As a landlord, a reliable tradesmen can make your life so much easier, and also help you maximise your rental income.
If you have any major work underway on a property, then minimising void time is absolutely essential because you aren’t getting any rental income, and you are paying the monthly costs associated with the house (such as council tax).
If you have an emergency, and you need someone urgently to fix a burst pipe or boiler, then a reliable tradesmen can save the day and ensure that your house is up to standard quickly (and avoid hotels costs if the house becomes uninhabitable).
A tenant will also be really happy if you are able to get their repairs done fast, because it shows that you care about them, and they are far more likely to stay in the house long term.
At We Love Renters, we regularly get new tenants who are sick and tired of their previous landlords ignoring their maintenance requests, and not taking care of their house.
That’s why we focus on delivering the best service to our tenants because this helps us stand out from the other landlords and letting agents in Hartlepool and will mean our tenants stay with us long term (which is the key if you want to maximise your rental income).
If you are a property investor or landlord in Hartlepool who is struggling to find reliable tradesmen, check out our video from Stacey, one of our Property Specialists who gives 3 top tips.
How To Find A Reliable Tradesmen For Landlord – 3 Top Tips From Stacey
Online Search
If you’re an out-of-town landlord, or you don’t have any relationships with tradesmen in the area, the first port of call is searching online with website such as “Checkatrade”, “MyBuilder” and “TrustATrader”.
These websites will generally conduct extensive background checks before allowing tradesmen to become members which increases the chance that they are reliable tradesmen.
In addition, you can check out reviews from other people which can help you narrow down a shortlist of reliable tradesmen to reach out to.
Use Personal Recommendation
Along as searching online, consider asking for personal recommendations from friends, relatives, colleagues, or fellow landlords. If you can get a glowing recommendation from someone you know, that is a good indicator that their tradesmen is worth considering.
Get 3 Quotes For Work
To maximise your rental income, you need to make sure that you don’t waste money and aren’t being overcharged. To ensure that you keep costs as low as they can reasonably be, make sure to get several quotes from different tradesmen as you will be shocked at how much prices can vary.
By digging into the details of the work, and get an accurate quote, you will be able to get a better sense of whether the tradesmen really knows what they’re talking about, or whether they aren’t as experienced, or skilled as they say they are.
Another 6 Top Tips for Landlords In Hartlepool Looking For Reliable Tradesmen
WARNING – Unsolicited Contact From Tradesmen
If you are approached by a tradesmen without any initiation from you, it would be wise to turn them away. There are con artists who try this and could end up costing you a lot of time and money for a job that isn’t completed or done to a poor standard. If this happens to you, the best advice would be to turn them away.
Ask For References
A reliable tradesmen should be able to provide some references from past clients, and you should consider trying to speak to them to verify the quality of the work completed (especially if it’s a large project that is going to take a long time, and/or cost a lot of money).
How Long Have They Been Trading?
If the company has recently opened, this could be a cause for concern. A common problem with tradesmen can occur where they all debts to build up with suppliers, declare bankruptcy, and the close down the company leaving you with an incomplete job, and no legal route to recovery any lost money. You can ask tradesmen for their company name and number and cross-reference this with Companies House.
Be Wary Of Low Quotes
If the price seems too good to be true, it probably is. Unreliable tradesmen will often provide a very low initial quote to secure the work, and then increase the price half-way through the build. Instead of focusing solely on price, factor in the trustworthiness of the tradesmen.
Get A Detailed Written Quote
Following on from the point above, try to secure a detailed quote of:
- What work will be done
- Whether cleaning and disposal costs are included
- What materials will be used
- The breakdown of material and labour costs
- Any materials you will supply
- Whether sub-contractors are involved, and how their costs will be agreed and paid for
- Whether additional costs or expenses are included (such as parking costs)
- Whether VAT is included
This will enable you to drill down the details, and ensure that the quote is accurate, as well as given you a better understanding of whether they are a reliable tradesmen who knows what they’re talking about.
By ensuring you get a written quote, you can refer back to this at a later date in the event that there are any disputes.
Are They Registered And Insured?
A reliable tradesmen will usually be registered with a trade body and register with a trading standards scheme such as “Buy With Confidence” or “TrustMark”. In addition, a reliable tradesmen should be able to provide copies of their Building Regulation Compliance Certificate.
How We Love Renters Can Help YOU
If you are a property investor or landlord in Hartlepool, and you are:
- Spending way too much of your valuable time dealing with tradesmen
- Chasing up missed payments from tenants, and
- Frustrated with a poor return on investment
We Love Renters can help YOU!
We work with property investors and landlords in Hartlepool find the best tenants, maximise their rental income, and minimise the stress of property rental.
Our expert team of property specialists have a wealth of local knowledge and expertise to make your life easier, and we have a waiting list of over 300 tenants looking for their perfect home.
As well as matching the BEST landlords in Hartlepool with the BEST tenants, we deliver unbeatable service which means our tenants LOVE their homes…
AND keep them in great condition, whilst staying long term (meaning less void time, and more rental income for you).
To find out more about working with us, click the link below where you can discover why We Love Renters is better than every other property management company in Hartlepool AND download a FREE report about maximising your ROI.
Click Here If You Are A Landlord In Hartlepool Who Wants To Maximise Their Rental Income
For more landlord blogs and expert advice, click the link below:
Click Here To Read More Of Our Landlord Blogs
To read from our happy renters and check out our Tenant Success Story page click the link below:
Click Here To See How Well We Treat Our Tenants (And Why They Want To Stay Long Term In Their Homes)
Visit our Facebook group for renters which is one of the many ways we attract the best tenants in Hartlepool.
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