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What’s Next With My Rental Property

February 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment

You Have Your Property To Let In Liverpool… Next Steps?

If you have a flat to rent in Liverpool, and you’re determined to do it without any help from any outside agents, you need to follow these next steps. We must stress that this is a quick rough guide, you must take into account many other aspects and recommendations when letting a property, to ensure your property management tenure runs smoothly.

Getting The Right Consent

The chances are the property you intend to rent is already mortgaged. It is very important that you ask your lender for consent to change to a buy-to-let mortgage. If you don’t, you may invalidate all sorts of agreements and terms of the mortgage which can have very serious consequences. Do you have a leasehold property? You must check your lease permits and make sure you’re allowed to let.

Get An Energy Performance Certificate

It became a legal requirement in October 2008 for a landlord to provide an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) when renting out a building.  Any prospective landlords should include the energy performance graphs when they advertise their flat and this can be an excellent selling point with prospective tenants.

Advertise

How much should I charge? What do I need to take into account to cover all eventualities? This has always been the downfall of the property owner who intends to find tenants. You may have a perfect property to let, but how do you do it?

You should always take advice and understand that everybody is different in respect of commitment to renting a property. You could choose a tenant find service, let only service or a full management service.  Have a look at the different services offered and don’t be afraid to call up and ask

Important Checks

Safety checks must be completed before you rent your property and your tenant(s) moves in.

Gas and electrical appliances in rented accommodation should be tested and certified safe on an ANNUAL basis. In the event of an accident you as a Landlord must be able to prove that all appliances were safe. It is a legal requirement that a Gas Safety Check is carried out before a tenancy commences and re-tested every year. Use our Gas and Electric Safety Checks to comply with current legislation and cover yourself.

Ensure all furnishings comply with current safety regulations. Any furnishings, which do not comply with the regulations, should be removed or replaced prior to offering the property for rent. The 2004 Housing Act also requires the landlord to comply with fire safety regulations

Next Steps

If this seems a little too much, then a property management company will take out all the headaches… at very little expense.


 

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Filed Under: Full Management Service, Let Only Service, Services & Fee structure, Setting the right rent, Talk to your lender, Tips For Landlords Tagged With: , ,

London Rental Demand… What Does This Mean To Me?

August 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment

I know this post may seem a little off topic, but we can always have an idea of how the market is progressing, if we keep an eye on our capital.

Although the rental, and indeed sales market can seem overly inflated. Some of the numbers floated around seem simply crazy, but demand for rentals in the prime London property market have surged. This week a record £55,000 per week rental was agreed. We must look behind this grandiose statement, and examine what this could mean if we have apartments in Liverpool to rent.

According to Harrods Estates, the luxury real estate arm of the Harrods Group. They reported a surge in demand for luxury rental properties in 2011.

‘The prime property market in London is the fastest growing area in the UK. We have not only seen an increase in demand from buyers but also those looking to rent which in turn is pushing prices up. We recently secured a rental of £55,000 per week, which is a record figure for us,’ said Shirley Humphrey, sales and marketing director of Harrods Estates.

From March 2011 to date, Harrods Estates achieved rentals at an average let price of £4,285, compared with average rentals of £1,955 in the same time period of the year before.

‘Some 89% of our sales are from high net worth individuals from overseas, particularly Russia, Middle East and Asia, where we achieve our highest sales. The short supply of property and high demand from international buyers is unlikely to slow, indicating prices to buy and rent will be even higher by the end of 2011,’ she explained.

‘Rental prices have almost doubled in the last 12 months. We have seen the highest rent prices in Knightsbridge, an average of £4,900, proving the area remains the most popular location for wealthy individuals from overseas,’ she added.

The last paragraph is key to finding the salient information from this exercise ‘rental prices have almost doubled’. This isn’t just a reflection on the affluent London boroughs, but a basic nod to supply and demand economics.

If you’re interested in property management Liverpool or anywhere for that matter. Mortgages are still difficult to obtain and the governments recent fall short on its affordable housing for all initiative, is a key benefit if you have a property to rent. Indeed the governments commitment to build more housing in general hasn’t really happened during this period of economic instability. If you do wish to rent out a property, seek good advice to maximise its rental potential as you have a high demand product.

Our best advice is seek a professional property management company to maximise rents and to do the hard work for you.

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Filed Under: Setting the right rent, Study the Market Tagged With: , ,

Tips For Reluctant Landlords Part 1

April 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Top 5 tips for reluctant landlords

Can’t sell? Then why not rent out your property?

You’re desperate to move, you can’t sell your house, so you decide to let instead. Many reluctant landlords who can’t face the prospect of finding a plumber to fix a leak on a Sunday afternoon choose to instruct a lettings agent, who will find suitable tenants at an average cost of 10 per cent of the rental income and manage the property for you at an additional average cost of 5per cent. Reluctant landlords who happen to be investment bankers may wish to count their pennies and do it all themselves. Here’s how:

1. You may need permission

Mortgage-holders must check with their lender before letting the property, and leaseholders must check the terms of the lease – you may have to obtain the freeholder’s agreement.

2 Sort out the green tape

landlords must provide tenants with an energy performance certificate (EPC) or face a £200 fine. You have to provide an EPC only when you re-let to a new tenant. The EPC gives your house an A-G rating on energy efficiency and suggests ways to improve your rating. It costs about £100 and is valid for ten years. Find an accredited domestic energy assessor at hcrregister.com

3 Make sure the property is safe

Fit a smoke alarm. Gas appliances provided by you must be checked annually by a CORGI-registered tradesman (and documentation supplied to the tenant), all electrical appliances provided by you must be safe (though no certificates are necessary) and all furniture provided by you, unless made before 1950, must meet the fire-resistance requirements as outlined in the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988:

4 Arrange decent insurance

For example if you have property to let in Liverpool, and your property is unfurnished or part-furnished you need only limited contents cover and landlord’s liability. If fully furnished, take out full contents cover adequate to replace all on a new-for-old basis. As well as normal buildings cover, you should consider the following policy options: high-risk tenants, employer’s liability, property owner’s liability, malicious damage caused by tenants, loss of rent, and rent guarantee.

5 Set the right rent

Check local rental rates in estate agents’ windows and in the free classifieds newspaper Loot and undercut the competition. Make sure that your rental income is higher than your mortgage payments.

If you’ve found this page and you’re looking for a flat to rent Liverpool, visit Bluerow lettings. They’ve all the local knowledge and varied list of properties that we’re sure will be right up your street. Follow the link on the home page.

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Filed Under: Safety Regulations, Setting the right rent, Tips For Landlords