Overview:
All rooms have double beds and it's fine for partners to stay over
on an occasional basis
All rooms are fitted with contemporary furniture, typically ivory
and beech effect with pine handles, including wardrobe, chest of
drawers, bedside cabinet, desk or PC workstation, cushioned gas
lift swivel chair, and a book case and/or shelving.
The individual rooms are usually painted white in order to maximise
the feel of light and space. White also acts as a good base colour
for pictures and wall hangings and is cheap and simple to redecorate/touch
up if necessary at the end of each tenancy.
Bedrooms are fitted with a modern carpets in a neutral colour, typically
mid grey/blue. This improves sound insulation especially for people
in rooms below and most people find carpet in their bedroom more
cosy.
Living-room floors are usually fitted with laminate flooring which
gives a contemporary feel and is easier to clean in the event of
spillages etc
Bathroom and kitchen floors are tiled or fitted with vinyl making
them easier to clean.
The majority of houses have been completely rewired and most
rooms feature at least three double power points. Most of the rooms,
but not all, also feature their own TV and telephone points, and
a couple of the houses have a hardwired computer cable network with
points in each room.
All houses feature sizeable modern kitchens offering good
wall and base unit storage as well as 2 fridges and 2 freezers,
washing machine (+ tumble dryer where possible), oven, plenty of
worktop area for food preparation - and in larger houses 2 cooking
hobs.
All houses feature shared broadband - either wireless
via a wireless router or by a hardwired network. In order to connect
all you require is a wireless adapter or a network card (for a hardwired
network). Recently I've started supplying MIMO
wireless routers which offer better coverage in terraced houses.
Terraced houses can have more walls for the signal to penetrate
depending on the respective location of the router and the PC/laptop.
MIMO routers are backwardly compatible with older forms of wireless
adapters and will give a certain degree of increased range to older
style adapters. However, in order to benefit from the increased
range available from a MIMO router you ideally need a MIMO wireless
adapter on your PC or laptop.
All houses have a rear patio or garden with table and chairs so
you can sit out in the summer or have a barbecue.
From the age of 18 to 30 I spent a considerable amount of time living
in houseshare/flatshare myself in Cardiff, Oxford, Washington DC
and Toulouse so I know what is important from a tenant's perspective.
When I became a landlord I took this experience with me and resolved
to renovate and manage my properties the way I would have liked
if I were living in them myself.
You can call me any day of the week (at reasonable hours except
in an emergency) and I usually respond to e-mails as soon as I receive
them. Apart from the usual maintenance issues such as broken washing
machines, which are always dealt with promptly, I also regularly
help my tenants by putting up pictures and wall hangings etc to
help them make their room look more homely.
In addition, in the rare event that problems occur at a social
level within a houseshare, I also have a good deal of experience
at resolving this diplomatically and am willing to step in and mediate
in an awkward situation. Examples of this have been when a tenant
has, without my permission, had a partner staying long term or started
to smoke in the house. These sort of things do happen occasionally,
though very rarely, and it's reassuring to have a landlord who is
willing to help resolve the situation. Otherwise, it can be very
stressful for the other housemates.
An estimated 80% of young professionals are non-smokers, the majority
of which prefer to live with non-smokers so it makes good business
sense. In addition, smoking (especially combined with alcohol) is
the number-one reason for death by house fire in the UK. Also smoking
contaminates all the furnishing causing it to smell, necessitates
redecoration and a house which has been smoked in loses significant
market value.
Apart from the dirt that animals can bring into the house, the moulting
of hair and the damage to furniture, a significant number of people
are now allergic in some form to cats and dogs - including myself,
my wife, my sister etc. Having a cat, for example, in the house,
means anyone allergic can not move in and even after the cat has
left it requires at least six months before allergen levels have
dropped off to acceptable levels.
The majority of tenants I've asked would rather not live in a houseshare
with a couple. Therefore, I feel that having a couple in a houseshare
makes the house less marketable and may cause existing tenants to
leave. In addition, it places extra strain on the washing/kitchen
facilities which can have legal implications. It also creates issues
with regards sharing of bills etc
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