Buying an investment property? Here's our top tips to becoming a Landlord.
Are you looking to invest in a rental property? Check out our top tips to help you with the process. Purchasing a buy to let is a long term investment so it’s important you make sure you are prepared.
Do Your Research to Understand What Becoming a Landlord Involves
Becoming a landlord sounds like a great idea, purchasing an asset and getting rental income in return. Don’t be fooled though, there are many legal obligations and other factors to consider when investing your money into property. There are so many different pieces of legislation in the rental sector that it can be hard to keep a track of, consider getting a professional letting agent to do this hard work for you to make sure you don’t get caught up on the wrong side of the law. You will need to keep the property in a good state of repair so don’t forget to have some money aside for possible maintenance works.
Calculate Your Finances Carefully
Make sure to speak to a financial advisor before you commit to any purchase. If you are using a mortgage, a buy to let mortgage is very different to that on your residential home, there are often more stipulations and higher deposits required.
You also need to consider tax implications, stamp duty, repair budgets and possible void periods to name a few.
Consider The Location
Speak to local agents and look for the best areas to rent out a property. Look at the demographics, you need to choose somewhere that attracts lots of tenants. Think about what makes the location attractive, check out local amenities and transport links.
Remember to Get Insurance
There are lots of different insurances to cover you as a landlord, you may need specialist building and content insurance incase anything goes wrong (you may hear this being called Landlord Insurance).
You should also consider policies that will pay your rent if your tenant doesn’t, often referred to as rent protection guarantees. This is worth serious consideration if you have a mortgage on the property, if in the unfortunate event that your tenant doesn’t pay the rent, you will still have to pay your mortgage.
Get The Legal Stuff Right
Most importantly make sure it all complies with the law. Ensure you have a properly signed tenancy agreement and don’t cut corners, whether that means employing an agent or a solicitor to check this for you. There are lots of other important legal processes to consider including registering the deposit correctly, HMO licensing, having a valid EPC and gas/electrical certificates to name a few.
If you are thinking of investing in property and would like some more detailed advice please get in touch with one of our friendly and experienced team.
To download our free landlords guide including packages and prices click here.
Contact us on:
0151 644 6000
lesley@lesleyhooks.co.uk
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