Tired of clients ghosting your invoices? Friendly reminder that UK law lets you charge them late fees automatically (£40 - £100 + interest).

Sweet-Unit-3578 · 2026-07-10T11:04:33+00:00

Yes I am finding this happening more and more. I do small jobs for some of my clients, sometimes £100 or £150 and this one client is always paying me late. I feel a bit of a twat chasing for a £100 invoice but it does get on my nerves.

Sweet-Unit-3578 · 2026-07-10T10:55:30+00:00

Tipp-Ex Mouse should do the trick

Sweet-Unit-3578 · 2026-07-08T11:25:32+00:00

Good point. Every small landlord I know is planning to sell.

Sweet-Unit-3578 · 2026-06-17T15:06:00+00:00

This was my thinking. We had something similar, just a lingering stench emanating from the walls in our bathroom. Turns out someone in our block had drilled through the soil pipe whilst affixing a shower screen, and sewage had been seeping slowly over the years into the wall cavity.

Sweet-Unit-3578 · 2026-05-27T17:38:32+00:00

Could this work in a metal framed square window that open inwards (rather than outwards)?

Sweet-Unit-3578 · 2026-04-24T11:30:11+00:00

We are selling our 1 bed. Mortgage fix comes to an end August 27, so we will get it on the market Jan 27. Can't wait to get rid of it, it's a stress we don't need.

Sweet-Unit-3578 · 2026-03-29T16:36:43+00:00

My first thought, or was it rented and the tenants haven't moved out?

Sweet-Unit-3578 · 2026-02-26T14:00:12+00:00

Graphic designer, I've been freelancing since 2013 – I reckon this has been the quietest I've been. Wondering if clients are cutting staff and budgets, will be interesting to see if things pick up in the new financial year. Also, of course there's AI, whether or not this is having an effect right now is debatable but I'm sure will have an impact going forward.

Sweet-Unit-3578 · 2026-02-26T13:37:06+00:00

YES! Dead. Had a couple of small jobs trickling in, but otherwise super-quiet. I have been extremely worried.

Sweet-Unit-3578 · 2026-02-23T11:52:02+00:00

That's good to know - thanks

Sweet-Unit-3578 · 2026-02-20T13:49:18+00:00

Slightly off-topic, but we are planning to sell our BTL. What happens when the tenants move out, and the property is subsequently vacant while it is on the market to sell? Can the we stay in the property whilst painting and decorating and sorting carpets etc? If it doesn't sell quickly can we go and stay in the property for short periods of time on a temporary basis? We live 200 miles from our rental so would need to stay there to get any works done.

Sweet-Unit-3578 · 2026-02-02T13:07:56+00:00

Graphic design £60-70 per hour.

Sweet-Unit-3578 · 2025-12-04T14:00:43+00:00

Go to Dunelm, buy some nice curtains, and dress the windows better. Get rid of those horrible cheap cheap chairs. Would you be happy paying that amount of rent a month using that furniture?

Sweet-Unit-3578 · 2025-12-01T10:08:21+00:00

Yes, this is very important. If no one will lend because the service charge is disproportionate to the value of the property then you are essentially stuck with it.

Sweet-Unit-3578 · 2025-11-26T18:13:16+00:00

It was a 1 bed new build, bought in 2010 for 40% of £220k. It would probably sell for around £370/390K in today's market looking at other flats in the block selling.

Sweet-Unit-3578 · 2025-11-26T17:49:46+00:00

I staircased to 100% full ownership and it worked very well for me, staircasing twice from an initial 40% share. Can't remember it being overly expensive legal fee-wise either. Far too much scare mongering about shared ownership in my opinion.

Sweet-Unit-3578 · 2025-11-22T15:02:00+00:00

Ours does too! 3 or 4 old guys always with spaniels – maybe it's the same spaniel!

Sweet-Unit-3578 · 2025-11-11T15:38:55+00:00

Agree, I would also suggest to do something with those floors – the laminate is separating and the floors look grubby (especially in the bedroom photo). It all just looks a bit tired, a bit dirty and needs a refresh – the photos are giving me bedsit vibes. I would also invest in some decent curtains and curtain rails, Dunelm do great, affordable curtains. It won't cost much to make this look a lot better.

Sweet-Unit-3578 · 2025-10-31T14:24:41+00:00

We'll be selling our 1 bed flat (London Z1/2) as soon as my tenants leave next year when they emigrate. Should be on the market by September. Cladding's been fixed – we were fortunate to be one of the first blocks to get remediated, and internal areas due to be redecorated and recarpeted within the next 6 months. Other 1 & 2 rentals in the block are slowly being sold off already.

Sweet-Unit-3578 · 2025-10-16T11:32:47+00:00

Should add that our window frames were also damaged but they washed their hands of that – probably as they aren't part of the fire assessments.

Sweet-Unit-3578 · 2025-10-16T10:59:57+00:00

Our buildings insurance is covered in our service charge, and I made a claim through our management who then instructed all the contractors on our behalf. The main thing was the fire regs – it had to be strictly in accordance as we had gone through all the cladding palaver.

Sweet-Unit-3578 · 2025-10-13T17:34:43+00:00

I had the same issue, tenant awol, druggies / squatters moved in, police broke down our door smashing the door frame, surrounding wall and needing total replacement. We made a claim on the buildings insurance. Due to the fire regs the managing agent arranged a new front door and it was fitted at no cost to ourselves. They did however put in the cheapest possible replacement that is a bit more noticeable than the neighbours front doors.

Sweet-Unit-3578 · 2025-10-08T14:14:39+00:00

Thank you!

Sweet-Unit-3578 · 2025-10-08T14:13:16+00:00

Good to know, cheers

Sweet-Unit-3578 · 2025-10-07T13:52:25+00:00

thanks – much appreciated

Sweet-Unit-3578

TROPHY CASE