Do Your Homework When Considering Becoming A Landlord

By Author: Lifesure
Total Articles: 5
Comment this article

With rental incomes in many areas reaching record levels and an increasing number of people unable to find a way to get on to the property ladder, its no surprise that letting out a property is becoming an increasingly attractive proposition.

Furthermore, with signs that lenders are making more buy-to-let mortgage products available, the industry expects a large influx of first-time landlords over the next couple of years.

However, whilst buying a first buy to let property can be exciting and prove a great long-term investment it is far from being 'easy money'.

For a letting to prove successful it needs some hard work and planning and there are some important legal and financial issues that need to be sorted out before you have tenants move into the property - not to mention some hard work ensuring that the property is fit to rent out.

For the first-time landlord there can be a lot to consider, but here are a few tips to help you through the process.

First, if you do not already have a property to let and are looking at buying a property for renting out, ...
... make sure you choose the right one. It may seem obvious, but just like buying a house for your self, look at a lot of properties before making a final choice.

Find out how much rental you can expect from the type of property you are considering buying, and take into account how much you will need to spend, on top of the purchase price, to make it suitable for tenants. When you have a survey done, ask the surveyor to take this into account when preparing his or her report.

Once you have bought the property and brought it up to scratch, one of the first things you need to do is obtain an Energy Performance Certificate.

It is now a legal requirement to give tenants the chance to view an Energy Performance Certificate of your property, which give ratings from A to G regarding its energy efficiency. To get a certificate you will need to contact an accredited domestic energy assessor.

Once you have found a tenant, by law you will also need to put their deposit into a deposit protection scheme within 14 days of receiving the money.

A Tenancy deposit protection scheme is there to guarantee that tenants get their deposits back at the end of their rental agreement, providing that the property they have rented isn't damaged.

Another important consideration is finding the right landlord lnsurance for your property. Specialist landlord insurance is a different from the insurance you would normally take out if you were living in your own home.

If something in your property is damaged or if someone is injured in your property you may well need landlord insurance to cover a claim and, as with all insurance, it pays to spend time looking at what is covered and what is not. It is critical that you spend time studying your landlord insurance policy to make sure you are aware of your own obligations under its terms and conditions.

One of these obligations will include ensuring that the property you are renting out meets all the appropriate safety regulations.

The electrical appliances need to be checked every few years and gas appliances need to be subject to the most rigorous of inspections by a suitably qualified engineer.

In recent years there have been numerous cases where tenants have died as a result of poorly maintained or broken gas systems, leading to the prosecution of the landlord responsible.

If you don't want to deal with a lot of the administration and safety checks yourself you can always appoint an agent to look after the property. They will charge you a certain amount of the rental income but it could save you time, especially if you are new to the buy-to-let market.

One of the best things you can do when becoming a landlord for the first time is do a bit of research yourself and try to become as knowledgeable as possible about the whole process.

This is not a definitive guide to renting out a property and there are plenty of other legal issues you might need to familiarise yourself with, not least the procedures for resolving disputes between Landlords and Tenants.

It may all seem quite daunting at first, but with a little care and effort, becoming a landlord can be a rewarding experience whilst providing a valuable rental income.



About the Author :- John Maitland Started in the business efficiency psychometrics but moved to the insurance industry 15 years ago. Specialising in caravan insurance, motorhome insurance, landlord lnsurance and travel insurance.