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Bill Wood

Owner, manager, plumber, roofer, gardener, decorator, chippy, glazer, electrician, telephone engineer, IT engineer, removal man.

2708 Profile Views

About Me

Life is great. Despite the Government. And despite getting old.

my expertise in the industry

19 Years. Started by accident. Moved out of Chelmsford to a small house in the country in 1999. Didn't need to sell my house, so let it out as an experiment. Very glad I did! Pride myself on knowing all my tenants personally, and endeavour to respond to problems swiftly. Have had one tenant since 2003.

Bill's Recent Activity

Sealed bids - never thought of that - might be a good idea. Those that want it most, and can afford it, and who submit proper references etc, get the house!

From: Bill Wood 20 September 2019 09:19 AM

I normally find the first hour of listing to be the busiest for enquiries, no matter the time of day. I guess this is because they have logged an alert, but I could be wrong. And I typically receive around 30% of the total enquiries on the first day.

From: Bill Wood 18 April 2019 09:40 AM

My 1977 MG is exempt of all charges, as well as VED. Unfortunately, I can't get my ladders in it!

From: Bill Wood 09 April 2019 12:26 PM

Aspect does not give the total number of tenants canvassed (as opposed to the number who responded), so let's assume it's 10,000. The report says that 43% of the 1000 tenants that responded had issues, thats 430. So, of the 1000 responders, 430 had issues and 570 didn't. The 9000 tenants that didn't respond probably didn't do so because they didn't have any issues. The number of tenants canvassed that did not have any issues is therefore 9570. So, unless I am missing something here, the percentage of tenants with issues is 4.3%, not 43% Anyway, I'm pleased to see Chelmsford has least problems in this area, as all my properties are in Chelmsford :-)

From: Bill Wood 03 April 2019 10:51 AM

I had a gentleman in one of my 3 bed semis. I had to evict him through rent arrears, and when I went in to the house, one of the bedrooms had window frames covered in mould. I am not the squeamish type, I love unblocking drains, but I couldn't stay in the room more than a few minutes. I employed a professional cleaner, and two days hard work and she cleaned it up. The existing tenants have been there for 8 years now, have two children, and the place is lovely, a delight to visit, and of couse no mould at all!

From: Bill Wood 21 March 2019 17:04 PM

Fair wear and tear excepted, if the carpet gets stained by kids (or otherwise) the tenants either live with it or pay to have the matter put right themselves.

From: Bill Wood 18 March 2019 10:01 AM

"we can’t take them to the grave with us." Indeed you can't. But you can't take the money to the grave with you either. Well, maybe you can, but it wouldn't help much. If you have no heirs to inherit, then leaving the houses to a housing association may be worth considering. That way the good tenants that are left will continue to be good tenants after you are gone.

From: Bill Wood 18 March 2019 09:44 AM

Perhaps it is not in the public interest to have a selective licensing scheme at all, unless the properties are HMOs.

From: Bill Wood 07 March 2019 11:20 AM

''the High Court ruled last week that the legislation is discriminatory'' No it's not, it applies to everyone.

From: Bill Wood 07 March 2019 11:14 AM

'An LED spotlight can last for 20-30 years in comparison to a halogen bulb that has a working life of only two years' I fitted 6 LED lights in my own bathroom about 6 years ago. They were bought from a local, very reputable Electrical Distributor, and were quite expensive. One by one they failed, and after 2 years they had all failed. I replaced them with much cheaper halogen bulbs (only four, as they were sooo bright) and all are still working. It's not the LED itself that fails, it's the voltage step-down electronics housed within the bulb.

From: Bill Wood 06 March 2019 12:27 PM

This just means that people on HB will waste their time applying, and may get disheartened at a rejection. If an ad said 'No DSS' , they know where they stand from day one.

From: Bill Wood 06 March 2019 12:17 PM

For homeowners, this is their house as well as their home and everything is down to them. But tenants have someone elses house as their home, so there is a way they can receive assistance

From: Bill Wood 20 February 2019 12:41 PM

Tranfer Tax plus Stamp Duty in Spain for foreigners is 8% AFAIK. Didn't stop me, nor tens of thousands of fellow Brits buying there as well. A modest increase of 1% seems tame by comperison.

From: Bill Wood 14 February 2019 10:37 AM

Being nearer 70 than 60 myself, I can see the advantages first hand!

From: Bill Wood 28 January 2019 09:55 AM

Hear hear. The lack of resources in the Court system is a problem, and adding another 'type' of Court, which may very well not have sufficient resources either, will not be helpful.

