No takers: I bought to let in a no-go-zone and now I can't find tenants

The accidental landlord wonders why there are no takers for her latest rental - until a fellow local landlord gives his opinion of the district.
600 a week: one-bedroom ground floor flat in Alexandra Park, N22, through Foxtons (020 8012 6762)
Victoria Whitlock10 November 2017

When my car breaks down in the middle of the street outside my newest rental property, a couple of young lads emerge from the house next door — quite unasked — to push it to the edge of the road so that I will no longer be blocking the traffic.

Then a chap comes out of his flat across the road and tries, albeit unsuccessfully, to get the car going again.

A woman a few doors down insists on providing mugs of tea and we all stand around having a nice chat. It’s such a heart-warming experience I feel almost glad to have broken down.

When the breakdown truck arrives I chat with the driver, who tells me he owns several properties himself, all located about half a mile away. “It’s pretty rough round here though,” he declares as he reaches down to tug out the ramps at the back of the truck, “and 10 years ago, this was a no-go zone.”

A little alarmed, I look along the street. “Oh this street’s all right,” the driver says. “But you know that park round the corner? Full of druggies at night.” I gulp. I’ve described that park in my rental advert as “a pleasant green space”, having no idea that come dusk, it’s invaded by crack heads. How could I have known, not having any local knowledge?

Now I understand why I’ve struggled to attract professional tenants or working families. I’ve been thinking it was because the flat was a bit tired and needed doing up a little, not because it was in a dodgy location.

£600 a week: this three-bedroom house in St Regis Close, a quiet cul-de-sac off Alexandra Park Road in N10, is available to rent unfurnished now, with parking and a low-maintenance rear garden, through Paul Simon (020 8012 1850).

The truck driver goes on to tell me he’s thinking of selling his properties, despite the fact they’re in a much nicer bit of the district than mine. He says letting property has become too stressful and expensive, he’s not a fan of all the new legislation and, of course, the loss of mortgage interest tax relief will hit his profits hard.

“And then there’s the awful tenants, they don’t pay the rent, they don’t look after the flats and it takes years to evict them, I’ve had enough of it all,” he says. He’s working on a plan to sell up and buy a big family home somewhere much cheaper than London.

He suggests I consider getting rid of my flat, too, but I’ve just spent thousands replacing the bathroom and landscaping the garden, I’ll never get my money back if I sell it now.

I had also been toying with the idea of replacing the kitchen, removing the chimney breasts to make the rooms bigger and replacing the UPVC windows with traditional timber sashes.

I try to console myself with the thought that if the area was that bad, it wouldn’t have such kind, friendly neighbours, would it? Maybe this place is up and coming, not run-down and dangerous. Who knows? It’s too late now, I’ll have to wait and see.

However, I have learned a valuable lesson. In future I will knock on a few doors in any neighbourhood where I am intending to buy, chat to a few local shopkeepers and even, with my husband, linger in the park towards dusk. It is called doing your homework.