Protecting Doors & Floors When Moving In And Out

Singapore Moving Home & Furniture - Building Protection 

 In Singapore when you moved in or out of a block of flats - and most of Singapore consists of high rise blocks, precautions were taken to prevent damage to the building.

Public Floors' Protection

Incoming and outgoing tenants had to inform the management, book the dates and times, and pay for the installation of protection. Runners were laid on the floor from the parking area to the building, over to the lift, inside the lift, down the corridor to the unit doorway. 

Lift Protection

Inside the lift, all four walls and the ceiling were protected  with padding, attached to hooks inside the lift which you would not normally notice. (An alternative in areas without hooks is a heavy duty removable tape.) Windows with see-through covering allowed you to use the lift buttons and emergency buttons.

Doorways were also protected.

In my opinion removal companies should have three things

1 A trained supervisor in charge of the moving staff.

2 Insurance against damage.

3 Equipment to protect doorways, walls, and floors . Tools for removing and re-fixing doors to allow access for large items. 

4 Advance survey of photos or videos of the building, parking access, and sizes of large items to be brought in or taken out.

5 Notification of building porter or manager to get parking space cordoned off for large vehicles.

Holland and The Netherlands - Upper Floor Access

In Holland large items like pianos are hoisted to upper floors outside the building and through a large window at the top.

Search the web and you will find videos of companies in the USA showing you what to do and what you can buy from them. From the UK you can find websites of items to buy.

My Experiences

Moving an American style large double door fridge freezer in and out can be a problem.

 One set of movers went off in a huff.

1 They could not park near enough as visitors had occupied all the spaces near the entrance.

2 They were daunted by the nine steps into the building. Which we had notified the sellers of the fridge, but the moving contractor's staff maintained that they had not been informed.

3 They said there was a danger of damage to the kitchen door and door jamb. 

Surely that is their job, to be prepared to allow time to install protection of the doorway, to carry it with them, to have told to removed the fridge door to make it smaller and lighter. To have tools to remove the kitchen door to make more space.

What might the landlord or householder need?

1 Floor runners

2 No parking portable bollards.

 Websites on Door Jamb Protection For Moving
UK Products To Protect Homes When Moving

https://www.trioplus.co.uk/protect-doors-frames/ram-board-door-jamb/

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A video on you tube shows a man removing rust from a chrome bike handlebar. he used scrunched up silver aluminum foil, and metal cleaning pads.

Insurance of your property - fire or flood?

Fires I have Seen

Fire, floods, rarity? Not for me. 

1 I have been in three hotels and restaurants on holiday in Europe and the USA which had fire alarms. Kitchen fires.  

2 My local Chinese restaurant in Hatch End, UK, burned down. Water thrown on hot oil. Who knew that would start a fire? Not the kitchen staff.

I went to stay with an elderly relative who had been widowed. He went to sleep with a memorial candle on the anniversary of his wife's death. He insisted that the candle needed to burn for 24 hours. 

3 I had an charming elderly tenant. She burned incense, twice the height of a low vase. I watched, uneasily, as it burned down. When she left the room to answer the front door, the draft made it flicker. As it died, it did a dance in the vase. What a relief. Then she lit another one. With a match. 

4 But a year or two after she moved in, she kept burning the toast. I was puzzling over what to say to the son who was paying rent. But he gave notice. She needed care.

5 I also saw smoke from the house opposite when their flame-throwing weed-killer was dropped into bushes when they answered the phone. 

6 One of my tenants did an obligatory dance seven times around a fire, to celebrate the birth of her baby. It was a BBQ style fire on the dining table, in a wok. 

Flames rose unexpectedly high. The young couple beat back the flames. Smoke rose. Then the husband rushed the flaming cauldron or wok through the hall. The building smoke alarms went off. 

The blind man upstairs rushed out. He hurt his ankle rushing downstairs. He was not pleased.

Keep Insurance Records

 Keep a record of your insurance dates to be sure you remember to renew.

Update Email Addresses to Insurers

Normally you get reminders by email. Make sure to tell insurance companies if you change your email, so you get the reminders.

Display Insurance Details

Everybody involved in your family (including your children if you are elderly) should be able to quickly find the insurance details. What if you should go abroad on holiday, fall ill, go into hospital or die? 

Check Empty House Clauses

The insurance might not be valid if the house is left empty. You might be able to extend it to cover these situations if you let them know, either for a small extra charge, or even at no cost.

