System Failures....

“Why Won’t People Adopt Siblings?” asks the Sky News article for the start of National Adoption Week. However, sometimes it’s the system that fails not the lack of prospective adoptive parents.

In 2006 my husband and I started our journey to become adoptive parents.  We decided we would like to adopt not only older children but siblings. We felt with our age and experiences we would be more suited to dealing with the issues around older children.  We also thought our lifestyle would better suit two or more children. 

The adoption process is painfully slow.  We made enquiries in October 2006.  It was March 2007 before we had our first appointment with a Social Worker.  July 2007 the application process started and in February 2008 we sat outside a council office waiting for the decision as to whether or not we would be allowed to adopt.  After a long wait the chairwoman of the adoption board came to see us and said our application was approved.

A few weeks after our approval a social worker daughter of some friends, said she knew of some children waiting to be adopted and she thought we would be a perfect match for the kids.  But she had encountered a problem – we weren’t showing on the list of approved adopters for siblings.

We contacted our Social Worker who said to be patient as we had our approval and the system just needed to be updated with our details.  The administrator had been sick and it could be a couple of weeks before she was up to date with her workload and we appeared on the system.

A few more weeks went by and we still weren’t on the system.  We contacted our Social Worker again and asked her to investigate.  This time she came back and said there was a mistake and we had not been approved to adopt siblings.  We were stunned.  For over 2 months we believed we had been approved as adoptive parents for siblings and we hadn’t.  Nobody knew why we had been declined.  As far as everyone was concerned we were approved it was just the written decision from the adoption board didn’t match the verbal confirmation they had given us.  We asked about appealing the decision and were informed there was nothing we could do.  We had to accept the decision.

I can’t help wondering how many other prospective parents have come forward to adopt siblings and encountered similar system failures.

We seem to have a system that fails not only the children waiting to be adopted but also the prospective parents.  It’s a system that has for too many years been admonished regularly by politicians but yet still fails to deliver the standard of service everyone needs or deserves.

As publicity starts for National Adoption Week my hope is that we get a system that works well for all concerned especially the venerable kids who just need a loving home.  My husband and I may not have been approved to adopt siblings but we were approved to adopt a child.  We now have a beautiful daughter who has been with us for six years.

   

 

Successful or Not.....

Victoria Beckham is a woman I admire. 

She worked hard and become a famous singer.  Not only famous but part of one of the most successful girl groups in history – The Spice Girls.  Victoria Beckham married David a very famous footballer.  They have a marriage that has survived for 15 years which is very unusual for famous couples.   Mrs Beckham changed careers and became an award winning fashion designer with an estimated £30 million business fashion empire and a couple of weeks ago opened her first store in London. Only last week she was made a special ambassador for the UNAIDS.  I think you can call Victoria Beckham successful.

Now let’s look at a woman I know who is 55 years old.  Her body is riddled with arthritis and she struggles with everyday activities.  Her doctors tell her she should be in a wheelchair but she refuses to use it or even a walking stick.  Instead, she pushes herself to live as normal a life as she can with daily walks and an exercise regime.  How many people would call her successful? 

The sad truth is not many. Yet this woman is very successful in her own right.

The dictionary states the definition of success is achievement.  The 55 year old has a goal to continue walking unaided as long as she possibly can.  Everyday she manages to walk is a day of achievement or success.  So why don’t we recognise this and call her successful?

Have we become so conditioned in society or blasé that we only recognise success if fame and wealth comes with it?

Maybe it’s time to take a step back. Look at all the successes around us and give genuine praise where praise is due.

