Moved Into My Rented Ast House Today....but......

[crown]

The mortgage is residential - end of.

BM write to your residential address if you have a BTL mortgage, which of course cannot be the let property.

Put an end to the farce of residential mortgages on let properties and send the post back to BM.

It will take months to take legal action against the owner, you will get kicked out soon either way.

I would not like to live there when BM send the bailiffs round to collect goods and they take possession of your stufff rather than your LL stuff

[madasafrog]

Madasafrog

You make me sick...have you any idea how many children are killed on the UK roads due to speeding each year??? And don't give me this cr@p about it being an A road or motorway...speeding on one road just encourages speeding on others by others.

No one dies through opening a LL's mail - clearly she's someone who should direct her post elsewhere - she's obviously not concerned about it being opened or she would not send it there.

You need to seriously question your own moral code. don't ever compare opening mail to speeding - one results in death the other to a loss of pricvacy (boo hoo).

let me guess drink driving is fine but overhearing someone elses conversation is terrible!...

shame on you

Oh dear lord. Where do i start? I dont! Cant be arsed.

BTW, I was faster today.

[apom]

People are killed by idiots... not speed....

It is the mental decision to put others at risk without concern that is the fault..

On a motor bike I would be moving faster then traffic by about 5-10% so that I was only put in danger by those ahead, its about controlling the danger..

but I wouldn't be filtering through stationary traffic at 50mph...

Idiots cause accidents and death and speeding is only one of their tools...

A frustrated driver stuck in traffic pulled into my lane without looking to attempt a U-Turn and I crashed missing him...

An idiot

[Converted Lurker]

Opening someone else's post a crime Jeez guys...Thanks for the info. the cliche of paying the BTL landlords mortgage never rang truer. I wonder how much this situation is this repeated up and down the UK?

[redgenieuk]

12/9/07 Update.

To give the members taking the higher moral ground here the benefit of doubt, I took a wait and see approach to this and had an informal chat with the EA on the 1/9/07 explaining that I had received a BM letter addressed to the LL and would pass it on but could they request that the LL changes her postal address to her residence or sets up a redirection.

Then on the 3/9/07 I received a third BM letter for the LL. As long as these keep coming here I will read them. This one basically said that as of the 2/9/07 the mortgage was 2 months in arrears @ £1600!

It also detailed a £35 charge for a Returned cheque / Bounced DD on the 3/8/07, the same again on the 16/8/07 and the arrears fee of £35 charged on the 29/8/07. So the LL must have known what was going on as they would have the bank onto them about Chq / DD bouncing twice and charges etc.

Even though being more alarmed as I had just contacted the EA I forwarded this letter to the LL too, expecting her to sort it out.

Then yesterday we received a forth BM letter, basically saying that £799.97 was still in arrears and the next payment was also due on the 2/10/07. So this tells me the LL knows the shit she is in, has paid the August arrears with our Sept rent by has mothing left to pay the Sept arrears.

As the BM letter points out they will take payment by debit card over the phone. This last letter also insisted that the arrears was paid in seven days or they will take further action. Now unless the LL is maxed out on CC and overdraft who cant summon up £800 funds into their bank account to bay the mortgage? If i wanted to I could fund £30-40k into my bank account from my CC, it's easy, but expensive.

So today I phoned the EA and officially complained about the constant BM letters arriving that I was having to forward on. The apologised and said they had spoken to the LL but would now write to them requesting this mail was chnaged or redirected.

I also asked them that as I have had 4 BM letters for the LL in two weeks that something was not right and could they get proof that the LL was on a BTL mortgage or had BM approval to rent the house out on a OO mortgage. They said they would investigate and come back to me. I will put this in writting to them tonight so there is a recorded of was was discussed but as long as these BM letters keep arriving I will read them so I know what is happening.

And iof the EA doesn't come up with some proof about the mortgage being rental approved by the end of the month I will write to BM with a copy of my AST to let them know.

M

Have you no flare?

Take the letter. Put it in an envelope, with a short covering note saying "Dear BS person, The person this letter is address to does not live at this address, they RENT OUT this property. Please contact them at the following address, or forward the letters directly to the estate agent dealing with my tenancy at the following address."

That should part the LL's butt cheeks ready for some excellent probing.

They won't like the fact that they haven't been told and they are much stricter with BTL arrears than normal arrears apparantly.

