Becoming a landlord is an exciting prospect for anyone who has the ability to own a second property. It’s a great investment opportunity to own property and often offers the most lucrative of methods when it comes to making your money work harder for you over time.
However, renting isn’t exactly easy when it comes to being a landlord. There are lots of obstacles to navigate in order for it to be successful. With that being said, if you’re looking to rent as a landlord, then it’s worth knowing some useful tips to make it work for you.
Buy a property that’s within a comfortable price range
When it comes to buying a property, you want to purchase one that’s within a comfortable price range. Buying a property above your price range is likely going to make your returns less significant if you’re only meeting the bare minimum of covering your mortgage costs.
If you own the property outright, then that’s a little different. You’ll be able to benefit from the rental that comes in without needing to worry about any mortgage repayments that need making.
However, when you’re buying a property to rent out, it’s always good to factor in all the costs you’ll need to consider. From landlord taxes, maintenance costs, and more. Renting is a lot more expensive than you think when it comes to being in the position of a landlord.
Be selective with your tenants
When it comes to your tenants, make sure that you’re being selective about who you have. For some landlords, they may be flexible with having anyone on the property, including the more disruptive tenants like students for big families for example.
However, you might want to be more selective with your tenants. For example, having tenants who are professionals and perhaps only having so many tenants per property will be more beneficial.
You may have specific requests such as tenants being non-smokers or restricting any pets from moving into the property.
Offer long-term contracts over short-term lets
In order to benefit from renting out your property, it may be worth considering a long-term contract rather than opting for short-term lets. While short-term lets might be appropriate for some people, it’s important to consider long-term contracts too.
With long-term contracts, you have a guaranteed income for that period of time agreed. Not only that but it’s less of a fuss to have to sort out new tenants every six months to a year, in comparison to most long-term contracts which will usually be a two-year minimum.
Of course, there are lots of tenants out there, all needing something different when it comes to the rental they choose to live in. At the end of the day though, it’s important to find a tenant or tenants that will suit your needs as a landlord.
Stay on top of all relevant maintenance and testing checks
It’s useful to try and stay on top of all relevant maintenance and testing checks as a landlord, otherwise, you can often open yourself up to a lot of fallouts.
As a landlord, you have a duty and responsibility to ensure the living conditions of the property, are the best that they can be. That means getting landlord electrical testing and ensuring the boiler on the property has an up-to-date certificate, etc.
By staying on top of the testing and maintenance, it will improve the quality of the home, which might be important when you come to sell it further down the line.
Hand over management to a management company
If you’re not someone who wants to handle the management of your property as a landlord, then it’s definitely worth handing over these responsibilities to a company.
It’s a great way to free up your time and energy for a fee to have it all sorted for you. It might be beneficial to a number of landlords who aren’t always available nearby or simply don’t have the time to be a landlord.
Know when it’s time to throw in the towel
Finally, it’s good to be aware that you might not always want to rent out your property. In fact, you might find it’s the right time now to sell up your property, rather than continuing to rent it out any longer.
Knowing when to throw in the towel is important because renting your property out might only be financially beneficial to you for so long.
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