Have you recently purchased your first rental property? If so, you need to consider how you’re going to run your investment, which could involve self-management or hiring professionals to do it all for you. To help you understand which option is right for you, take a look at the following property management tasks which must be completed to find success in the buy to let market.
Renovation
Before renting out your property, you need to make sure that it is appealing to potential tenants, as demand is necessary to benefit from high rental returns. To ensure your property is ready to rent, you may need to undertake some renovations and repairs to make sure that everything looks good and is working as it should.
If you’ve invested in off-plan or a new build property, you will benefit from the lack of renovation costs, as everything from the wall paint to the white goods should be brand new, so there is no need to make any changes. The benefits of new properties are laid out in the RW Invest buy to let guide, stating that tenants prefer a freshly built property that has never been lived in, that offers modern amenities and requires no maintenance. By investing in this type of buy to let property, you can also save a lot of time, as you can starting renting it out as soon as possible resulting in fast returns.
Advertising
Once your property is ready to rent out, you need to consider how to market it effectively. To do this, you need to establish your target market by looking into real estate trends to see which type of tenant would be attracted to your property. For example, if you’ve purchased an apartment in the city centre, you’re best targeting young professionals who are interested in living and work in a central area that is near an abundance of leisure activities.
If you’re targeting a younger audience, the best way to advertise is online on sites like Rightmove or Zoopla, which are popular with this type of demographic. You could also market your property for free on social media, which will be an effective way to target younger tenants who utilise social platforms every day.
Tenants
If you’ve marketed your property effectively, you will start to generate tenant interest, so before you jump straight in and choose a tenant on a first-come-first-serve basic you need to perform thorough tenant screening. This is important, as it helps to protect you as the landlord, as this will enable you to determine whether they are reliable and trustworthy by performing background and financial checks. This will help you rule out anyone who may be unable to make payments or has a history of property damage, which will prevent you from having to pay out later down the line.
Once you’ve chosen a tenant, you need to ensure they are effectively managed while also ensuring that both sides are keeping up with their obligations. This involves everything from repair requests and complaints to monthly rental collection and tenant evictions, which may occur if a tenant fails to comply with the conditions within the lease agreement.
Paperwork
Before a tenant can move its vital that you go through all the legal paperwork to ensure they understand all the contents of the contract. If you have no experience with the legal processes involved in the real estate sector, you should consider seeking legal help to ensure that everything is compliant.
Every landlord and tenant must have a tenancy agreement in place which includes monthly payment dates, maintenance information, eviction processes and more which the tenant must agree to before moving in. To finalise the tenancy, you should secure a deposit from your tenant, which must be protected under the tenancy deposit scheme to avoid a claim.