From: Bill Wood 28 January 2019 09:21 AM

This may become a victim of it's own success, like the NHS.

From: Bill Wood 25 January 2019 09:09 AM

Some years ago, I toyed with the idea of passing the management of my portfolio to Beresfords, a well respected Essex agent, but insisted that they do not charge the prospective tenants anything as I thought it unfair. They refused of course, so I did not instruct them. But now, it seems, I was justified in my request. And I may even have another chat with them about management.

From: Bill Wood 24 January 2019 10:53 AM

Perhaps the tenant didn't have nine children at the start of the tenancy. It is even possible she didn't have any! I have one family who moved in 10 years ago with one small baby. the baby is now a lively charming 10 year old with 3 young siblings. Great tenants.

From: Bill Wood 14 January 2019 09:27 AM

Hear hear. I will probably end up renting myself. Somewhere near a quiet country pub.

From: Bill Wood 13 November 2018 14:19 PM

If CGT was cancelled or halved on selling to an existing tenant, and the tenant had SDLT cancelled or halved, I would suggest this to all my eight tenants, and maybe one would go ahead. This is a win-win scenario for everyone, including HMRC, as they are not going to get anything out of me or the tenant anyway.

From: Bill Wood 29 October 2018 10:14 AM

Why should tenants only be allowed to view this? I would like to have a look too. And who are tenants and prospective tenants anyway? Do I have to apply for a tenancey to have a look? Anyone can apply for a tenancy, so surely it means that anyone, if they jump over this low hurdle, can have a look?

From: Bill Wood 26 October 2018 09:52 AM

A few years ago I received an email from (what looked to be) a lesbian couple after not offering them a tenancy. She complained that, despite being able to afford the property, and being in good, full time employment (one of the couple was an architect that had worked on the Shard in London), they were turned down. I declined to reply to her email, but if I had, and been honest, she may have been even more upset. The truth was this was a 5 bedroom house, and I felt it should be let to a family, (which eventually it was, a three generation family of five), and not to a couple. Also, I was looking for a tenant that would happily cope with higher level DIY stuff, which I believed neither of the ladies would do. I may have been wrong in this belief, but asking an overweight lady if she could repair a brick wall may not have gone down well. The likelihood of this couple being lesbian played absolutely no part in my decision.

From: Bill Wood 15 October 2018 09:10 AM

Not quite sure why there needs to be a license. As long as the landlords (and tenants) are aware of the regulations, restrictions, requirements (haha, the three Rs!), and as long as they stick to them, then no problem. If they don't stick to them, then the councils have the authority to enforce them, and the courts have the authority to try the offenders. So where does the license come in?

From: Bill Wood 23 September 2018 14:22 PM

And almost impossible to police, all it takes is for both to deny it.

From: Bill Wood 14 September 2018 09:23 AM

An agreement between landlord and tenant on the term is best. These are the two parties involved, no one else.

From: Bill Wood 06 September 2018 11:05 AM

I had to evict an officer of the CAB a few years ago for not paying his rent for 3 months. He was a volunteer, so maybe that's why he didn't pay his rent.

From: Bill Wood 28 August 2018 14:52 PM

'141,000 tenants have been affected' What does 'affected' mean? Does it mean evicted? Does it mean they read about it? Does it mean they heard about it on the radio? Such an ambiguous (verging on the misleading) word to use in the report.

From: Bill Wood 28 August 2018 14:49 PM

Ah! That slipped past me too!

From: Bill Wood 09 August 2018 08:59 AM

Not so. Collins Dictionary says 'The locus of something is the place where it happens' In Scotland, a Property Factor is someone who manages the maintenance of a property. Procurator Fiscals and Procurator Fiscal Deputes prosecute criminal cases in Scotland. So it all makes sense really

From: Bill Wood 08 August 2018 11:03 AM

Whenever someone asks what I do, I can avoid any problems of this nature by saying, truthfully, that I'm a computer engineer. Everyone loves a computer engineer. Especially if they have a computer problem.

From: Bill Wood 07 August 2018 11:57 AM

If I had encountered these two, I would have explained that, in my 18 years as a landlord, now with 8 properties, I have put the rent up only once, from £700 to £750, and the tenant was absolutely delighted, as the 'going rate' was around £1000. But I don't suppose the couple would have believed me . . . .

