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 

A Beginner's Guide to Refurbishment

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A BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO REFURBISHMENT! HI THERE!!! Thanks for reading - I love it when folk actually want to hear what I've got to say! My primary target audience for this topic is people who are complete beginners in property and those looking to learn about refurbishments - but if you're already a property pro, hey, you're welcome to stay and have a nosy! If you have a friend who is new to property, and you think this is exactly the topic they need help with, please direct them to my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/KellyannMartinProperty/ I've made a series of short videos which highlight the potential things to look for in a residential property. They'll show you how to spot what needs work, which in turn will enable you to work out how much your refurbishment budget is likely to be. Enjoyed making these videos: entertaining myself only-child style, by talking to myself alone in a dilapidated house... as you do... Hope you enjoy them too! WARNING - STRONG YORKSHIRE ACCENT IMMINENT If you're not lucky enough to originate from God's County, you might struggle to understand this beautiful Northern twang! Whorram saying is if ye cart understand me, ye're allus strugglin t'keep up, or ye doat gerrit, avalook in nere. Then ye'll be reight! (sic: If it all gets too much for you to comprehend, my good friend,  please refer to this Yorkshire Translation Guide:) https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/yorkshire-language-translator.109652/   Here's a Beginner's Guide to Refurbishments, please click on the link!   https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.516694285392145.1073741843.100011547344109&type=1&l=1d4ca2a381 Logically, the next step in a refurbishment project is finding suitable contractors to do the work. (Un!) Luckily for you, I also have a video with some top tips on finding contractors, link below... Hope it helps! (PS - listen out for my German Shepherd Jerry Lee barking in the background, he can't bear not to be centre of attention! He's an only child too.... ;) https://www.facebook.com/kellyann.martin.10/videos/vb.100011547344109/385785215149720/?type=3 Thanks very much for reading! I hope you found it useful, and if you've any other top tips on refurbishment, I'd love to hear them. Take care, and best wishes, Kellyann x x x

Time Runs Out – A Tribute

In memory of my beloved handyman, and friend, Derek Raimond.

 

I am distraught to report that only a month after we celebrated his 70^th birthday, Derek passed away very suddenly.

His sudden death has affected me much more than expected, possibly since it has been a long time since I lost anyone close to me. It is a smarting reminder that nothing and nobody lasts forever, and that we should indeed make the most of every day we have left. 

Time could run out for us at any unknown point.

It is difficult for me to comprehend that I shall never see his cheeky face again, and so I have decided to write this tribute for three reasons:

- to try and alleviate my grief. There are already streaming tears appearing as I type, and it’s only paragraph three.

- to remember the good times we shared, and to share these memories for all that knew him

- to help anyone else who is suffering with grief from the loss of a loved one

I met Derek around fifteen years ago as a family friend, and already retired and a bit bored, he began doing some gardening for me. It kept him entertained and busy, and it meant he got to annihilate fifteen cups of coffee and the contents of my biscuit cupboard as he was at it. (I was always amazed how he never actually had to go to the toilet after all this coffee, one of life’s little mysteries, but that’s another story!)

We shared many commonalities: our love of Elvis, Las Vegas, Benidorm, getting bargains, biscuits, pizza, chocolate bars, chocolate eclairs…

Derek on the day I introduced him to Dominos takeaway pizza.
"Margherita, Kell?"
He loved it!

When I began renovating property, both my own house and for rental, Derek got involved, and he enjoyed working on my little projects.

Derek and Suzie Wong stand in front of their mammoth list of refurb tasks

Quickly earning various nicknames during refurbs such as ‘Captain Bodge’, ‘Dodgy Del Boy’, ‘Bodgerama’ and ‘Doctor Devastation’, I am sure you can guess the extent of his workmanship skills. He would flick paint everywhere, merely stating “It’s only water-based, Kell!” - because obviously that makes it alright that he's trashing the place! 

Wet plaster would be trodden on floors, paintbrushes and trays unwashed and left to dry out and thus be ruined, mess and tools left all over - and generally extra work made for us all. He was, in short, our ‘Captain Chaos’.

Saying this, despite the odd mishap (per day!!), on the whole he was a superb worker. Put a paintbrush in his hand and play an Elvis Presley / Billy Ocean / Billy Fury CD on and he would paint (and sing) all day.

I am eternally grateful for all the help he gave me with my properties.

He enjoyed gardening, and would have a go at owt really, being particularly impressed with himself the day he worked out how to hang internal doors.

He would do minor joinery work, fix skirting boards, block up chimneys, as well as his own 'special' brand of DIY bodgery: including his super tactic of filling small holes with a kitchen sponge before plastering over them (it’s magic, try it!)

