My partner and I have recently bought a property and currently doing it up with the intention to rent it out.
What will make us more attractive to rents and how can we genuinely create positive relations with our new tenants?
As adviser I should add that this would be a HMO style property not a standard home for someone else.
We plan to hold professionals in our property and manage it as we go.
29 comments
Fix problems promptly, don’t put up the rent just because another year has passed, keep inspection visits to once a year max. Decorate in neutral colours with things that are designed to be hard wearing if providing furniture.
Be honest, leave them alone, fix things promptly, decorate in neutral colours, don’t put the rent up. It’s pretty simple.
Just sell the place to a first time buyer who actually needs it.
– let them put stuff up on the walls. You can always fill in any holes.
– fix things promptly
– don’t buy the absolute cheapest possible appliances
– stay well out of the way. The best landlords I’ve had, I only ever heard from when I contacted *them*.
– charge a reasonable amount of rent, and don’t put it up.
The mere fact that it occurred to you to ask this question means that you will be a decent landlord.
1) allow pets
2) allow children (I was once turned down for a 2 bed flat as it “wasn’t suitable for children”)
3) keep rents as low as you can
4) decorate in a way that makes it feel homely. That means no grey and no harsh white
5) leave tenants alone unless they’ve contacted you.
6) fix stuff when asked
7) buy decent appliances
8) don’t force tenants to have prepayment meters
Deal directly. Lettings agents save you work but they’re a pointless middle body for tenants with problems. Likewise, don’t be too precious about who does the work – as a tenant I’ve spent way too long waiting on a landlord’s preferred tradie despite knowing three who could have done the job to the same standard at mates’ rates. And if you actually *interact* with your tenants you’ll soon feel out if they can be trusted to make judgment calls like that, or if you need to be more protective of your property because they’re divs.
Realise that occasionally you will have to pay for repairs. In one of my long term rental places I had told the landlord that his roof was leaking. He ignored me for ages it got worse. He then got a mate to fix it (he bodged it) and somehow created another leak. Exasperated , I told the landlord that I was actually trying to protect his investment and that I had a right to live in a property that didn’t have a roof leak and he should be thinking along the lines of prevention is best. He sent his mate round again. He ended up having to get a roofing company in to sort out the guys mistakes.
Some tenants are just total wankers. Most people just want a nice home and if they advise you of a problem it helps if you actually acknowledge it and look for yourself. A good tenant is worth their weight in gold as you will find out should you have a bad one. As others have said, don’t be a dick about the rent. A landlord moaning about mortgage rates going up or the cost of living etc to a tenant isn’t really on.
Just sell it, we’re in a housing crisis and you’re trying to fluff up your retirement at other peoples expense
Respect for privacy and their right to live there while paying rent. I had landlords in the past who would just turn up on the doorstep and even let themselves in without knocking.
My dad is a landlord and from what I’ve seen a pretty decent one to the tenants he has had. One family have been with him for 10 years
Let them decorate
Has only put the rent up once in 10 years and that was when his agent fees rose.
Gave them his personal number and goes round to repair things quickly.
Has offered to sell them the house at below market rate once they get a deposit together (he wants to sell but likes his tenants).
When they struggled with rent he let them have extra time to pay even though it cost him personally. (Not covid related).
Only does an inspection once every 6 months, and gives them a few weeks notice.
The tenants have had kids since moving in so all my dad wants is for them to treat it like a home.
Do not let it out to friends or someone you know. It can turn nasty.
Do use a letting agent so you can keep up with all the current regulations.
Speak to a few different agents and get the best rate. 8% plus vat is good.
Fix things promptly.
Do not keep putting the rent up even if the agent says so.
If you’re mortgage is fixed for 5 years keep the rent the same if it’s the same tenant.
Let them have a pet.
Give them a number for emergencies that will be responded to quickly. Things like leaks and power issues. Be clear about what they’re liable for and what you’re liable for. Leave them alone. No unannounced visits. Flexibility for when their situation changes.
Be nice. Fix issues promptly and properly. Let them hang stuff on the walls. I’d go against grey for the walls as it’s not for everyone. My 70s stuff just wouldn’t work. Either go for white or off white and either let them know which exact one or leave a pot for them do you touch ups. Or allow them to paint and make good when they leave. Allow pets – legally you can’t discriminate but people still do. And most importantly, I know it’s your property but it should be their home
Have a thorough check in and check out policy, it protects all parties. If you do a walk through with the tenant on move in, take photos and make notes together, and the same on move out it should save a lot of hassle with disputes etc. Agreeing to do one a few weeks before they hand back the keys is something I’ve also always appreciated as you can go through the property and tell them about anything you are unhappy with giving them enough time to fix it themselves.
Anything that’s included (appliances, furniture, flooring etc) make sure it’s of good quality.
Be open to having pets in the property, the more you let your tenants treat the place like their home the longer they’ll stay. If they feel unwelcome sat in a white box unable to do anything to make it feel like home they’ll have no reason to stay. If you let them do things which make the house seem like home they’ll want to stay.
Make sure they have a direct number to contact you on (not through the agent) for emergencies, make sure all repairs are prompt, and the most important one is to leave them alone apart from a yearly inspection and if they contact you.
One who actually sorts the issues out.
Thinking out loud here, but the grey area between wear and tear / “you broke it you fix it” / betterment is a nightmare.
We’ve all got stories of being charged £100 for an electrician to replace a light bulb or charges as an already fucked carpet is a bit greyer than it was.
