Landlords often ask us what goes on behind the
scenes at The Key Place and so we thought we would share our experiences, and
what we have learned from those experiences, with you.
This week I thought I would tell
you about a high end property which we manage in a prestigious Edinburgh
location. We have looked after this property for a number of years,
without any problems. Well, apart from once . . .
The property is a converted warehouse with a
stunning interior. Included in the furnishings are a baby grand
piano and original art works by artists including John Bellany and Peter
Howson. We advised the owner to remove these prior to letting
however he declined.
The property was up for rent and I had an enquiry
from a local businessman who was keen to view. I met him
myself. At the viewing he was overwhelmingly interested in the
artwork, more so than the property itself I felt. I have to say that
I became a bit suspicious about his motives, as he enthused about the
paintings.
The businessman came back to me after the viewing
to say that he would like to take the property. I sent him an
application pack. Although his references checked out, something
still didn’t sit right with me. As he owned a business locally, I
took a drive by to have a look. To my surprise the business didn’t
actually exist. There was a business with a similar sounding name
but not the one he claimed to own. I asked him to confirm the
business name and address and he came back with the same information.
While I was snooping around, the businessman phoned
wanting to know about the progress of his application. As he had
said he was moving in with a wife and son and they hadn’t seen the property, I
suggested a second viewing to let them have a look. He said he would
get back to me on this. A few days later he called to set up a
viewing.
I met the family at the property and was
immediately aware of the very strange dynamic between the 3 of
them. It was as if the businessman had never met the boy and the
wife seemed more like an acquaintance who wasn’t particularly interested in
looking around the place. Once again the chap spent almost the
entire viewing looking at the paintings.
Well by now I had convinced myself that he
certainly had the potential to be an art thief. I shared my concerns with a
colleague who was in agreement. I decided to speak to the owner, who
was aware that someone was interested in taking the property. I told
him the whole story and advised him not to take these people as
tenants. He was happy to trust my judgement and so I let them know
that their application had been unsuccessful.
I think in business it is essential to listen to
your instincts. It would have been easy to take the businessman’s
money to secure a let but who knows what may have happened
next. Rather than choosing this option I stood back and looked at
the bigger picture, and at the possible long term repercussions if my
suspicions were proved to be correct. In the end I decided to give
up the short term gain in favour of doing what I instinctively felt was right
for the landlord. Shortly after, I secured a good long term let for
the landlord, and was able to sleep easy at night! To this day, the
paintings remain in situ.
#bathgate #bonnyrigg #bo’ness #boness #dalkeith
#edinburgh #falkirk #grangemouth #kelso #linlithgow #livingston #loanhead
#musselburgh #penicuik #stirling #property #buytolet #realestate
#ownermanagedbusiness #retirement #retirementplanning #energyefficiency #privaterentedsector
#prs #firsttimebuyers #brexit #hardbrexit #cliffedge
No comments:
Post a Comment