Furnished or unfurnished? Whilst it is great if you can offer both options, you as the landlord will be responsible for everything left within the property so it is often best to include an oven and hob and leave the rest to the tenant to furnish. However, every situation is different so talk to us about your particular property.
For decorating and soft furnishings, keep it fresh and neutral. A well-maintained, clean property will attract good tenants.
The safety of your tenants is very important, so make sure you have a Gas Safety check every year and get all electrical equipment tested once a year too. Your rental property must be fitted with working smoke alarms on every floor.
By law, you will need an EPC (energy performance certificate) for your rental property. We can help you to organise this. You won't be able to market the property without one – they are valid for 10 years.
Have a professional inventory taken at the start and end of each tenancy. We manage and include this for you as part of our service. It can help with any disputes that may arise when a tenant moves out.
Keep an open mind about your potential tenants and don't set unrealistic expectations, as this only reduces your target market. Try not to become too emotionally attached to the property either, as it is always hard to let go of a property you love - try to distance yourself from the process.
Potential tenants may try and negotiate on the price. Depending on the tenant's offer, it's worth weighing up if the price you want is worth holding out for, or if it's better to accept it and reduce the time the property is empty and not making money. We can advise on this.
You need to figure out how much involvement you want from us as your letting agent. Do you just want us to find you a tenant and conduct all the security checks, or would you like us to look after the ongoing rent-collection and property management? Of course, there is an additional cost for the the ongoing involvement, but it could save you a whole lot of hassle in the long run.
We hope that you will choose us. However, whichever agent you consider, don’t automatically opt for the agent that offers the lowest fee. This may prove to be a false economy. Having said that, check to see if they add 20% VAT to their fees (as we don’t).
Consider how long you want to let the property out for. New legislation gives tenants the right to live in the property until you want to sell or wish to live there yourself. Unless they don’t pay or cause anti-social behaviour they could be there for life. So, it is important that you find the right tenants who are going to look after your precious asset.