If you want to make it worse you might also like to pay your rent late?

[othello]

Take things into your own hands - contact Midshires and alertthem as to your fears. You may find the LL has illegally let out the property (i.e. not told the BS). Contact the agency and ask them to guarantee the let. That'll make 'em sweat. In the mean time look for somewhere else cos in practice you have no protection.

[Converted Lurker]

Have you no flare?

Take the letter. Put it in an envelope, with a short covering note saying "Dear BS person, The person this letter is address to does not live at this address, they RENT OUT this property. Please contact them at the following address, or forward the letters directly to the estate agent dealing with my tenancy at the following address."

That should part the LL's butt cheeks ready for some excellent probing.

They won't like the fact that they haven't been told and they are much stricter with BTL arrears than normal arrears apparantly.

If you want to make it worse you might also like to pay your rent late?

why not just refuse to pay the rent until they rectify the problem? - which they can't do without your money. Take longer than 3 months to get you out, LL gets repoed, in the meantime you look for another property. Don't buy into the black mark v your name/no landlord ref., simply tell the next agent that you want assurances that your next place is not in this desparate situation

[markyh]

An update on this. We still get the LL post from BM for this property despite several complaints to the LA. I now read them and bin them as we wern't getting the red ones anymore. Anyway it appears the LL discount deal ran out Feb and her payment interest only has risen to £1028 p/m and we only pay the LA £850 so god knows what the LL gets.

But as of this week we are getting the arrears bounced DD letters again. Theb today we got the 12 month mortgage statement. It says her Birmingham Midshires mortgage product is code "RJH" .

I have tried looking on the BM website but this code does not appear anywhere so I assume it is a old product? However I did notice that only the current self sert mortgage codes start with "R".

Any mortgage brokers on here who have old lists of BM products and con confirm if "RJH" is a true BTL mortgage or a self cert OO ?

Any help appreciated otherwise I think I will write to BM soon giving all the AST details etc just to cover us.

Cheers

Marky

[Guest Skint Academic]

I'd probably not expect the deposit back if I was you. The LL just can't afford it. I don't know how the Tenancy Deposit Scheme affects this now but they will be looking for any excuse they can to keep onto your money. What you can do is refuse to pay the last month's rent before moving out. That's what we did. We made sure the house was perfectly clean when we left but we've been shafted too many times by letting agents and landlords to trust them anymore.

I'd most certainly get out of there. There's loads of other places you can rent and it's always going to be at the back of your mind that you can be evicted at any moment, especially when you just want some stability at this time of your life. We always opened our last landlady's letters from the mortgage company. You have to protect yourself from other people's greed.

[markyh]

I'd probably not expect the deposit back if I was you. The LL just can't afford it. I don't know how the Tenancy Deposit Scheme affects this now but they will be looking for any excuse they can to keep onto your money. What you can do is refuse to pay the last month's rent before moving out. That's what we did. We made sure the house was perfectly clean when we left but we've been shafted too many times by letting agents and landlords to trust them anymore.

I'd most certainly get out of there. There's loads of other places you can rent and it's always going to be at the back of your mind that you can be evicted at any moment, especially when you just want some stability at this time of your life. We always opened our last landlady's letters from the mortgage company. You have to protect yourself from other people's greed.

Yes we are covered by the Tenancy Deposit Scheme and we have had two 100% ok LA 3 month checks, infact they where so happy they have marked us down for six monthly checks only. Also the LA uses a seperate local company who do check in a check out and keep records independent from the LA & LL. When I chatted to this womoan when we moved in she said that her opinion can now be used in TDS judgements where LL try it on.

So I will be interested in leaving this house as it will be very different from the last time I rented in 1995 when I got screwed for the deposit too!

M

[DoctorJ]

How are you getting away with opening all this post? One you can blag, but this is 9 months on now.

[markyh]

How are you getting away with opening all this post? One you can blag, but this is 9 months on now.

lol. LA wont chase LL anymore, LL wont redirect or tell lender her real living address, I think because she has an OO mortgage. Each time the post arrives I now send an email to the LA telling them it has happened again, and I have put in back in the post marked return to sender, not known at this address.

Then I read it and bin it. If the LL really want the post while avoid dislosing another address to the lender she could pay £60 a year for redirection!!

