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 

*|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|*

Why We Should All Love a Council House!   Are you sitting comfortably? Then I’ll begin...   Back in the misty depths of time, not quite as far back as ancient Babylon, but a few decades back to that awesome period known as the 1980s… In this era there lived a mythical beast: Margaret Thatcher. Love or hate her, this Iron Lady was responsible for passing a scheme in the Housing Act in 1980, meaning that tenants of council houses now had the Right to Buy the home they rented from their local housing association. By some strange twist of fate another mythical beast/legend occurred in this same year: me! It is therefore a beautiful coincidence that those ex-local authority properties we find in council housing estates are my favourite type of property to buy – and I’ll tell you why: Since 1980’s Right to Buy policy was introduced, 6.5 million council houses became tenant-owned in the UK. As a result, nowadays there is plenty of this stock type to go at as more and more of them come on the market for re-sale   Ex-council houses are generally very large and roomy - just what an ideal tenant family would like to rent! They generally have gardens with them, often large ones at that. We know that outdoor space is desirable for those looking to rent, especially those with kiddies who need somewhere for them to run around and burn off steam. Ex-council houses are generally in good nick, as before sale it was down to the council to manage the upkeep and maintenance of them. You might find them a little outdated, but not very often will you find that they are dangerous. They are well-constructed, but beware: some types are made of prefabricated concrete, but a lot of the time these beauties are made of my favourite traditional red brick which has lasted decades. Strong and sturdy, that’s what we like! They are very good value for money, typically much cheaper than your other local residential estates. Some back gardens from a couple of my ex-local authority rentals. Look at the size of them! Could get another house on there if I wanted! Good for kiddies to run around safely though. The left one has now been totally renovated by the tenants with snazzy gravel. “But who would I rent such a house to?” I hear you say.  Just normal families, from the local area! And if you’ve got some pre-conceived stereotypical idea that all people who live on council estates are scruffy scumbags with a range of issues and problems, who would find himself at home on the Jeremy Kyle show… then you couldn’t be further from the truth. What if I told you that I was brought up in council housing? What's going on here? A well-dressed, clean, polite, well-cared, happy child tenant from a council estate dwelling? Anathema, surely?!?! When I mention this fact to people, occasionally, with select, narrow minded people, a look of disdain spreads across their face, as if I am going to mug them or stab them. They give the impression that somehow I should feel ashamed of my past – which I don’t, and have no reason to. Where you’ve come from is no correlation to where you choose you’re going.   The last time I checked, I definitely didn’t have 15 kids, a pending jail sentence and a drug addiction! Those of you that have met me in real life will also know that I wouldn’t be seen dead in a chavvy tracksuit, and I am pleased to report that I have all my own teeth. The stereotype simply isn’t applicable to everyone. DID YOU KNOW... ...along with 17% OF ALL HOUSEHOLDS IN THE UK... ...the following successful celebrities all lived on council estates in their life? JK ROWLING - DAVID ICKE - ELLIE GOULDING - ELTON JOHN - CRAIG DAVID - ALISON MOYET - JOE WICKS - CHERYL COLE - MICK JAGGER - LILY ALLEN - ALEXANDRA BURKE - SUSAN BOYLE - ANT AND DEC - DUNCAN BANNATYNE - JAMES McAVOY - LEWIS HAMILTON - ALAN SUGAR My single mother brought me up in a very nice Council house, which she kept IMMACULATE.  And hey ho, being settled in a nice house meant that I was able to progress in life, and escape the socioeconomic issues that were placed on us. In my first childhood home. Loads of space in the garden to play; look how happy I am! My second childhood home, a very nice red brick property. My poor parrot Percy is buried in that garden, if you're interested! Being poor is not a crime. But discriminating someone for it is. And part of “My Why” is that because I personally benefitted by living rented council housing, I feel a moral obligation to assist with providing houses to kids that were just like me. Families that need a solid footing in life to enable them to improve their situation and their future. Let me be clear on this: if you’ve had a tenant in the past who has caused you problems, it is not because they were a council tenant, or on benefits - it is because they were a wretch.  Good people exist even in the lower demographics of society, and I think, as successful business owners, it is our duty help those that want to help themselves. Many residents of council estates are proud people who want to better themselves – and Thatcher’s Right to Buy scheme meant that those who worked hard could get on the housing ladder, and thus fulfil that great British Dream of owning your own house. But isn’t there a shortage of housing? Buying all the council houses means there’s less houses for those in need surely? Not quite. The ones we’re buying have already been bought at least once before. They’ll never get to go back and be council properties again. And yes, that has caused a massive strain on the availability of rental housing, but we as property investors haven’t caused that. If anything, we’re doing the councils a favour by bringing rental accommodation back into use, especially if you choose to house families on benefits. What about rental demand for an ex-council house? Here in Leeds there are 24,000 households on the housing register and yet they can only let around 5,000 properties a year. People are on a waiting list to bid for properties as they become available. A quick glance on the Leeds Homes website (snapshot below) tells me the wait to bid for a two-bedroomed house can be anywhere from 3 months – right up to 58 months!!! Anytime I put a new property online for rental, there are many applicants. And if you choose to accept  people on benefits, you will find that families will bite your hand off. And so, we know why ex-local authority houses make excellent properties, we know there is strong demand to fill them, we know we can rent them to nice normal families, and you know why I personally think we should be helping. Go out and buy some ex-council houses and help those families thrive! CONTROVERSIAL PICTURE?!? Not really - I don't begrudge anyone helping anyone, anywhere. But I personally want to help local Leeds families who are struggling. And having read to the end, you now know my reason why. If you'd like to help me help others by means of investing in local Leeds property, just get in touch. The added bonus is that I get to help you as well. Visit my website or give me a ring for more details. Thanks for reading! If you'd like to know more about investing in property, please visit my website at www.kellyannmartin.co.uk Best wishes, and take care, Kellyann x x x