Ever considered renting out your property?

Before you make the decision to rent out your property you need to do some research to work out the best steps forward. The research you do now may lead you in many different directions. Perhaps you will decide to buy more properties, perhaps you will open a business, perhaps you will just learn how to better maintain your own home even realise that you are not cut out for being a landlord and get the idea out of your system.

Some of the things you may want to consider are listed below, but if you need legal advise always go to a professional.

Before you make your property available to rent, you’ll need to decide whether to let the house as furnished or unfurnished as there are many different options to consider before you can rent out your property.

It I suggested that a property with a blank canvas is often more appealing to prospective tenants. Neutral colours will allow viewers to envisage themselves living in the space, and on a positive note it will make the property easy to maintain at each check-in/check-out. Not forgetting outside space. First impressions are the sometimes a deal breaker. Make sure your garden areas are maintained and fairly low maintenance. You may want to use Professional cleaners at tenancy changeover point. They will scrub everything from the windows to the oven—they’ll even get down behind radiators so worth their weight in gold if you have a busy schedule and cannot be available or able.

Make copies of any keys that a tenant may need for windows and doors, or for gas and electricity meters. It’s also a good idea to provide the tenants on move in date with instruction manuals for the boiler, alarm system, cooker and any white goods so they can begin to understand how these items work.

SHOULD I USE AN AGENT?

The answer is: It is your choice. It can be tempting to cut out the middle man, find & reference tenants and manage the maintenance and rent collection yourself to make a saving on agency fees. The drawback is that dealing with tenants and maintenance issues directly can be stressful and time consuming. It’s an even bigger hassle if you happen to live in a different time zone. Also when tenants move out, inventories must be carried out, repairs arranged and managed and the return of the deposit negotiated.

HOW TO CHOOSE AN AGENT?

Always choose an agent that is regulated by the Property Ombudsman and the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA), which have codes of conduct for their members.

Before instructing a lettings agent to manage your property you should check that they are willing to carry out the tasks that will assist you to ensure a smooth process. Ask the agent if they can arrange furniture storage should you need this service, as it is unwise to leave valuable items in your home when renting it out.

MORTGAGE INFO

You will need to inform your mortgage lender that you plan to rent your property out so as to get Lenders consent, otherwise you could breach the terms and conditions of your loan.

One advantage to holding on to your existing UK home before you move is that it may make it easier to secure a buy-to-let mortgage once you’re away. It may make it easier to get mortgage when you return to your home. Some lenders encourage new borrowers to have a UK mortgage track record so that they can see a satisfactory payment history when you return home, while others may base their lending criteria on overall affordability. Some mortgage brokers may advise someone who has the option of paying off a UK mortgage to pay it down to a very small amount and continue to make tiny monthly payments, however small. The continued payment history will be an advantage, with little effect on overall affordability, but if your lender requires this to be paid off a small amount of mortgage would be easy to pay off completely in order to meet the requirements of a lender and maybe secure you better rates.

TAX MATTERS

The amount of tax you will pay depends on your personal situation, there are many considerations affecting all UK property landlords. Income tax will be charged on any rental income above the personal allowance. You can choose to complete the non-resident landlord form to receive their gross rental income . This means that the letting agent does not need to deduct and hold back the basic rate of tax from the rental income before paying it to an overseas landlord. The gross income is declared when you complete your self-assessment tax return.

To find out more information and understand your responsibilities as a Landlord please click on the link below.

https://www.gov.uk/renting-out-a-property/paying-tax