From: Bill Wood 07 August 2018 10:57 AM

I need an agent that can get leaking taps and broken boilers fixed. And trees cut down. And roofs mended. And drains unblocked. And doors fitted. And fences mended. And..and..and.. Can Homelet do this ?

From: Bill Wood 01 August 2018 08:57 AM

Suppose I take out mortgages on my let properties, give the money to my children, and live for a further 7 years. When I die, and the properties presumably sold, will there be, because of the mortgages, much less CGT and Inheritance tax?

From: Bill Wood 27 July 2018 10:00 AM

And families with smallish children are the best. In the 6 properties I have, there are 9 children under 10.

From: Bill Wood 11 July 2018 16:29 PM

I have 6 residential properties, and yes, a day every week is way over the top. One day a month I reckon. The trick is to find a family where the man (usually) has obvious DIY skills and the lady (usually) has obvious decorating and gardening skills. I then leave them to treat the house more or less as their own, with only occational intervention. It works, my longest tenancy is now over 10 years, and shows no sign of ending, and my shortest ever tenancy was three years.

From: Bill Wood 25 June 2018 09:06 AM

Quite right too! Good luck Paul.

From: Bill Wood 11 June 2018 08:46 AM

Only slightly related to this report, what is to stop a bank offering, say, a 2 year loan, imposing a fee of £20,000, and not charging interest for the next 2 years? The loan can then be renewed with the same terms for the next 2 years. I am assuming that most professional landlords can manage this £20K up-front fee. This means that the fee, being as legal expense, will be tax deductable, something that interest payments soon will not be. I must be missing something here or surely it would have been done.

From: Bill Wood 25 May 2018 08:58 AM

Agents should not charge tenants fees, tenants have enough to cope with already. Agents should instead charge the Landlord, after all, he/she is the customer. I don't employ an agent, and I don't charge my tenants any fees, for anything, apart from the rent. By doing this, I always have a handful of new tenants wanting the house/apartment/factory, and I can choose the tenant I feel will be most satisfactory.

From: Bill Wood 03 May 2018 09:28 AM

If a tenant wishes to apply for a tenancy, they can do most of the 'legwork' themselves, get references from employer(s) and current landlord, gather evidence of financial standing, e.g. bank statements, and obtain credit scores from the likes of Equifax (which would be free if they applied for it themselves). This not only reduces the agent's workload (and hence their need to charge for this), but would also put them in 'pole position' amongst other prospective tenants. I don't have an agent, I organise an open day myself, and if a tenant presents all this documentation at the time of viewing, I know immediately that they are serious, well organised, and are likely to make a good tenant. But so few tenants do this, I can’t understand why, it’s so obvious.

From: Bill Wood 11 January 2018 10:36 AM

Good idea, I've done it already. 10 alarms, £20 each, 7 year battery life. Total cost £30 per year. Tenants were very impressed. Apart from the peace of mind we both now have, I have gained significant gratitude and loads of 'brownie points' I installed one in our own lounge (has a wood buring stove), got lots of brownie points from the missus too!

From: Bill Wood 11 November 2017 10:55 AM

This Government document is 96 pages long. Has anyone read it?

From: Bill Wood 18 October 2017 09:08 AM

I take a deposit of typically £1600, equivalent to 2 months rent or thereabouts. Not only does this discourage tenants not paying the rent on their last month of occupation, it also indicates to me that they have sufficient funds to undertake the tenancy comfortably. If a tenant begins a tenancy 'on a shoestring', the chances are they will become unstuck financially in a short time.

From: Bill Wood 03 July 2017 09:37 AM

I wholeheartedly agree with James Davis of Upad. If a landlord employs an agent, the agent should seek to do it's best for the landlord in whatever area agreed between them, and the agent should get paid by the landlord for a job well done. Last year I placed an ad on uPad, and received 80 inquiries. If I had the gall to charge a fee of, say £100 per tenant, and if half of the tenents actually paid me out of desperation, I would have netted £4000. The following month I could have done the same, and got another £4000 (perhaps). I would get more money offering the house for rent than actually renting it! Things must be fair for the agent and fair for the landlord, but must be fair also for the tenant.

From: Bill Wood 22 June 2017 10:31 AM

LandlordToday itself sometimes posts contradictory reports in the same email! But this is normal in every field (especially politics). If you ask 3 experts of their opinion, you will get 4 different answers! But to get back to this article, I used to use a leting agent, but I found I could do the job better myself. It takes a while to learn how to do things, which tenant to accept, where to advertise, etc. but I think most serious landlords can do this. Letting agents are essential if you are abroard, or you have properties a long way away, but I feel there are too many of them for them all to survive.

