Archives August 2021

You will eventually feel the need to leave your rental property. It may be because you find a better job elsewhere, or because your family is expanding or contracting and you need more or less room. It may be because you are purchasing a home and no longer wish to rent. It could be for any number of reasons, but relocating often means stress, regardless of the reason.

For many individuals, moving out of a rental property is just as traumatic as moving out of one they own, but this does not have to be the case. There are a few things you can do to make the process go as smoothly as possible.

Paperwork

You will need to file a lot of paperwork when you move out of your rental property, whether you are moving into another rented home or purchasing a property. There will be a plethora of paperwork and essential papers to read, sign, date, and initial. Leaving this to the last minute can add stress to the process and could possibly cause your relocation to be postponed.

The greatest thing you can do with this paperwork is to do it as quickly as possible. Take a copy for your personal records after it’s finished. This will be helpful for remembering everything you have and haven’t done about the move, as well as in case anything goes lost – a copy is better than nothing in many circumstances.

Maintain a cool demeanour and go methodically through the papers. Rushing will not help you, and you could make errors that will slow things up even more.

Organise Your Property

There are a few things you need to do if you want to make sure you have your deposit returned to you. One of them will almost certainly be an end-of-tenancy clean. This is much more than a fast run around with the vacuum cleaner and a quick wipe down of dusty surfaces; this is a thorough clean that will take many, many hours to accomplish.

Most individuals lack the patience, time, and expertise needed to do this job on their own. The good news is that you may engage cleaning firms who specialise in end-of-lease cleaning to perform the work for you. This is not essential, however.

Make Use of Proper Timing

When it comes to moving out of a rental property, timing is everything. If you pay your rent in advance, you’ll want to make sure you don’t overpay or underpay based on the date or location of your move. The best thing you can do is move out on a date that is the day before your next rent payment is due. You won’t have to pay any extra rent on your existing home as a result.

This also means that your first rent payment for your new home (or your first mortgage payment) will be due on the same day as your previous payment, allowing you to stick to your budget and avoid being out of money.

Moving house can be a truly stressful time – it’s said to be up there with divorce and bereavement when it comes to how it makes us feel. Luckily, there is always that sense of excitement and adventure with moving house; it does tend to have a happy ending. That said, the process never gets easier. 

So finding great ways to ensure that moving house is as stress-free as possible – great ways such as packing hacks – is essential if you want to feel calm and collected on the big day itself. Property may be one of the best investments you can make, so you will want to feel good about buying – and selling – your property. Packing is often the major cause of panic; having some excellent packings hacks to see you through will certainly ease your blood pressure. 

Packing Jewellery 

Packing hacks can help in all kinds of ways. For many people, there is a definite need to pack jewellery safely and carefully. It might be worth a lot of money, or it could be a much-loved and cherished family heirloom. Whatever it is, you don’t want it to go missing during the move. One way to keep it all safe is to use egg cartons. Place the jewellery into the cartons and tape them up. Nothing will fall out and everything will stay together (important for earrings and jewellery sets). To stop necklaces and chains from tangling, pack them flat between two sheets of plastic or bubble wrap. You can stack them in a small box, and they will stay perfectly safe. Remember not to pack jewellery with your clothing as they can easily get lost – keep your most important items with you in a purse or small holdall. 

Packing The Kitchen 

Your kitchen is probably the room in the house that has the most items in it, so although it may seem like it’s going to be an easy room to pack, it can quickly end up taking you much longer than you had planned for. That’s especially true if you start to wrap each plate and piece of cutlery separately. Yes, that will prevent breakages and losses, but it will also lose you a lot of time that could be better spent elsewhere. One of the many packing hacks to get around this problem is to buy some foam. Cut it into circles and stack the foam in between your plates as you place the whole lot into a box. Got a lot of socks? Use them in the kitchen! You can put your mugs and glasses – even your cutlery – inside the socks and pack them that way; they’ll be nicely padded. Equally, cutlery can stay in the drawer tray, and all you need to do is wrap it in plastic and secure it with duct tape. It makes unpacking a lot quicker and easier too. 

When it comes to food, try to eat as much of it as you can before you move, and arrange to have a grocery delivery come to your new house as soon as you can when you’re settled (or take some time out to purchase some food the day after you’ve moved in). The less you have to take, the better. Food can spoil so easily, especially on a long journey, and you don’t want to waste it. Keep grocery shopping to a minimum in the weeks before you move. 

Packing Clothes

You may not realise quite how many clothes you have until you start packing. It’s a good idea to have different bags or boxes; some for taking with you, some for taking to Goodwill or similar. You don’t have to take everything, and it’s better if you can clear some clutter as you go. For the clothes you are taking, don’t fold them; roll them instead. It saves a lot of space. Those rolled clothes can even be used as packing material for fragile items around the rest of the house (the mugs mentioned above are just one idea – there are plenty more). The same is true for pillows and bedding – they make excellent padding. Anything that needs to remain on a hanger can simply be slid into a rubbish bag, and the whole lot moved as one. 