Pretty simple really.

M

[Mrs Bear]

Markyh, if you're worried do go and see the Citizen's Advice lot - they're very good and clued up. Good luck.

You should never open anyone else's post. It was not addressed to you and it is not yours. Think about it - how would you feel if somebody did that to you. What you did was wrong.

My advice Markyh is don't do it again. It will make you feel bad about yourself.

Sometimes you have to. I had a stack arriving for former owner of flat who'd gone abroad leaving no fwding address. So much mail carried on coming (and ominous-looking - you can tell) - and returning to sender had absolutely no effect. Had to open in the end otherwise I knew I'd have bailiffs on the doorstep. Spent ages on phone to debt collectors, sent of dozens of copies of my council tax bill etc and eventually they all backed off. But it took MONTHS. This bloke had left the country owing at least £20,000 and he won't be the only one. Was I supposed to do nothing and have intimidating heavies forcing their way in? Because that's what some of them do.

[DabHand]

I don't think l ever heard of anyone being prosecuted for opening mail they received in their own homes.

Bit like buggery in the 80's. lol

[Guest tbatst2000]

as a former postman

What was that like as a job?

[beans on toast]

Heres a couple of things you should do:

1. seal the letter with sellotape and write on the front "opened in error - person not known at this address. RETURN TO SENDER"

2. Contact the building society and tell them the Landlord is renting out the property - anonymously.

You've done nothing wrong.

[markyh]

Update. It has taken 10 months but the letter i was expecting for my Landlord arrived when I got home friday.

Birmingham Midshires are starting repossesion proceedings as the LL is now 3 months in arrears @ a total of about 3.5k including a big chunk of fees and 3 months mortgage payments. I was still amazed that the LL must get £750 p/m from our LA who we pay £850 and her mortgage had gone up to £1065 p/m. So the LL is just under £300 pm short.

Anyway, took the letter into the LA Sat morning and the girl who is dealing with our next six months AST from the end of August said she was expecing this as the LL had gone to ground. They can't get hold of her, by home phone, email or mobile. they have been trying for 2 months with no luck. She also showed me what happens when they call her latest contact number that she changed to earlier in the year. It is just the drrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr tone when the La dialed it.

It also turns out that she had another BTL on their books in Aylesbury last year but remoived it, either sold it or BTL with another agent. So the LL was into at least 2 BTL so maybe is £700 p/m or more down now as she obviously cant remortgage her BTL empire and is stuck on the SVR.

The LA are very good, promised to fast track us into another property on their books and stated that my legal tie in with my AST until 27/8/08 is invalid now she property is going into repossesion? Maybe they have a clause about this in the LA contract with the LL ?

We have also viewed a bigger 3 bed detached up the road on Sat afternoon so will have a chat about what to do with the LA owner on monday morning.

Also the La clerk said this is the second BTL repossesion with tennents in place this month and they have had a few since the begining of 08. So I think anyone in BTL after 2003 is toast unless they are very cash rich and are really in it for the long term by funding a depreciating asset!!

M

[AndrewP]

(3) A person commits an offence if, intending to act to a person's detriment and without reasonable excuse, he opens a postal packet which he knows or reasonably suspects has been incorrectly delivered to him.

(4) Subsections (2) and (3) of section 83 (so far as they relate to the opening of postal packets) apply to subsection (3) above as they apply to subsection (1) of that section.

(5) A person who commits an offence under subsection (1) or (3) shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both.

http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/00026--f. htm#84

In this position though I suggest you have "reasonable excuse" & indeed the facts have proven this to be the case.

Good luck!

[Elizabeth]

What ever you do, do not admit to opening the post to anyone. It is illegal. I have been in a similar situation myself so I'm not judging you for doing so. It worked out for the best for me.

I would sit tight and see what turns up next month (not that I am saying you should read some else’s post). Now that she has your rent and deposit she can probably afford the repayments again. If you bail out you’ll probably loose you deposit, same for next month and the next month, so you may as well wait it out.

Don't open the next post though. Give it unopened to your real estate agent and express concern and bemusement that the bank should be sending mail to the house address not the morgage address, since this would indicate that the bank thinks the landlord is living there and that is illegal and you are worried etc. (and if you have long eyelashes and big blue eyes batter them at that point! - works a treat, it really does!!!).