Damage or Wear & Tear? Which Counts as Which, and What Can You Claim Back?
By Phillippa Baillie-White on 22nd Mar 2024Just like a friend you haven’t seen for a long time, your rental property will look older when you get it back at the end of a tenancy, and the difference can be jarring if you haven't visited for a while. Regardless of whether...
Lettings Winter Prep: Our Landlord & Tenant Checklist for Warm and Safe Rentals
By Phillippa Baillie-WhiteThe weather has turned, and winter is on the way, bringing with it a chilling collection of potential problems at your rental property. In many ways, rental homes are more at risk when they’re occupied in winter because the...
Accepting a Guarantor: The Essential Checks You Need to Make, and When to Say No
By Phillippa Baillie-WhiteFor some landlords, the very mention of guarantors can ring alarm bells. But they're written into more tenancy agreements than you might think, and needing one isn’t necessarily a sign of problems ahead. Even well-paid...
Too Many Tenants: How Do You Pick the Best of the Best for Your Rental Property?
By Phillippa Baillie-WhiteIt sounds like a landlord’s dream come true: a shortage of rental homes, multiple tenants competing for each one, and rents going through the roof. It’s the same story for almost every property to rent in Basildon, Benfleet,...
Renting to Sharers: How to Prepare Your Property and Get the Legals Right
By Phillippa Baillie-WhiteDemand for rental homes rose by around 25% in 2022, and competition among tenants is hotter than ever as potential buyers wait and see what house prices will do. As rents continue to rise from a shortage of property, more and more...
The Landlord Lingo Buster Part Two: Mid-Tenancy Checks, Rent Reviews, Tax Talk, and Getting your Property Back
By Phillippa Baillie-WhiteYour tenants have moved in, you’ve protected their deposit, and the first month’s rent is in the bank. So what comes next? Following on from Part One of our Landlord Lingo Buster, Part Two is all about effective management to...
Kill Your Bills: Turn a Period Property into a High-Performance Eco Home
By The Vesta TeamHave you ever known the costs of utility bills to be such a massive conversation? As well as being a hot topic at home and at work, the news is full of stories about soaring energy prices, future supply questions and the...
Buy-To-Let And Working From Home : Tap Into The Trend To Boost Your Rental Property’s Income
By Phillippa Baillie-WhiteCan you believe the average UK employee now spends just 1.5 days a week at the office? Unimaginable just a couple of years ago, it's now abundantly clear that the way we work has changed forever. The new era of flexible working...
What Tenants Really Want: The top 5 things you can do as a landlord
We spend a lot of time as landlords thinking about how well our investment is performing, and how to get the best tenants to occupy our property. But do we spend enough time once we have a good tenant, thinking about how to keep...
How to Avoid Losing your Rental Deposit
When you first begin renting a property, your new landlord is highly likely to ask for a deposit before letting you move in. Typically, this is one month’s rent payable upfront, although it can be more in some cases. Your...
Invest more in your Benfleet rental for better returns
Refurbishing a rental property can be a big project. And when you’ve already had to invest a fair amount to buy it, the big question is: how much more do you need to spend doing it up? Is it worth putting in a high-end kitchen...
Perfect presentation attracts perfect tenants
Most tenants today aren’t looking for temporary digs, they’re looking for a home. And as the lettings market has grown, standards have gone up. So what does your property need to offer to make sure the best tenants are falling...
What are the Benefits of Owning a Property in Basildon?
Homing in on the future as a property owner Are you renting in Basildon at the moment? Perhaps you are a tenant in a lovely property but you have aspirations of buying your own place? Renting is great, and can be the right...
How to Save Money for a Deposit When Renting
Banking on a deposit, tips to save for your perfect pad in Basildon! Looking to buy your own place in Basildon and move out of rented accommodation? What a great thing to be doing, to get on the property ladder is a wonderful...
8 Questions That Every Landlord Should Ask a Prospective Tenant
When you’re renting out your property in Basildon, you want to get things right. After all, it’s your property, and you want to ensure it is going to be looked after and that the rent is going to be paid. It’s a business,...
Pet Bans in Rented Property: Romford MP's Bill to ban pet 'discrimination'
David Amess, MP for Southend West, has tweeted his support for a Bill which aims to end “cruel” discrimination against pet owners by much of the private rental sector. Romford MP Andrew Rosindell has introduced the Dogs and...
The end of the Furlough Scheme: What next for Essex renters and landlords?
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, better known as the furlough scheme, was introduced by the chancellor Rishi Sunak in March to help employers deal with the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Official estimates suggest...