Reactive Blog #4 - Top Tips for Landlords

Top Tips for Landlords 

Letting out property can be very stressful and confusing at times, especially when letting to students. Not only do you need to make sure you have well-behaved tenants, you need to make sure the property is well maintained, and make sure you put the right measures in place to stop your tenants from damaging your property.

Select the Right Tenants for You

Good tenants make being a landlord a pleasure and a whole lot easier. But Obviously having bad tenants, or even a bad letting agent can make being a landlord a living hell. It would be best to have a strict selection process and conduct interviews with potential tenants. If your property is empty for a short period of time, please don’t rush to fill it as you may end out with 'the wrong crowd' in your property. We'd say that in this time it's best to do necessary repairs and maintenance on the property.

Get Insurance 

Not having landlord insurance may seem like a great way to cut costs, but if for some reason you may need to seek legal advice to arrange an eviction for your tenants, you may have to pay out a hefty sum of money if you don’t have a rent guarantee in place or and landlord’s legal protection. It would be a good idea to take out landlord’s home emergency insurance, so for example if a boiler goes wrong or if you are faced with a pest infestation you will be covered.

Holding Deposits

Taking your tenants to court for damages to property is much more difficult to do then you think, it will cost you a lot too. Instead, it would be better to hold a deposit, which you can deduct the cost for repairs from. It would be a good idea to check given references and make sure you have the correct tenancy agreement in place.

Most Importantly... Keep Them Happy

The most important and easiest thing you should do is to keep them happy. Keeping a good relationship with your tenants is important. You should always be there to answer problems and questions. Keeping a tenant happy, might make them stay longer or use you again, which will save and make you money in the future.