With the rise of websites such as upad.co.uk, many landlords are now adopting a “do-it-yourself” attitude to lettings and also taking full advantage of social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter to find tenants for their properties. If you do go down this route you must still follow all the processes just like a letting agent would normally do.
These include credit checks, references and perhaps organising a guarantor especially if it is a tenant from overseas or a DSS applicant. EPC’s, gas and electrical safety certificates must be ordered if you don’t have them already.
Without a proper inventory of course you have less than a one in ten chance of winning a deposit dispute. Landlords without proper inventories lost £12 million in deposit disputes last year alone. Make sure you never become one of them!
Our video inventory service provides you with the best possible evidence to ensure you can claim against the tenant for any cleaning or damage. We are the UK’s market leading inventory company and the official inventory partner of the Residential Landlords Association. With over 5,000 inventories under our belt we haven’t had one that has been through to adjudication.
The tenancy deposit also needs to be registered with an appropriate authorised company, these can be found through a general web search, each has their own benefits. You will also need a formal assured shorthold tenancy agreement, the Residential Landlords Association or National Landlords Association can provide you with forms and suppliers for each of these products.
There is also the question of managing the property once the tenancy commences. You can choose to use an agency to do this, though they will only handle a percentage of the issues that arise, if you live some distance from the property this may be advisable. However, if the property is close to you, then you may wish to look after the management yourself and having an on call handy-man is always advisable! You can also consider landlord insurance to cover emergencies such as major electrical failures and boiler breakdowns.
You will also want to have a professional inventory and we believe this is better when it is carried out by an independent third-party. We have working relationships with both landlords and agents and are happy to deal direct with landlords who prefer a more hands-on approach.
This is not an exhaustive list of considerations for landlords but outlines why this industry is so competitive with so many options for landlords.