #cry

One house I had last year was exactly the same as the comparable 4 DOORS DOWN, which had sold 7 months earlier. And although mine was newly refurbished, it was EXACTLY the same house, both with internal layout and outside grounds, but the surveyor still valued it lower than the twin one twenty metres away.

WHAT’S ALL THAT ABOUT?!?!

If I was if the murderous type, that surveyor would now be under the patio, Brookside style...

Still, what’s the point of my rant?

Well, to help you minimise the risk of this happening, and these are the things you can do to help that.

1. Minimise the risk when you are doing your due diligence on the property by assuming the end value will be the worst-case scenario. Let’s be a pessimist here, then if some miracle happens and they do actually do their job properly, then anything above your worst-case prediction is a Brucie bonus.

   

   Good game, good game! 

2.     Look carefully at the comparable properties within a half mile radius in the last two years. And compare apples with apples, for instance a two-bed terrace is not going to be the same as a two bed semi-detached, so find houses that closely match what you have. Look at sold prices, and then current similar properties on the market.

3.     Make a full list of every single refurbishments item you have done in the property. Don’t bother putting down what it cost you, it’s none of their business! Let them think you’ve paid more than the savvy tight-fisted bargain-hunting investor you are.

4.     Take clear before and after refurbishment photographs during the project. The grimmer the better! (I mean grim before obviously!)

5.     Meet the surveyor at the property, Even if it’s already tenanted, just explain to your tenant what is going on, and allay their fears that no, there is nothing to panic about, you’re not selling the house!

Be nice to the surveyor! Smile! Make genteel pleasant small talk, and point out things that were absolutely terrible in the house before you had your magic charm fixing them. Confirm the rental amount, with the tenancy agreement if required.

6.     Prepare a little report pack, which you are happy to give to the surveyor. This should include details of the house, your list of refurbishment works, your before and after photos, and some Rightmove screenshots of comparable sold prices and current similar for sale values. Obviously, make sure you pick some examples which are in realistic keeping with your current property – it’s pointless showing them the other ones that sold really cheaply because they needed work!

7.     Pray that your surveyor is not an absolute clown. Keep praying.

8.     If the survey report comes back with a ridiculous valuation, you can either suck it up and take it, change lender (and thus surveyors), or get your mortgage broker to dispute it. If disputing it, work with your mortgage broker to build up a case of evidence, which politely shows, that actually, Mr Mortgage Surveyor, you’re talking tosh, and these are the reasons why.

9.     Another option which may be considered, is to pay for your own independent RICS survey before the mortgage lenders surveyor goes out. This will obviously cost you a couple of hundred pounds, but it makes it more difficult for the surveyor to downvalue something, when you have placed in their hand a report from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.

10. Finally, if all else fails, seek out and destroy the surveyor. There is no other option.

Good luck, and let’s hope that the surveyors all get standardised and trained properly very soon!

# Disclaimer: no surveyors were harmed in the making of this blog or portfolio.

…but there’s always time…

When not entertaining herself with impromptu amateur photoshoots, Kellyann is a full time property investor and investment strategist, based in Leeds, West Yorkshire. 

For further details of her work, and how she can help you, please visit:

 www.kellyannmartin.co.uk

THE TRAUMA OF CHILDHOOD: Does It Still Hold You Back?

Me sat in the pub kitchen, looking delighted before a Halloween party.
I was shy then, believe it or not!!

It’s funny how the strangest things can take you straight back to your childhood.

This morning it was a random post I saw on Facebook, and I’ve not been able to stop thinking about it since.

Just so you know what I’m talking about, here’s the post in question:

 

This post really resonated with me, because I was immediately transported back to the new September terms at junior school, and that dreaded task in our English session where we all had to write about what we did over the summer.

Now I loved English and I loved writing… but hated this particular task for a very good reason.

Although my mum and I weren’t entirely poverty-stricken and destitute (mostly!), I was still one of those poor last-year's-uniform kids who never got to go away on holiday.

Whilst the other kids in the class came back into our small well-to-do village school with their suntanned skin, souvenir neon wristbands and tales of waterparks, it was humiliating to have to admit that the furthest I went in my summer holiday was my Nanna’s pub in Leeds City Centre.

 

If you've ever visited this pub - I'm sorry!
But it wasn't that bad when we had it...

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not asking for a sad violin ensemble or a woe-is-me pity party, nor I am saying that my childhood was horrendous.

Especially as I loved being at my Nanna’s pub: bottling up in the morning, playing in the cellar, helping her run the kitchen, and us going to Leeds Market for food supplies.

 

Awww, little tomboy me and my Nanna.
Incidentally, I set out those classy tablecloths and all the paraphernalia every day - obviously deserved that Happy Meal! 

But when you’re the only kid in the class who hasn’t been lavished with nice trips away in the summer, you feel very much like an outcast - and it was embarrassing that other people knew your family couldn’t afford things.
 

Even now, thirty years later, that humiliation still stings.