Being A Landlord

Being a landlord is easy if you know the rules and regulations.  Twenty years ago if you owned a rental property it was simple to let it.  The landlord checked the roof didn’t leak, that it had four solid walls and a floor, set the rent level and found a tenant for life.  Then sat back and watched the money roll in but today the world of the landlord is changing.  Successive UK and EU governments have introduced so much legislation the landlord doesn’t know from one day to the next if the let on his property is legal or illegal.  Fines can be hefty.  Prison is a possibility.  Landlords can even lose the right to evict a tenant.  Here we look at some of the important legislation a landlord needs to comply with

Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) – before any property can be advertised for rent it must have an EPC report.  The report must be shown in full to the prospective tenants before they make a decision about the property.  Fixed penalties of £200 are applied if the landlord fails to obtain one.

Gas Safety Certificates – All properties must have a current gas safety certificate which has to be updated every 12 months.  The Health and Safety Executive are able to prosecute or imprison any landlord found not having a valid certificate. 

Information Commissioners Office (ICO) – it seems reasonable enough that the landlord will want to know as much as possible about the person they will be letting the property to.  They will want to be sure the prospective tenant can afford to rent the property, will look after it and does not have a poor credit history.  But did you know as soon as the landlord starts asking this information under the data protection act they need to be registered with the ICO.  Fines can vary from 3000 euros to 500,000 euros for breaches of the data protection act.

Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMO) – if a landlord has a property that is classed as an HMO they will need to be licensed with the local council to be able to let the property.  Each council has it’s own licensing requirements and fees. Failure to register with the council can result in prosecution and fines up to £20,000.  If more people than the license approves live in the property another £20,000 fine, a further £5,000 fine for each breach of the license and the right to evict the tenant.  The landlord could also have to repay any rent collected.

 

Landlord Accreditation – many councils in the UK require the landlord to be accredited if they want to rent a property.  Accreditation is a test that ensures the landlord is up to date with current rules and regulations and continues to keep themselves up to date through continuous learning.  In Wales landlords are required to attend a one day seminar and pass a test.  In England accreditation depends on the local council.  Landlord Associations also run their own accreditation schemes.

Health and Safety – every property needs to be assessed to ensure it complies with Health and Safety rules.  This is an assessment the landlord can do themselves.  It ensures tenants cannot come to any harm while they occupy the property.  Follow up checks should be done to ensure the tenant does not cause any potential harm while renting the property.

Green Deal – with effect from October 2012 (in England) and January 2013 (in Wales) landlords need to demonstrate they are continually improving the energy efficiency of the property they are letting.  Green Deal is a scheme aimed at helping landlords fund improvements to their properties.  From 2014 any property with an energy efficiency report of G will no longer be allowed to be let.  The plan is that over the coming years only properties with a rating of A to D will be able to be let.

The world of the landlord is continually changing.  Keeping up to date with current legislation has never been more important.  But, if you know your rules and regulations letting a property in the UK is easy.

 

Three skills......

As a teenager trying to build a career as a tennis player November and December were the months of no competitions, rest and time to plan the coming season. The process involved reviewing the year’s performance and putting a plan together to improve in the coming year. Although injury put an end to the tennis dreams, reviewing and setting goals is a habit that stayed with me for life.

For me, goals are something I work on every day but in November I put in that extra special effort to make sure they can all be ticked off my list as achieved by December.

This year my key goal has been ticking along but not with the gusto it needed for me to reach the final target. The main reason for being behind has been lack of focus. It’s easy to make excuses but the second half of 2012 has been traumatic, with my focus shifted to family issues the goals got left behind. November was a wake up call. Reviewing my goals I realised I was about to fail big time with my key goal. The main problem was the amount of work I still needed to do in a very short time to achieve my targets. Quite frankly, there weren’t enough hours so help had to be drafted in. It was time to start thinking outside the box.

I pride myself on being a good planner, well organised, focused and determined. Yesterday 30th November, I achieved my goals 100%. Looking back I see there were three skills that helped me achieve them with the assistance of my husband and daughter - begging, nagging and bribery!

Admin Support for Landlords

It started as a way of being able to charge out the time I spend on administration.  It went on to become a business idea.  And now after months of building the infrastructure www.tirokapms.co.uk is finally open for business.

