Choosing your tenants:
Finding good tenants isn’t something you should take lightly; after all they will be living in and essentially looking after your property.
Setting your price
Make sure you have researched the rental market in your area so you can set a realistic rental price for the size and location of your property. You can look online and in local newspapers to get an idea of what other people charge.
You should make sure you get a deposit and confirm the tenants can pay this upfront. Typically this will be at least one month’s rent (some landlords insist on more) to safeguard yourself against any damages, or if the tenants move out unexpectedly you have money available to make your mortgage payments. Landlords are no longer entitled to hold tenants’ deposits; they are now held in a tenancy deposit protection scheme so you will need to set this up and provide the tenant with details of it within 14 days of taking their deposit.
Attracting tenants
In addition to the points referenced in the ‘choosing your property’ section, paying attention to the details of the interior of your property will go a long way when it comes to attracting tenants. No matter how buoyant the rental market becomes, you should always make sure your property is in the best possible condition so you can attract quality tenants.
If you already have tenants in whilst prospective tenants are viewing your property, make sure they clean and tidy up, and ask for all of the furniture to be in the original position.
Handy tip: Decorate with neutral colours so that this will work with whatever colour scheme your potential tenants may already have, (e.g. their bedding, ornaments etc). Also, flowers and scented candles are a nice touch to make the place smell fresh and homely.
Security checks
It’s important to get personal and professional references, to make sure you’re comfortable with your new tenants. You may even want to think about running a credit check to make sure they will be able to make their rental payments, as well as to verify they are who they say they are. The National Landlords Association offers a tenant check that includes bankruptcy and county court judgement searches.
Should I use a letting agent?
If you’re busy and worried about the time it may take to find and vet tenants then you may wish to consider help from a letting agent. They will usually charge a fee as a percentage of the tenant’s total rent. Typically they’ll provide all or some of the following:
- find and fully vet prospective tenants
- draw up a suitable tenancy agreement
- advise on and arrange inventory and condition reports
- help with changes to utility accounts and council tax
- carry out a market appraisal to assess the rent the property will fetch
- collect rent and pay the money to you
If you do decide to use a letting agent, it’s still worth meeting the tenants yourself to make sure you’re happy and have established contact from the start.
Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.