Renting to a housing professional

[Celibin]

I have advertised a good size flat in a small town via an established Letting agent. A chap who lives some 60 miles away and will be working from home has got a colleague locally to visit the place and an offer has been made on it. (e will not be seeing the flat himself (as far as I am aware) and prefers not to meet me in person first but rather via phone.
Is this fishy?

[jpkeates]

Yes. Move on.

[ash72]

If he doesn't want to see it, then I wouldn't bother, the property is meant to be his home for the next +6months therefore if he can't invest the time, get someone else.

[DPT57]

Suspect rent to rent

[Hudson01]

Yes. Move on.

This with bells on !!! It is not even a matter of him not wanting to see the flat (which is odd), i would be more concerned with his reticence on you meeting him !!!

[Section20z]

I have advertised a good size flat in a small town via an established Letting agent. A chap who lives some 60 miles away and will be working from home has got a colleague locally to visit the place and an offer has been made on it. (e will not be seeing the flat himself (as far as I am aware) and prefers not to meet me in person first but rather via phone.
Is this fishy?

As long as he passed all usual credit checks I can't see an issue here. Perhaps just a Zoom or facetime meet to prove ID ?
Last March saw me take my first ever virtually viewed tenant and she has proved exemplary.

[Celibin]

Point taken that if he cannot come at the weekend to view and it is going to be his home. He is a Housing Officer and so will be working for La or Council?

[JK0]

My father used to refuse to let to estate agents, as they knew all the tricks in the book.

[Codger]

I would expect a housing officer to make a good tenant. They will be dealing with the really awful landlords locally so should be grateful. You can ask to have a phone chat to reassure yourself.

[nukecad]

He is a Housing Officer and so will be working for La or Council?

So he's a housing officer, working for a council 60 miles away.

He is not going to be living there himself.
It's a rent to rent, they are trying to dump their 'emergency' Social Housing tenants on a different Local Authority.
You will have a contract with his council and will have no say in who they put in your property.
It's part of 'Social Cleansing'.

Don't touch with a bargepole.

[Hudson01]

Agree with ' Nukecad' above, if you go down that route you are in for a world of pain. I have to deal with problematic social housing tenants as part of my job from time to time...... but the emergency placements are on another level, they have been evicted from everywhere but have fallen back onto the council due to their vulnerability, if you house them...... you will earn every single penny of the rent.

[Jon66]

Housing Officers have to live somewhere right. Lots of people are relocating because they are working from home and have been told this will continue in the future so geography isn't so important.

It's a big jump to assume it will be a rent to rent. My experience is that councils are a bit more upfront when that's what they are looking for.

[Celibin]

Yes it is a nice place/area and near the Council offices which may be relevant later if they stop having to work at home.
I was wondering how you deal with disobedient tenants if you cannot visit them eg ASB rent arrears , bad landlords
and eviction ban. Finally how will they do the Right to rent checks if he cannot even travel here to do a viewing.
But he is a Council official

[nukecad]

Yes it is a nice place/area and near the Council offices which may be relevant later if they stop having to work at home.

So it could be upfront and he could be changing jobs to work for your council, so wants a property local to the new job.

But if that is the case then why is he not wanting to see the property before renting? and why is he avoiding meeting you?
(Possible answers- He's not too bothered what it's like because he's only going to be renting for 6 months while he buys a house locally. He's avoiding a meeting because of Covid).

[alice123]

I suspect rent to rent and he may have a private company and does this all the time .....