So what is www.tirokapms.co.uk and how can it help you?

If you are a landlord in England or Wales you will understand how much paperwork is involved with having a property to let.  First you need to have Energy Performance Certificates or EPC before you can even begin advertising your property.  You need Gas Safety Certificates, Inventories, Property Manuals, Tenancy Agreements and Deposit Protection before your tenant moves into the property.

Once the tenant has moved into the property there is on going maintenance checks, inventory checks, tenancy renewals and annual gas safety certificates.  And what happens if you need to evict the tenant for whatever reason?  You find yourself waiting weeks or months for solicitors to put some urgency into issuing notice to leave and very little if any change out of £500 for the service.

www.tirokapms.co.uk is an admin support service for landlords guaranteeing quick turnaround time for a fraction of the cost of a solicitor.  Between us we have 25+ years experience in managing residential properties and all staff and directors of the company are either NLA accredited landlords or LAW (landlord Accredited Wales) some of us even have accreditation with both.  You can be sure we are up to date with the latest rules and regulations.

So if you are a landlord in England or Wales why not give our admin support services for landlords a try.  Think of us as your own personal secretary.  We are sure you will be happy with our quick turnaround service and the savings you can make on legal documents.  Visit www.tirokapms.co.uk for further information or contact our offices on 0845 337 0509

In Support of National Adoption Week

It is National Adoption Week again and this year the emphasis is on adopting older children. It is a very sad fact that out of 36,000 older children in the UK waiting to be adopted on 80 were adopted last year. So, I write this blog in support of adopting older children.


In 2008 my husband and I adopted our daughter. She was 9 years old. To be honest we got all the ‘don’t do it’ comments from friends who had adopted and experienced problems. But here we are 4 years later proud parents to a 13 year old teenager.

Is she a perfect daughter, far from it? But then are we the perfect parents? What I do know is we are typical parents nagging our typical teenage daughter to clean her teeth, have a wash, clean her bedroom, tidy up her mess and get a move on because she is running late for school.

While there are many horror stories about teenage kids and adopted kids we are very lucky to have such a beautiful well behaved loveable daughter.  Her school teachers and our friends can't praise her enough. Even the friends who encouraged us not to adopt have nothing but praise for her. I would encourage anyone considering adopting to think about an older child along with the joys and pleasure they give.

I certainly wouldn’t want to miss the hugs and kisses I get every morning as she leaves for school and every evening before she goes to bed; the moaning and groaning every morning when I try to wake her up for breakfast. The laughter she brings to the dining table every evening with her stories about kids and teachers from school. The pleasure I get from watching her growing into a beautiful confident young adult.

I dread to think what we would have missed if we hadn’t adopted our daughter and can honestly say I have never regretted the decision to adopt an older child. 

So, if you are thinking of adoption please consider an older child.

Do I or Don't I?....

Do I or Don’t I?…


It was a dilemma, do I or don’t I cancel the training for Wednesday? It was a small crowd of 15 people coming from around Wales and England. Was it fair to let them down by cancelling at the last minute?

My step-dad died on Sunday after being in hospital and care since Christmas. It was unexpected. He had a temperature Saturday night and was taken into hospital. Seemed fine but within a couple of hours was gone.

In addition, we are still reeling from the burglary and all the repercussions that involves with the police and insurance companies. The thought of trying to put on a smiley happy persona in front of 15 people was the last thing I wanted to do.

I decided to go ahead and turned up with my folders and pen in hand. It didn’t take long to realise what a great, motivated and enthused crowd we had.

I’m really pleased I made the decision not to cancel. The session started quietly, as they always do, as people wary of one an other at the start begin to relax. Within 40 minutes there was a buzz around the room which grew for the remainder of the session. It was a good crowd and fun and the energy was so infectious I thoroughly enjoyed the training.

So I have to say a big thank you to everyone who turned up. I hope you got something from the training. I know you gave me a lot.