Tenant Eviction Process
If you tenant has not paid you any rent and you think you have a slim chance of extracting any money from him then it may be time for you to start thinking about evicting your problem tenant. Please be aware that it is against the law to try to evict your tenant with out using the correct procedure. At this point it may an idea to seek the help of a professional.
Rent Arrears & The Law Regarding It In England & Wales
Private sector tenancies are governed in England & Wales by The Housing Act 1988. If your tenant is in rent arrears of more than 2 months then the judge must give you a repossession order.
In order to start off the repossession process, you must issue a Section 8 Housing Act 1988 notice. This gives the tenant 14 days to respond. Failure to serve this notice correctly may delay the repossession and it is wise to consult a professional to advise you or do this for you. Your sources of advice/ assistance are your solicitor, a letting agent or via a specialised landlord service such as Landlord Angel
Court Action And What You Need To Do
Once the Section 8 notice has expired and if the tenant has not paid you the rent due or moved out of your property, you may apply for a hearing at a County Court where the judge must award a repossession order if the rent remains unpaid and in arrears of over two months or eight weeks at the time of the hearing. Exceptions to this will be if the property is in disrepair or if the rent arrears is because of a delay in a Housing Benefit claim in which case you should have dealt with the Local Authority and not have applied to the court.
Once the judge grants you a possession order your tenant should leave the property as instructed. If they fail to do so then you will need to seek the help of county court bailiffs to remove the tenants from your property.
Serve a section 8 notice in as little as 3 minutes. Visit Landlord Angel to serve your eviction notice.
It's a buyer's market when it comes to house sales right now, which means home prices are low and there are lots of homes that are currently for sale. Today's below average prices means that a lot of house sellers aren't getting as much money as they'd like out of the sale of their current home and it means they don't have as much to spend on a new dwelling. The recent housing slump means that a lot of people are having a tough time trying to sell their house right now.
In order to sell your house you're going to have to get inventive and try to set your house apart from the others that are being sold near your own house. As a house seller you are basically competing against the other house sellers in your area for the attention from a small pool of home buyers. One way to make your home more attractive is to fix it up with some modern home upgrades.
The easiest way to bring a lot of potential buyers into your home is to borrow some money for some small home improvements knowing that you will most likely make a profit when you actually sell your home. House improvement loans can range from a couple hundred dollars to thousands of dollars, and different financing amounts will give you the ability to commit to different types of projects. If you are relatively handy you can use some borrowed money and learn how to do your own home improvements. Here are a few home improvement ideas in various cost ranges:
$3,000 - $6,000: Projects in this lower price range should be aimed at freshening up a well-cared for home that doesn't need much work. House projects in this range include updating interior rooms with new paint, installing new crown molding and maybe even replacing some interior doors. Minor home upgrade projects in this range can sometimes be paid for with home improvement store credit cards or person loans.
For $9,000 - $11,000: Committing to house renovations in this range will definitely get the attention of prospective home buyers, especially if the other homes in your neighborhood don't include some of these updates. If you're going to take out a loan for house improvement projects in this range you may want to look at a home equity line of credit. Major home renovation projects like this could include putting in some new flooring, having a front yard professional landscaped or installing new windows.
Remember: most home improvements do not actually pay for themselves when you sell your house. It's imperative to adjust your home's selling price to reflect the recent upgrades. Certain house improvements like the ones mentioned above will, however, help sell your home. Your selling price should be raised but should most likely not be designed to cover the entire cost of your home improvement loan.
If you want to improve your home in order to sell it quickly but don't have any equity, don't worry. You can still apply for the best home improvement credit card you can find to pay for your home improvements.