Places For Keeping Records, Or Duplicate Records

 If you are not confident that the records can be found, in the event of power failure, computer failure, change of email, loss of password, relatives not knowing the password to your computer or a particular set of past records, have the vital information in book they can easily find, or pinned on the fridge door, or a pinboard of vital information,

Emergency Action Instructions

Hotels have fire escapes on a map on the back of the bedroom door. Some hotels have added instructions about what to do, or to take with you. Include 

1 Where to turn off water in the case of a flood -and whether the flood is external such as a river or drain, or internal such as a leaking pipe, you may need to know the location of where to turn off the electricity and the water.

2 Where to find the fuse box.

3 Phone number of reliable, communicative, reasonably priced, available electrician to call if the electricity keeps tripping. Or porter. Or managing agent. Or Fire Brigade.

If you call out the fire brigade and they turn off the electricity in a flood, note where to find the tap to turn the electricity or water back on. Label it.

Cost Of Insurance

Some people forget insurance. Or think it is not worth the money because things rarely go wrong. Or think the insurance companies often manage not to pay. Or the amount the insured person has to pay means that you lose your no claims bonus.

Previous Accidents, Events, Claims

One insurance form I filled out online to get a list of possible insurers said that I must list all accidents even if I had not made a claim. Presumably because that mean my property was at risk of future events.

 However, the agent told me that if remedial action had been taken, such as against flooding or subsidence. the earlier claim would not prevent my property getting insurance.

Positive Action

A no smoking ban is a first step.

Fire Alarm

Install a fire alarm. There are at least two types of fire fighting devices. One for cooking fires. Another for electrical fires. A blanket. A spray.

Install a smoke alarm.

 Note the expiry date. Check the battery.

Gas Safety

You need a gas safety check. If you have a managing agent, they should be ensuring that these things are done. 

Positive Thoughts

Another member of my family said, over a period of ten or twenty years you might pay out for several years with nothing wroth claiming for. But then if something happens, you might get your money back on that claim. 

You are in effect paying out, gradually, against a later event. A bit like saving up for a rainy day. So that you don't have to find a lot of money in one go. That saves you the stress.

Useful Websites About Fire Safety

https://www.london-fire.gov.uk/safety/

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Land Registry

Agents Can Check A Property Owner

I was wondering how to prove to the letting agent that I am the owner. Do I need to find my original purchase agreement?

No need. If the property agent wants to check that the owner is the bona fide owner of the property, this can be checked by consulting the land registry.

Safeguard For Landlords

If the landlord wants to be sure that no tenant, squatter, nor anybody else has claimed to be the owner, the rightful owner can register with the land registry. 

Then the owner will be informed whenever anybody else tries to change the name of the owner.

Finding a tenant or Letting Agent

Some people just go into a local agent. I tried that first. They did not deal with my property's area. But two agents told me they had multiple branches all over London, the UK, even overseas. They would direct the would-be tenant to the branch nearest my property, whose staff would take a key from me and conduct viewings.

You can conduct viewings yourself. You can advertise in one of more of the online newspaper, including a free one. Then spend time answering enquiries.

I like the fact that the agent checks credentials. the tenants' financial stability creditworthiness (but not usually references from employers and previous landlords,. Then right to rent (having the right to work).

 Finding Agents

I contacted 13 agents. I made a list of them. My husband said, pick your three favourites. I started with the two nearest the property. Then one online which had another flat in my block. Then one which did a video as well as a photo. 

Then I looked at a comparison site - and two agents phoned me.  

Two agents I had dealt with before and remembered me or another member of my family.

Finding A Tenant

If you have a good letting agent, that is wonderful.  If not, what then?

You might be able to get your tenant to find a relative or colleague to take over the tenancy. Ask the tenant.

If you have a good tenant, you might keep their contact details and tell them if they have relatives to contact you.

If you get on well with an employee of  an agency, you might keep in touch with them if they move jobs to another company or another area or even overseas.

Find your contract and review it well in advance.

Keeping A Tenant Happy

You could give your new tenant a list of local businesses, especially those who are useful, such as plumbers, painters, furniture sellers, restaurants, parks, gym. In the USA, estate agents would supply an envelope of coupons. I suspect that they charged a fee to businesses for issuing the packs, or an intermediary firm offered this service of leaflet packages to estate agents.

Company Lets

A large company instead of finding accommodation for each new arrival from overseas might buy or rent a house. Visiting staff, or newcomers, then inherit bedding and kettles left behind, can form friendships with other staff, or share rides into the office.

Comparing Agents' Fees - Letting and Management

You can look for the agent nearest the property. Or the agent who has lots of property in your area and price range. 

If you have time, you might shop around for a good deal.