 


Looking the wrong way, wearing the wrong colour... I just wasn't the same as the others.
But why do we try so hard to fit in, when, each in our own way, we were born to stand out?



What’s the point of me telling you all this?

 

Reminiscence, pricked back to life from a random social media musing.

Part therapy, I suppose, helping me work through some old issues.

Acceptance.

 

If you can’t change things, you should change the way you think about them.

 

So let’s reframe things:

 - In those summers, I got to spend lots of my time with my dearly departed Nanna. 

 - I learnt some work skills, and an independent attitude that has benefitted me for the rest of my life.

- The pub showed me the perils for people who partake in too much alcoholism and fruit machine gambling. Which is why I rarely partake in either.

- My humiliation - and if I’m really honest, jealousy – these feelings made me develop an inherent desire to have and do nice things as well… “just like other people…”. So it’s no coincidence that one of my highest values is travelling – I've been to many countries worldwide as an adult, and so far this year, Venice, Amsterdam and very soon Iceland.

This burning desire ensures I force myself make money to enable me to do nice things… “just like other people”.

- On reflection, it is quite likely that nobody else except me was bothered about my issues – although at the time it felt like everybody knew all about my home life.

Now I’ve grown to realise that it does not matter what others think of you - it’s how you think of yourself that’s important.

And it was a revelation to discover true freedom: how much more enjoyable life is, when you truly do not give a shit what other people think of you.

 

 - My own experiences have made me extremely empathetic to those families who are struggling financially. There’s a very good reason why the majority of my tenants are exactly that sort of family unit – they are just like I used to be.

 And as I type this, although my face still burns with the shame of how poor we used to be, I am proof that it doesn’t mean your life is a write-off.

 

 

I am glad and grateful that property has enabled me to help these families.

 

And it is things like today’s post that evoke vivid memories, which remind me why I have chosen to help this particular tenant market – not the most glamorous, and certainly not the most profitable, but the most worthy?
 

In my eyes, definitely.

 

 

 

PS - ironically, my property career started in that pub, where I ‘refurbished’ one of the catacombs in the cellar and decked it out with a carpet and furniture. Only one tenant ever occupied it though; me – but the rent was so very cheap…

 

 

If you’d like to see further details of how my work helps local families, please visit my  website at www.kellyannmartin.co.uk  

...or follow my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/KellyannMartinProperty/


 

IT'S CARPET DAY!!!

Ever since I can remember, I have loved the smell of a new carpet. Call me weird, but there’s something distinctly pleasant about laying down on a new carpet and breathing in its delightful fresh scent.

So you can imagine how excited I get on carpet day – that is, the day of the refurbishment project when the fitter turns up with his vanful of wares – ie the carpet you chose the week before. I readily “roll out the red carpet” for him, and by the way, it really is worth paying extra to have them professionally fitted. I have tried the DIY carpet fitter role myself, and it just ends up looking like a bodge job. Bizarrely, no matter how much other refurb work you do in the house, it still always looks unfinished until the floor coverings go down. This covers up a multitude of sins; mainly old floorboards covered with scruffy paint splashes for the decoration. So fitting the carpets is pretty much the last stage in the project schedule, meaning the end is nigh; your house renovation is nearly finished!

But, some people get their rug in a twist over what sort of carpet to buy for a rental property. If that’s you, don’t worry: I wouldn’t let anyone pull the rug from under you – I’ve got you covered! (groannn…) Let me take you on a magic carpet ride to Carpet Choice Kingdom…

Points to consider when choosing a carpet for a rental property: 1. Pick one that’s tough and hard wearing. You don’t want to be replacing it quite imminently. 2. Make sure it is felt-backed, as it feels softer underfoot. 3. Bleachproof is best, as the inevitable always happens! So at least give the tenants a chance at getting their stains out. 4. Pick a neutral colour, but not too light – it hides minor stains. 5. Pick a pattern at your peril! They date quite quickly, and often have the effect of making a room look smaller. 6. Underlay, underlay?! Arriba!! It depends on your budget and the smoothness of the floorboards underneath, so I don’t think it’s always a necessity. Make a judgement yourself - and don’t let the carpet salesmen walk all over you! 7. Finally, get a pile fabric instead of a loop style carpet. The reason for this is that if a tenant has a pet, if their claws catch on a loop, it snags and rips an entire thread out of the carpet, meaning you’re left with a long, unrepairable threadbare snag line.

And that’s it! I’m sure you’re not too floored by these revelations, but I hope you hoovered them all up and that these tips help!

PS - Don’t be shy about protecting your new carpet – you want your expensive asset to last as long as possible after all. I have no qualms at asking potential new tenants to remove their shoes on house viewings. If they get stroppy about that, then perhaps they’ve done you a favour in showing you that they’re not the type of respectful tenant you’d want living in your investment anyway! PPS – I can only apologise for my excessive use of carpet-related puns in this blog. I’m sure, like an old carpet, you’re a little worn out by them, but I’m on a roll; I just can’t help myself! I got all these terrible puns from my other carpet-loving friend. Polly Esther. Definitely it now, take care… and carpet diem x