A couple who lived rent-free in houses for 18 months are not unusual, says Paul Shamplina of eviction service Landlord Action.

The pair, Richard and Hazel Jerome, posed as wealthy homebuyers. They made cash offers to buy properties and then asked to rent them while the deal went through.

They moved in and then claimed squatters’ rights whilst paying no rent or utility bills. The couple are known to have lived in at least two houses in this way and police believe there could have been more.

Both were found guilty at Huntingdon Crown Court, where the man was sent to jail for 15 months and his wife, a former teacher, given a suspended prison sentence.

Shamplina said there were plenty of tenants like the Jeromes.

He said: “We have evicted many professional bad tenants over the years who simply go from one property to another duping landlords into renting their properties while having no intention of paying.

“The worst serial bad tenant that we have dealt with conned five landlords and owed a total of £120,000.”

But don’t worry we at PAD4u have strict criteria for finding tenants are we are sure this could not happen to one of our landlords.

When your property is nearly ready to market we will always recommend starting viewings, as long as it poses no health and safety risk to the public viewing. We have found recently that many tenants are not handing in the notice on their current place so are looking for something that will be available in say 3 – 4 weeks time.

Our lettings negotiators are regularly kept up to date with works on property’s and what landlords are making improvements to the houses. Our letting negotiators will point out all the property’s features and inform the tenant of the work going on.

Should that tenant then pay a deposit and a application on the property they will provide us a date that they wish to move in and we will confirm that this is possible given the works going on.

We have found in some situations that landlords are under the impression the tenant is taking the property as seen and they are not carrying out the ‘’finishing touches’’ or they cannot complete the works in time, this means when we carry out the ingoing inventory the tenants are disappointed that not all the works has been completed. They are also less confident that the landlord will carry out the work once they have moved in and many are unhappy that they will have numerous visits to the home from workmen.

We understand that good workmen are difficult to come by and that they often get pulled away on emergencies or something comes up or they simply run behind schedule. We have many recommended contractors that are on hand to attend to the finishing touches, such as re hanging that gate, putting up the shower curtain and don’t forget the all important property clean!!! You can contact any member of our lettings team, Matt, Cara & Luke or the Maintenance Manger Donna for a competitive quote.

It is just as important when a tenant leaves you to carry out the repairs on the inventory. Prospective tenants will look at any long standing repairs that have not been completed and feel that the landlord does not look after the property and perhaps will not look after it when they move in. Such things as a old leak that has been repaired but has left water damage to the paintwork or wallpaper, rubbish in the back garden, doors loose from kitchen units, shower holders broken etc can put a tenant off .

We also recommend visiting your property’s on a annual basis, over few year’s or perhaps when they become empty, as you are aware we carry out regular inspections and carry out final inventory’s and keep in regular contact with you about your houses but on occasion it is recommended that you visit your property.

Houses that have 2-3 tenants , a family with young children or a long term tenant for 3 to 4 years can look worn and drab. Although we will note the condition of the property in grades on the inventory’s such as ‘’D for fair’’ that comment will be made in context that the condition is fair given that a family of 4 has been living there for 3 years. At this point we would contact you and let you know that your property may need some work to bring it up to a standard that will achieve a tenant.

For example if you have a family with one child living in a 2 bed terraced property for 3 years and their rent started at £380.00 pcm they had a rent increase in their second year to bring them to £420.00 pcm they move out and the property needs some re decoration and perhaps a replacement carpet or a carpet clean is recommended however we market it as it is.
Given current rents you would be expected to achieve £399 pcm for a basic 2 bed terraced with moderate features but with new carpets, neutral decoration and clean. The price of £420.00 that you have been receiving for this property for the last tenant seems unreasonable to prospective tenants given what’s on the market, therefore we would suggest reducing the rent to a figure that suits the market or carrying out some property maintenance to bring the property up to standard and achieving your ideal rent.

Remember that property maintenance can be tax deductible !!!

David Boyd, Managing Director, PAD4U Letting Agents Manchester writes:

I tend to avoid the numerous make yourself a millionaire in property books like the plague, as they tend to be written by individuals who have taken huge risks but through sheer luck or market conditions succeeded.  Yet The 3+1 Plan intrigued me for two reasons; firstly it’s written in what is arguably one of the most difficult periods for property investment and secondly it passed my acid test. It’s a simple test really, I skip to the section regarding Property Management and if it advocates a do-it-yourself approach without the assistance of reputable local letting  agents I can safely bin it (as it’s not going to be a serious approach to investment).  However the 3+1 Plan does not and thus I took time out to read more.

It’s a little eerie reading a book, due for release this autumn, which has nothing to say of the recent turmoil in the UK property market; mortgage tables that still include Northern Rock certainly raise an eyebrow as does the slant towards new-build developments.   But look beyond these flaws and there are certainly some worthwhile approaches to the subject of property investment.

Firstly, the authors goal is not to make you a millionaire, but to provide an alternative pension plan based on 3+1 properties, certainly a more achievable goal.  The current economic climate may turn off many to the benefits of property investment, but one look at pensions and stock markets should bring most intelligent investors back to an investment class which has proven to be the most successful investment for the long term.

Secondly, an entire chapter dedicated to cash flow is comforting to see.   The authors two-year cash flow method is a useful tool for assessing whether you have enough meat on the bone to cover your investments.    As the author correctly points out, property is never repossesed by banks because of negative equity but because of a lack of cash flow.  The emphasis on cash flow and how to balance cash flow and equity is useful information.

Thirdly, the book’s long term focus advocates PAD4U’s view of property investment.  Acknowledgement of market cycles, interest rates, inflation,  other macro economic topics and perhaps more importantly our emotional impact will hopefully assist many property investors in being better prepared for movements in the market thus allowing them to take advantage of these cycles.

So, although The 3+1 Plan may not have all the answers (I doubt one book could) there are useful chapters that any property investor, expert or beginner would benefit from reading.

(The 3+1 Plan by Brett Alegre-Wood, published by YPC Global Ltd, will available in autumn.  More information and a sample chapter can be found at the website http://www.3plus1plan.com/)