Rental Property in Telford Lacks Property Inspections

A new client recently invited us to view his rented house in Telford that had just been vacated by his long term tenant. These horrific pictures are what we saw -

During my 30 years' experience in property management in Shropshire, I have never quite seen anything as horrific as this, and clearly the unsuspecting Investor Landlord had not expected anything quite this bad, even though he had not visited his tenant for a number of years (well you wouldn't, would you?) But this is obviously a Landlord's worst nightmare.

The Landlord, who had previously not used a managing agent, explained that his tenant had originally provided good references and was in a professional employment at the outset, had paid the rent in full and on time each month, and not reported any maintenance issues. When access to the property to carry out the annual gas check proved difficult, that is when the Landlord became concerned. However the tenant then served notice, vacated, and left this devastation.

Reassuringly this is a one-off, but our experience in managing over 650 rented properties in Shropshire has proved that REGULAR PROPERTY VISITS are so important, for many reasons -

• To identify property defects, even if just wear and tear
• To identify any change in circumstances, number of occupants, pets, etc.
• To check if your tenants are looking after your property and garden
• To reassure your tenants that you retain an interest in your property

Nine times out of ten, all is well and good and our Client Property Reports are all good, with only minor defects or queries if any, but our advice to Landlords is VISIT YOUR PROPERTY REGULARLY, and appoint a reputable, licenced Telford Letting Agent who is experienced and specialises in full Property Management.