5 tips for choosing the right tenant

Whether you have one property or a whole portfolio, the people that you rent your home to are the ones that determine how successful you will be with your letting. A tenant that pays on time, is friendly with the neighbours, house proud and has no plans for moving is the ideal tenant and can be a real asset, but the bad ones can result in lots of stress. Here are a few tips on finding the best tenants for your properties.

Do your research

You can only make an informed decision on whether or not to accept a tenant if you do your research on them first. You should always ask them to fill out a form which provides a background check on them. This should include basic details like their name, age and current address but also information about employment, income, their right to work in the UK and a list of any previous addresses in the past three years. This will provide you with some initial data that you can cross check and validate to make sure the person is who they say they are. Furthermore, you should ask to see a copy of their birth certificate or passport and a recent utility bill to prove their current address. Always be wary of tenants who have a history of moving around lots in a short period of time as they may repeat this pattern which means you will have to spend more time relisting the property, redecorating and finding new tenants for the property.

3 critical mistakes when hiring staff for the first time

For most start-ups there comes a time where it becomes very clear that support is needed. It might be that you are losing work to competitors because you don’t have the time to take on new contracts, maybe you’ve identified an opportunity to diversify, or perhaps you want to improve on the service that you are providing to your existing customers by dedicating more time to them. Whether through hiring someone to answer telephones, work the books or a full on recruitment drive to fill a number of departments, developing a team of people to work alongside you can help push your business forward. However, if you are planning on hiring then it is important that you are aware of not only your legal obligations as an employer, but also some common pitfalls that catch out first-time employers.

What is Parental Responsibility?

For many of us, Parental Responsibility will never become an issue in our families.

However, when family life becomes complicated, Parental Responsibility can play an important part in decisions that are made by the courts, particularly in issues such as divorce, custody and decisions over a child’s upbringing and future.

By law Parental Responsibility is defined as “all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority which by law a parent of a child has in relation to the child and his property” which explains the role of the parent in relation to their child until the child turns 18 years of age.

Parental Responsibility might come into play in a number of different circumstances. These include when naming a child, choosing their religion, where they live, what medical treatment they might have and how they are educated. These are decisions which can become complicated after a divorce or separation and may sometimes need the involvements of solicitors and the courts to resolve.