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Property horror stories for Halloween

With Halloween just around the corner, it’s scary season. All the ghouls and monsters come out to play as you get trapped in a waking nightmare from which there’s no escape. So with that in mind, we’ve decided to give you a bit of a fright. Below are some of the terrifying things that can happen when property investing goes bad.

Tenants from hell

Everyone has their own idea of the perfect tenants. A young family with school-age children looking for a long-term family home, perhaps. Or maybe some young professional sharers who want somewhere sleek, clean and comfortable to live.

Of course, the reality is that the market often dictates who wants to live where and sometimes you can’t be too choosy. After all, an empty rental property costs money and drains resources.

However, taking a risk on tenants can be a bad idea. There are all sorts of scary stories of nightmare tenants not paying their rent, trashing the property and costing fortunes to evict. This is why having your tenants selected, checked and managed by a professional property company is always a good idea.

The market crash nightmare

Everyone can remember what happened in 2008 when the market imploded. Landlords who had stretched themselves too far suddenly found themselves in negative equity, with mortgage lenders breathing down their necks. People lost properties and fortunes on bad investments, and it’s a recent reminder that you need to protect yourself against every eventuality.

Renovation riskiness

A property might look great on first, second or even third viewing. Even the survey might come back ok but you never really know the full extent of the state of the building until you’re in there and starting to renovate. A little patch of blown plaster can soon turn into a whole wall of damp. A couple of cracked tiles later and suddenly you need the whole roof replaced.

Of course, even at Halloween, you needn’t fear the ghosts of property investing. There are ways of making your investment which eliminates the threats and worries of investing. The first thing to do is to work with local specialists, such as Agile in Norwich. People who have knowledge of the local markets, housing stock, tenant base and more can be invaluable in helping you to avoid the gremlins that can ruin a good investment.

To find out more about how we can help cast a positive spell over your property, get in touch with the Agile team today. Give us a ring on Norwich 01603 567804 or send us a message.

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