How to let your home with peace of mind
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Brexit market jitters, tax changes and 140-plus landlord laws make it tougher than ever to successfully rent out your property. To help you succeed, we’ve broken down the lettings process into five Ps, with hands-on advice for each stage
Plan
Straight-talking advice on mortgages, tax and letting agents
Buy-to-let tax guide: Should you set up a company?
There is one loophole in the new Section 24 tax rule on buy-to-let mortgage interest: it only applies to individuals. Companies can still deduct interest from profits as before – ... Read MoreBuy-to-let tax guide: What can you deduct?
They say no one is ever as modest about their income as when they’re filling in their tax return. Jokes aside, when it comes to buy-to- let tax, the name ... Read MoreBuy-to-let mortgage guide: How to choose a loan
Apart from the numbers (see How much can you borrow), a buy-to-let mortgage lender will look at you, the property itself and the tenants you plan to put in it ... Read MoreBuy-to-let mortgage guide: How much you can borrow?
If you intend to let out your former home long-term — or if you’re buying a buy-to-let property — you’ll need to get a buy-to-let mortgage. Coined as a world ... Read MoreWhy you can’t let your home on a residential mortgage
You might think that, as long as you pay your residential mortgage, your lender won’t notice or care if you start letting out your home, right? Wrong. Strictly speaking, you ... Read MoreGood, bad or ugly: 20 questions to choose the best lettings agent
Lettings agents don’t have the best of names. (You have two bullets. Who do you shoot: the lawyer, the insurance salesman or the estate agent? The estate agent – twice, ... Read MoreHow to choose an online lettings agent
If you self-manage your rental property, you can use the new generation of online lettings agents to advertise your property. They can, however, take care of a whole lot more: ... Read MoreSet a property goal – and start to change your life
Why bother with a property goal? Have you defined your property goal? Long before you pick up the phone to any agents to start letting out your rental property, you ... Read MoreFive ways to raise capital for a buy-to-let property investment
Raising capital is often the biggest hurdle to property investment. To cover your buy-to-let deposit, purchase fees and refurbishment costs, you could: Save. That’s the obvious answer. Avoid lifestyle inflation ... Read MoreAvoid the No1 landlord mistake: create a property business plan
What’s the biggest mistake new landlords make? We have asked that question to many experts, and here’s the resounding answer: beginners don’t think of their property as a business. For accidental ... Read MoreDo you really need landlord insurance?
Ah, landlord insurance. It can be like a trophy wife: expensive, difficult to understand and what you get is not guaranteed. So, do you really need it? And if so, ... Read MoreProperty
The essentials on contracts, deposits and notices
Should you let your rental property furnished or unfurnished?
Rule number one of lettings: properties attract the tenants they deserve. Put the odds in your favour by doing all you can to make your property look its best. In ... Read MoreLettings marketing guide: Write your property advert like a human (not an estate agent)
Legend tells of one estate agent who described a driveway as a ‘multi-vehicular block paviour parking facility’. That is not the sort of description you want in your advert. Edit ... Read MoreLandlord law: Your quick guide to landlord licensing schemes
Every five years if it applies in your area, from £500. How do you prevent a tenant from kicking someone’s head in? You make his landlord get a licence. Nope, ... Read MoreLandlord law: Your quick guide to Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs)
Every 10 years, £40–£85. So the tenants can see upfront if the heating will cost them a bomb, you are legally obliged to get an energy performance certificate (EPC). You ... Read MoreLandlord law: Your quick guide to gas safety certificates
Annually, £65–£125 Gas leaks can kill through carbon monoxide poisoning or explosions. That’s why, by law, you have to maintain gas pipework, flues and appliances in a safe condition. An ... Read MoreLandlord law: Your quick guide to electrical safety checks
Every five years, plus annual checks by you, £120–£200. You must ensure all the electrics are safe. So, at the start of every tenancy and annually: Visually check sockets, light ... Read MoreLandlord law: Your quick guide to fire safety
From £10, at the start of letting; every two to three years for blocks of flats. By law, all upholstered furniture, beds, mattresses and nursery furniture must have fire safety ... Read MoreLandlord law: Your quick guide to smoke and carbon monoxide alarms
At the start of each tenancy, £15–£25 per alarm. Since 2015 you are legally obliged to install at least one smoke alarm on every floor of your rental property, and ... Read MoreLandlord law: Your quick guide to Legionella risks
Free. At the start of letting; whenever there are changes to your water installation. What, Legionella? Yup, you’ve got to do a risk assessment on that one, too, even if ... Read MoreLandlord law: The serious stuff you must do to keep tenants safe
Gas safety checks, electrical tests, smoke detectors… Before you roll your eyes at the miles of red tape landlords have to disentangle, here is why it’s necessary. A young couple, ... Read MoreWhat to do if your rental property is not letting
If your house is the bricks-and-mortar equivalent of Desperate Dolores in the lonely hearts column, that’s the reason for it. Don’t wait for your agent to contact you, but ... Read MoreWhat you need to know about the new energy efficiency laws for your rental property
This winter’s “beasts from the east” that covered London in up to 10cm of snow are over, but from this month new rules ban landlords from allowing tenants to shiver ... Read MoreHow to dress your rental property
To achieve the highest possible rent and attract the best tenants, you need to reduce barriers – tackle any issues that will deter tenants – and make it attractive by ... Read MorePeople
How to find — and keep — good tenants
Identify your rental property’s target audience
When you draw up your property business plan, think about your target audience. Which type of tenant is your property likely to attract? Who would want to live in this ... Read MoreHow to negotiate property lettings like a pro
To achieve the highest possible rent, good negotiation is key. Here knowledge truly is power: the best lettings negotiators give nothing away while trying to establish as many key facts ... Read MorePaperwork
Prepare and market your home like a pro. Plus, all the legal musts
Practicals
The most common maintenance problems solved (and the improvements that will pay off)
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