Seven Tips for Letting Your Property

1. Find a good property in the first place. If you don’t yet have an investment property that you’d like to let out, then you need to take a look at buying the best rental property out there. Buying a rental property is not the same thing as buying a home for you and for your family because there’ll be other considerations to make. You don’t need to buy a four bedroom home to let it out, you could let out a studio flat if you want to. You need to think of things outside of your own personal taste and your own personal style, and you need to think about getting a letting agent on board to help you to do it. Are you interested in letting families with small children or those with pets? Are you hoping just to let out your property to be a holiday home? Regardless, you need to make sure that you’re getting some advice from an expert letting agent so that you can get started and be on the right foot.

2. Do some financial calculating. One of the most important steps that you need to take before you let out your property is figuring out the costs. Not only will you be paying your letting agent, but the rent that you charge when you let it out has got to cover the mortgage payments and possibly any insurance payments on top. You have to remember though that this is still your property and not every cost can be passed on to a tenant. You need to find out what the laws are in your area and what you can and cannot charge lawfully before you can do anything else because you need to know if this is going to be affordable for you.

3. Plan for the unexpected. When you are calculating the expenses and income, you need to make sure that you plan for anything unexpected, including any dips of market value. You need to check how much a property has recently sold for before you let it out, and you should consider how old the property is along with where it’s located. The real estate market is not one that you can predict, which is more a reason now why you should invest in properties that show substantial returns on investment.

4. Financially planned for dry spells. If you’re planning to let your property out as an Airbnb, then you need to make sure that you have funds allocated to cover when things dry up. The likelihood is you’re not going to be able to rent out your property for every single week of the year. During the down weeks, you need to make sure that you have compensated for those with savings or that you have built that into the cost of the weeks that you already have let out. The last thing you want is for your own personal finances to be impacted too badly because you haven’t calculated whether or not your property will be popular in the winter months along with the summer months.

5. Understand the law and follow it. Just because you own the property, it doesn’t mean that you are always going to be in the right when it comes to following the law. The thing is, many homeowners who let out their properties still believe that the home is theirs. But if you are letting your property out to somebody else, especially long term, the tenant is the person who’s going to feel like they are most at home. This is an investment for you, but it’s a home for them, and you have to remember that. Understanding the laws for tenants and for landlords will help.

6. Don’t skip the inventory. Protecting yourself and your property, especially for a holiday letting, means that you need to have a very detailed inventory down to how many teaspoons are in the property. If you are letting it be fully furnished as an Airbnb, then you should make sure that you’ve documented which furniture pieces are inside the home and the condition in which they are in.

7. Hire professionals. When it comes down to it, you need help. From the letting agent to the cleaning team, you need to hire professionals to help you to let your property correctly.

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