Good News - We Didn't Lose Money

23 June 2011

I have made some great progress this week. The weather has really helped me to knuckle down and put in some seriously late nights and early mornings. If it is raining I don't mind being stuck indoors.

So the bathroom is finished, the kitchen is very close and the final finishing touches are underway. The main news is that we have registered the house with a letting agent. We are asking them to look after getting the tenant and all the legal guff which is required. But after that we will be responsible for collecting the rent, keeping up with maintenance and so on.

I won't even tell you how much the agent is going to get for just showing the tenant around the house, but needless to say it is significant. It was Claire who pretty much insisted that we get an agent involved. I was happy to advertise in the local paper and look after it ourselves but she put some home truths to me.

We need to have an inventory of everything in the house, we need a contract between us and the tenant which is water-tight, we need to arrange to get a deposit and a month’s rent in advance and put the deposit in a safe place and on and on it goes. On top of all that we would have to vet the tenant to make sure they don't have any debt problems or other issues.

Basically I was easily swayed and accepted that it was all a bit too much on top of the final work we still need to complete.

So far two potential tenants have come round to see the place. One was a single woman with a small child. She decided that the second bedroom was too small. I have to agree. It is a single and is better suited to a study than sleeping. But for a child, it might have been OK.

The second viewing was a professional couple. They are fairly young and work locally so it is probably ideal for them. They are quibbling over the price though. Cheeky! We are asking £750 a month which for round here is pretty much average for a two bed. They are suggesting it isn't really a two bed, but a one and a half (whatever that means!). The agent is suggesting that we try to meet them halfway as they are a good prospect.

I am still thinking about that one.

Also we have had a valuation on the house this week. At the moment we have come in at around £10,000 more than we spent. It is not worth selling as most of that will be swallowed up in fees, but it is nice to know we didn't lose money at least. Just a whole load of tools and materials...

So a busy week, but a good one. Next week the house will be finished, the tenants will be lined up and we can finally start earning some money from our investment. Let’s hope that it all works out as planned. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.