From: Bill Wood 20 June 2017 16:03 PM

I'm inclined to agree with Gordon. Ignoring warnings from the Police and Council is the real issue in the court case. Had the landlord engaged with them, tried, with their support (or even with their assistance) to correct the situation, this situation may not have arisen Having said that, the tenant should have been the focus of Police and Council attention, rather than the landlord.

From: Bill Wood 26 May 2017 09:07 AM

With Right to Rent in general, the good law abiding landlords get extra work and worry heaped on them, while the less scrupulous landlords don't care and carry on as before.

From: Bill Wood 17 May 2017 08:53 AM

Ha Ha ... David Cox sent a 'letting' to the Communities Secretary! ... Feudian slip!

From: Bill Wood 26 April 2017 08:23 AM

I wish everything could be simplified. Even my accountant, Chartered and with many years experience can't cope! I expect HMRC have difficulty as well.

From: Bill Wood 09 September 2016 09:15 AM

Gillian Kent says “No Agent . . . . completely automates . . . . maintenance . . . . " How can sorting a seized tap or leaking roof be automated?

From: Bill Wood 05 September 2016 09:01 AM

Yes! Forgot to mention the most important thing - open the windows!!

From: Bill Wood 18 August 2016 16:50 PM

A lot of mould problems (as opposed to damp problems) are caused by tenants drying clothes on central heating radiators. In one of my houses, it took a professional cleaner 2 days to clean the mould from windows after the tenant had left. The new tenant has now been there for 3 years, and absolutely no mould at all.

From: Bill Wood 17 August 2016 09:04 AM

I used to have a small cottage in North Fambridge, Essex, that I rented out for six months over spring and summer. It had no insulation, no electricity, and no heating apart from a very inefficient fireplace. The EPC chap had a field day - something different at last! But, if I still had it, I would not be able to rent it out when this law comes into force, I suppose.

From: Bill Wood 15 August 2016 09:23 AM

Let's hope he keeps a level head on his shoulders, I'm sure he will.

From: Bill Wood 12 August 2016 08:37 AM

Some years ago, I bought an apartment in Alicante in Spain. The Spanish equivalent of stamp duty was then 8% for foreign (ie Brit) buyers. How about abolishing SDLT for Brits buying in Britain, and increase the SDLT to, say, 10% for foreign inverstors? (or is this already the case?)

From: Bill Wood 08 August 2016 11:15 AM

I agree 100%. And just what ARE Barnet Council doing to drive up standards? And will the licence fee monies collected be used to enforce the existing regulations?

From: Bill Wood 08 July 2016 09:31 AM

If this scheme (or scam, whichever way you look at it) works ok, then it sounds like a good thing. But in this case it didn't work. Of course the landlord should, in the cases that did work, receive a commensuate level of rent.

From: Bill Wood 21 April 2016 08:12 AM

I have put 3 of my 8 properties into a newly formed limited company mainly to keep me out of the higher rate tax bracket. It cost £2K in stamp duty, but I am pleased with the result, and am thinking about putting in a fourth property that has a 70% mortgage on it, so that full relief on the mortgage payments is allowed. I can now take a dividend from the company that that keeps me just inches below the tax threshold.

From: Bill Wood 23 February 2016 11:05 AM

All landlords must comply with the 'several conditions relating to the management and condition of the property, including gas, electrical, fire safety and the facilities provided' already. Licensing does not introduce these requirements!

From: Bill Wood 18 January 2016 10:52 AM

I wonder if there are actually any worthwhile training course available now? Does anyone know?

From: Bill Wood 17 July 2015 09:07 AM

Yes, enforcement is the key, as it is in many other areas. The laws are there, the standards are set, and training to help landlords and tenants know them is the way to go. Bill Wood

From: Bill Wood 16 July 2015 08:15 AM

Sounds good, especially the training bit. Paying for training, rather than paying for a licence, would certainly be acceptable to me. I've been in the business for 15 years, but there are still things I should know but don't, and of course things are changing all the time. Bill Wood

From: Bill Wood 16 July 2015 08:11 AM

Betsy Dillner says 'landlords are already charging the highest rents they can get away with'. This is wrong. I charge between 10% and 20% less than market rates, allowing me to choose the tenant that I feel will suit and look after the property. I wish Ms Dillner would stick to facts rather than make them up to suit her cause.

From: Bill Wood 10 July 2015 08:40 AM

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