A private landlord who had his property trashed by tenants has claimed he is being forced into repossession because his house has become a magnet for vandals. Frank Hesketh, has been trying to sell his two-bedroomed house in Preston, since it was first wrecked in 2009.
Mr Hesketh rented his property to a young family who after a dispute over the £500 per month rent left a scene of devastation including dog excrement in the oven, obscene comments on the walls and every floorboard removed or broken. Since the initial damage, there have also been several break-ins where more damage has been done each time. The landlord can not afford to spend the £9,000 needed to make the house liveable again and so may have to make the sad choice of voluntarily surrendering it to the mortgage company and making himself bankrupt. His biggest regret is not having an adequate landlord insurance policy and his insurance company paid out only a very small amount.
He bought the house four years ago for £90,000 and rented out the modern house with attractive flooring and a beautiful open fireplace. The first damage occurred two days after he told the tenants they could be evicted due to unpaid rent. They had been recommended to him and the references they provided turned out to be fake. To add to his problems, fly-tippers have been dumping rubbish in his garden.
Mr Hesketh said: “I will be making one last-ditch attempt to save my property. I’m going to fill in a voluntary re-possession form but ask them to look at re-mortgaging the property. My last throw of the dice is to see the mortgage company again and ask if they’ll lend me the money to get the property done up. The trouble is they’ve refused me once before.”