THE START
You own a Buy To Let (BLT) and you want to rent it out. Ensure you have a BTL mortgage and landlord insurance in place. Make sure you are upto date on the current regulations for letting out the property. Make sure you have a minimum of 6 months to 12 months rental income in reserve as well as funds to cover and repairs and maintenance.
LETTING AGENT
Choosing the right letting agent can determine whether your BTL property is a success or a failure.
Choose a letting agent linked to a professional body like ARLA, so that you know they have to meet certain standards and adhere to a code of conduct.
Make sure you choose a Professional Letting Agent
Your relationship with a letting agent is likely to be a long term relationship so it’s important to get it right
What tasks will your letting agent deal with?
Finding tenants
Credit reference the tenants
Taking deposits from tenants
Get references
Making the inventory for the property
Make sure a comprehensive inventory is taken as well as the condition of the property to avoid any issues further down the line.
Dealing with maintenance/repairs and contractors
Making sure the property is kept in a good state of repair
Complying with the legislation
Most agents have different services such as:
1 Tenant find
The agent will find the tenant for you for a fee. You as the landlord will manage the tenant and the property.
2 Finding the tenant and collecting the rental income.
The agent will find the tenant and collect the rental income. Everything else will be managed by the landlord
3 Full management
The agent deals with everything to do with the letting process from beginning to end.
Generally, it is best to get a professional letting agent if your BTL is far away from where you live and you don’t like the process of managing tenants. Managing tenants can be a very time-consuming process.
So is it better to pay a professional to manage the process or are you willing to spend your valuable time managing the tenants and property yourself?
The letting agent can also manage the tenancy agreement. The most common tenancy agreement in an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST)
NEXT STEPS
Treat your BTL like a business.
Take care of your tenants
Make sure your lettings agent makes all the necessary reference checks on the property.
Many sure you have some sort of rental guarantee in place in case there are issues with things like non-payment of rent.
Ensure your property is maintained to a good standard
That all boilers are serviced annually and have the necessary gas safety certificates.
Make sure you have a BTL mortgage for your Property
Ensure you have landlord insurance
Tax Return – As an owner of a BTL property you have to submit a Tax Return each year. Know the tax implications in your country of residence.