If you are short of time, or live overseas, it might suit you to opt for management.

Sole Agency

One agent told me he would only deal with sole agency. Another said he would at lease like to have two weeks as the sole agent. He said, 'If I have sole agency I will put more time and effort into it. Pay less, you get less time and attention.'

Another agent laughed at that idea. She said, 'letting is not like selling a house'.

An agency in a poor area will have more clients on a low budget. It will take them longer to find somebody who pays well.

An agency near an embassy and west end businesses is more likely to get high paying tenants. An agent near a university is more likely to get lots of students looking for student lets.

An agency nearby might ask for a key so they can take prospects to view the property.

A far away online agency might employ a local person for an hour a week to show all enquirers for your property, perhaps six prospects at 15 minute intervals.

One agent offered to come to my home to meet me. She liked the restaurants in my area. I thought that was very jolly and enterprising of her.

Then I read her terms. The high fee she wanted to charge me would easily cover a taxi fare.

Letting Price Point

The agent wants to see the property in order to suggest a realistic price, or suggest improvements. 

Agents' Hours

One agent worked Monday to Friday. But most tenants who are employed want to go flat hunting evenings and weekends. Except in winter, evenings are dark. 

Agents' Working Hours

I found it very difficult dealing with agents who don't work weekends. One agent told me the shop was staffed by sales staff on Saturday to take the details of prospects. The sales and management team, the account person, would contact the landlord and prospective tenant on Monday.

Management Fees

How will an agency far away be able to deal with management? Many agents say they have teams of people to call on in each area.

One agency said, they get three quotations for work to be done or appliances to be bought, then forward the three quotations to you for your decision. Do you want the cheapest service, or product such as a new fridge for a tenant, or one with a long guarantee?

Ideal Tenants To Choose 

New laws coming in make it illegal to specify no children, or other criteria.

You can however mention the sort of things which will appeal to certain types. Parks appeal to parents of toddlers. For example, good schools will appeal to families. Universities will appeal to students, or parents of sixth former. Hospitals might appeal to pregnant women or the elderly. Mentioning or photographing flights of steps might be off putting to the pregnant or elderly. Train links and fast times to the city and business districts might attract young professionals. A parking space will attract a car owner. A nearby place of worship, faith school, or the number gourmet and ethnic restaurants, or fast food options, might suggest the atmosphere, or variety. 

Tenants' Requirements

I had people from a military base who were used to spartan, clean, efficient homes. They wanted sets of 12 items of plates, different sizes of glasses, and 12 dining chairs, to hold weekly dinners of cocktail parties for their military groups.

A family of three sent back all table lamps because they did not want to be responsible for breakages, and wanted me to remove anything of financial or sentimental value because they had three children.

An Afghan family wanted me to remove all furniture with legs, the dining table, dining chairs, easy chairs, so they could put cushions around the walls.

I also had tenants try to return curtains so they could install their own.

Managing Agents Firm Rules

 A managing agent will tell tenants that all items must stay in the flat, be stored there, hung up again at the end of the tenancy, and be as on the inventory.

Advantages Of The Inventory, Inventory Personnel - And Demanding Keys

I had an inventory done and the tenant was missing a set of door keys which he thought might be with his brother. He promised, 'I'll definitely return them later. I'm flying off tomorrow. So I'll post them back during the following week.'

I was disappointed in this. I did not known how to deal with it. I didn't want a confrontation.

However, the inventory person was very forthright. He said, 'I am spending an hour photographing everything in this flat. My next free time is a month from now. I will charge for a return visit, the tenant paying, out of the deposit, since they are the one causing the need to return. 

'If the flat key is not supplied, you will be charged the cost of a replacement lock and 4 sets of replacement keys to this flat. Your two keys. The landlord's two keys. If the building key is not returned, we must have the building lock changed, issue two sets of building keys to all four flats. You will be charged for that.  Until you return all the keys, the inventory cannot be signed off. If you have the keys, you still need to pay next month's rent. Meanwhile, of course, your deposit of two months' rent cannot be returned.'

The tenant made a phone call. He drove off. He returned twenty minutes later with the missing keys.

A Good Tenant

What is a good tenant? One who pays the asking price? 

One who sends you a whatsapp immediately after paying to tell you the rent has gone into your account, such and such an amount. No chasing nor wondering needed.

Property Photos

Some agents said they would happily use my hand phone photos. Others said that when they visited the property they would take photos. Others said that they would send in a photographer. One agent said her photographer would also do the video and the floorplan.

Useful Websites

https://www.compareagentfees.com/renting-out-your-property

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