NO FEAR! Up a massive ladder ripping
old ivy off an external wall. What a job that was!

Blocking up a chimney, after we'd put
our 'Time Capsule' note in it.

 

Like everyone though, nobody's perfect, and certain tasks proved to be disastrous for our Del Boy. After one such catastrophe involving my own living room carpet and a very keen Edward Scissorhands impression, he was never allowed to lay carpets again…

But bless him, he had a real good go at anything, and I only ever really wanted to kill him once or twice - one occasion being when he cut open a packet in the kitchen, inadvertently carving score marks into a brand new kitchen worktop with a Stanley knife.

Despite the mishaps, I am proud that Derek has worked on every single one of my houses to date. And although they are - not-quite-perfect - in some cases, it adds to their imperfect charm and effort put in by our have-a-go hero.

Checking out the 'before' and 'after' shots once we'd completed a project.

 

Moving forward with the next project without him will be difficult - but he knows what the grand plan is for the portfolio, the vision, and we can't let the families down - nor Derek. So we must continue with him watching from above, probably stating his favourite words, “It be reyt, Kell”…

Celebratory 'let's get fed' thank you meal after a project completion.
Delighted that day at being allowed a Mixed Grill!

 

Other favourite memories of Derek include his supreme self-confidence: “Good looking me, Kell, I could’ve had any woman I wanted when I were younger!”

He hated anyone knowing how old he really was, and as it turned out, how poorly he actually was, which was always brushed over as if unimportant. How dare being a little poorly affect his daily life! He did not allow it.

In a way, I am glad his passing was sudden, as he would have hated to have deteriorated - and have people comment on losing his good looks!

Birthday celebration, with minimal fuss about him reaching 70... !!!

We pestered and nagged him into celebrating his 70^th birthday with a little dinner, as he didn’t want any fuss, or “any birthday stuff where people turn round and look at you”. And then he proceeded to smirk with delight when the waiter fetched out a little cake with a sparkler on as everyone in the restaurant sang for him.

LOOK AT HIS LITTLE FACE!!!

 

He was over the moon when he opened his birthday present: an electric DIY multi-tool. The idea was it was supposed to stop him trashing mine!

I take some comfort knowing that he at least got a chance to use it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Derek was a wonderful man, and here are some of the key life lessons I learned from him.

LIFE LESSONS FROM DEREK RAIMOND!

-Don’t be scared to have a go at anything.

Smash a wall cupboard out? “Be reyt, Kell!”.

Cut off an old gas pipe using a sparking metal grinder? “Be reyt, Kell!”

And he’s right.

After all, what’s the worst that can happen?

And then, what’s the likelihood of that happening?

NO FEAR! Even with dangerous tasks!
I had to make him stop and put safety glasses on to continue with this sparking chaos!

 

Saying that though…

- Do not mess about with high pressure power tools.

After the pebbledash nightmare where the hydraulic paint sprayer dangerously exploded in both our faces, sometimes it is wise to hire in professionals in order to avoid trying to blind yourself.

Don't try this at home, girls and boys!
I'll never forget his paint-splattered shocked face after this explosion, it was very comical!
BUT VERY DANGEROUS!!!

- Come up with ingenious solutions for everyday problems.

The day I discovered he had sewn this sock into his jacket so he had an inside pocket, I laughed so hard because of this ridiculous, yet surprisingly practical idea. Why doesn't everyone do this?!?

See that?
 IT'S A SOCK SEWN INTO HIS JACKET FOR A POCKET!!

 - Being tight will make you rich.

Derek didn’t need to work for the money, he came and helped me out just for fun (Although for the record, I did pay him, it went towards spending money for his Benidorm bonanzas!) 

And although generous, he was a tight-fisted get, just like me. He loved a car boot sale, and if you saved him owt that you knew he’d like or need, he was well chuffed. I gave him a free t-shirt that the Selco shop had given me, and there he was wearing it proudly the next day!

He’s right though, why spend money on stuff when you don’t have to?!

Proudly wearing his freebie t-shirt, Derek eyes up his opponent: a cupboard he is about to smash out.

  - Do whatever you like.

Even at 70, he was still rocking his Teddy Boy lifestyle - cos that’s the sort of stuff you can get away with at 70. And who’s to stop you? When you’re a top lad, (self-assured with how good looking you are!), who’s to dictate how you live your life? Just you.

 - Treat everybody you love as if it is the last time you will ever see them.

Because one day it will be.

And then you will wish they are still around to throw paint all over your projects.

                 (It’s only water-based, Kell…)

 

 

I would like to offer my deepest sympathies to all Derek’s friends and family who are suffering his loss.

Be comforted that he will now be Halfway to Paradise; comb in pocket, ready to drive the ladies wild with his charm...