So maybe build in £20 a month for an end of tenancy handyman and allow a day of your own time getting things ship shape. When you get it back a house is never going to be bang on how you let it. If someone rents it for 6 months they should be giving it back almost perfect, but if it’s three years don’t charge them for not filling every picture hook hole or carpets that are 90% perfect. Call that the cost of doing business. Have £360 mentally allocated to a handyman and carpet cleaner.
Don’t be a parasite on society.
I’ve been told I’m a good landlord because:
I allow pets and children (I’ve been told by so many people that it’s insanely hard to find somewhere, especially in London, that allows either).
I address issues immediately. I know what it’s like to be left with a broken window or no hot water etc etc so I get on to it straight away. They have my personal number for this reason.
I don’t increase the rent “just because”.
I decorated it pretty neutral and if someone wants to paint the living room or a kids bedroom, they can within reason. A tin of paint costs me fuck all once they’ve moved out.
I don’t deal with a letting agent, I rent direct. I’ve done both and this works out better for me.
I don’t show up unannounced. I give them 48 hours notice and I’m happy to rearrange to a time that suits them. I only visit every 6 months or so because I fucking hated my landlord showing up all the time when I rented. If they need me out sooner, I go but I generally leave them to it. I trust them.
My current tenants have been renting from me for the last 6 years so I must be doing something right.
Actually caring for a start. I had an amazing landlord, want to replace heaters to be more energy efficient? No problem he’ll pay you back as long as you provide a receipt. Want to repaint the place? No problem as long as you paint it back to original. Actually listening to your tenants is a good thing to do, if there are issues try to resolve them.
A full time Landlord has always been better in my experience, someone who’s “on-it” and responds to issues quickly. Generally You want someone local or UK based at least, unless they have a good agency handle their tenant contact on their behalf (research the property management if it’s not the landlord doing it). You can generally tell the standard of the landlord by the standard of the property.
Stability. Obviously when you first get a tenant you will want a short tenancy. But let them know that if everything goes OK you are willing to let them stay for however many years.
Consider people on benefits, were not all scum, and not all worker are responsible people. Its possible to get housing benefit paid straight to you, so you know you’ll get paid. In my area only 12% landlords accept HB. But check your insurance as some don’t allow you to rent to people on HB.
Be available, but not nosey. If they call you over an issue, sort it in a timely manner. Make sure your approachable if something goes wrong, even if its the tenants fault. You don’t want tenants hiding damage that will get worse in time, and cost you more.
The most obvious thing is, that make sure your tenant knows that they are your equal, you don’t look down on them, or feel you are doing them a massive favour by housing them. Some landlords get a real complex, and dangle the knowledge that they can make you homeless. Its a two way transaction, and as you can see from this thread, landlords aren’t the most liked of people.
Be open, transparent, honest, friendly and available.
Leave them alone. I haven’t seen, or even heard from, my landlord for five years, and I am a perfectly content tenant.
I have a guy in my property at the moment, he is using the place to build his credit so that he can buy for himself in 3-5 years.
I sent my husband round with a box of biscuits to say welcome as I thought it was a nice gesture and I think I would’ve appreciated it if somebody had done that for me.
Also discussed with the agency that I’d like to offer a Christmas discount £100 or so if he’s been looking after the property when they do the yearly inspection.
It was my first house so had an emotional attachment to it when it came to moving out (married a military man so it was a choice house or marriage). Once my 5yr rate is over or my tenant moves out, I think I will put it on the market and favour FTB offers.
We were then going to flip dilapidated properties and once again target FTB market, instead of renting flip maybe 1 or 2 houses a year – depending on life circumstance obviously.
Not being too stingy with returning deposits will make you better (my agent told me a story about another LL currently trying to withhold a deposit because of the state of the carpets and that tenant had been there for 10years – LL wasn’t accepting it as reasonable wear and tear). Just don’t be that guy!
Allow pets
Sell the house to a family that needs it? 🙂
By selling your property to someone that actually needs it.
We bought a house at the wrong time (2007) and when we needed to move in 2010 we had a choice of renting out the house or taking a £30k loss so we ended up as landlords.
The first thing we did was hire a carpet cleaner to deep clean all the carpets (they were only 3 years old so didn’t need replacing), we then gave the entire house a lick of paint inside to freshen things up and we relaid the lawn properly (the house was a new build in 2007 and the contractors had laid cheap turf over what was essentially builders rubble).
We were lucky to get a really nice young couple renting it and we charged enough rent to cover our expenses and the mortgage but not much more. They were in the house from the beginning of 2011 until 2021 and we charged £650 a month (we never put the rent up in that time – maybe we were mugs).
We had a gas/heating contract in place so any issues with the boiler the tenants could call and someone would be out the next day. For things like new appliances (it needed a new cooker) we told the tenants they could choose what they wanted within a budget and they were happy to purchase and fit the cooker and we re-imbursed them. We never had any issues and they looked after the house better than we did. Our tenants moved out last year having saved up a deposit for their own place. We put the house on the market as we were planning to move again and needed the equity, and although it was a relatively painless experience being a landlord, I can’t see me doing it again, it was always on your mind that you could get a call saying the boiler had gone pop, or the roof was pissing in, or they’d had a fire etc etc. It always had the potential to go from an asset to a massive liability….
What makes a good landlord?
1)Don’t be a dick.
2)Choose your tenants carefully.
3)The better you treat the tenants the better they will treat your property.
4)Always remember that whilst you own the property it is their home.