Shoes should be cleaned as much as possible before moving so that whatever they are packed with doesn’t get dirty. If you haven’t got the time or the inclination, make sure they are sealed in their own nylon or plastic bags. For precious and fragile items, you can even pack them inside your shoes to keep them safe, saving even more time and money on packing materials. 

Packing Furniture 

Any items of furniture that have handles sticking out can be a problem when moving – the handles can get caught and cause damage to walls or other items, or they can be knocked off during transit. Packing hacks to deal with that potential problem is to unscrew the handles and tape them to the inside of the drawers, along with the screws. That way, you can easily put them all back together when you reach your new place. Legs are another problem. Again, if you can remove them, that’s the easiest solution, but if not, make sure you wrap them in newspaper or bubble wrap. It will protect your floors and your furniture. 

Mattresses can get very dirty between houses, and the last thing you want is to finally be ready for bed after a hard day or moving, only to discover that your mattress is filthy. Take two fitted sheets and put one on each side of the mattress. The only things you’ll need to wash are the sheets, and the mattress will stay clean. 

Anything that you have to take apart to move will have plenty of small pieces and screws to go with it. Keep all of these items in a sandwich bag, and label it so you know exactly which piece of furniture it goes with. Don’t mix these items up; keep a separate bag for each piece of furniture. However, all the bags (adequately sealed) can go into one box, so you know exactly where everything is. 

Packing Essentials 

Finally, when it comes to packing hacks, it’s crucial to have a box of ‘essentials’ for when you arrive at your new property. This will contain things like toilet paper, shower gel, shampoo, nappies, milk, coffee, pet food, bin bags, chargers, a plate and a mug for everyone… You might also want to keep a change of clothes and some nightwear in there. With this box handy, you won’t have to do any unpacking until the next day when you’re rested. It will make that task a lot easier. 

What should landlords do when a tenant moves out? The very nature of the rental market means that no matter how good a tenant might be, eventually, they will want to move on. They might have saved up enough of a deposit to buy their own property, they might need a larger home, or even a smaller one. They might just want a change. 

When this time comes, it is vital to get the property ready for the next tenants as soon as possible so that you are not losing out on the rental income for too long. If you’re wondering what should landlords do when a tenant moves out, here are some tips. 

Inspect The Property 

This is a job that is best done before the current tenant leaves so that if anything needs to be put right, you can discuss it with them. However, if you are unable to do that, you will need to get there and check everything over as soon as you can after they move out. Alternatively, you can hire an inventory company to do the job for you – this can be extremely useful if you live a long way from the property. 

If there are any problems, you will need to discuss these with the tenant. If they cannot put the problems right, their deposit will be required to cover the cost of repairs. Otherwise, the deposit needs to be released back to the tenant within ten days of their leaving date. 

Tidy Up

Depending on how long the tenants lived in the property, another answer to the question of what should landlords do when a tenant moves out is that you may need to repaint the walls, put up new wallpaper, or even replace the carpets. This will often be down to general wear and tear and isn’t the responsibility of your ex-tenants. Ideally, they will have cleaned everything before they went. Still, you may need to look at the end-of-tenancy cleaning prices and hire professionals to make everything look absolutely perfect for prospective tenants. 

You can also dress the property by installing your own furniture. This can help a property rent more quickly as prospective tenants will be able to see how they can make it a home. An empty property can be difficult to rent out. 

Reduce The Council Tax 

Once the tenants move out, they will no longer be paying the council tax on the property, and it will fall to you as the landlord to pay it. You must contact the council involved and apply for a reduced rate if the property is empty. If you don’t, you could be paying hundreds of pounds over and above what you should be. 

Change The Locks 

When it comes to wondering what should landlords do after a tenant moves out, changing the locks is often forgotten. Even if you had the most trustworthy, reliable tenant you could have hoped for, it is still wise to change the locks once they move out. You never know if there is a spare key still around, or if they made copies. Of course, generally, a tenancy agreement will require any copies to be handed in as well, but if they can’t be found, or they have been forgotten, you may simply never know about them. Changing the locks means you can ensure the property is kept safe and that the next tenants are the only ones who have keys. 

Becoming a landlord is something that some people accidentally fall into, but it’s also something that can be a well-thought out, permanent career move for others. If you’re thinking of reasons to be a landlord, you might be wondering what you can get out of it. We’ve put together some great reasons for you to become a landlord; here are some of the best ideas.

Long-Term Investment

There are many reasons to be a landlord, and one more is that investing in buy to let properties is a great long-term investment. Providing you can get a mortgage, you don’t need that much start-up capital (although there are still some costs involved; you’ll need to thoroughly research these first. It might be a good idea to make yourself a pros and cons list so you know you can afford it) and you can be making money within weeks if you pick the right property to invest in. Over time you can build your portfolio which means that, when you’re ready to sell those properties on, you can realise a great return.

You’ll Have A Retirement Income

As mentioned above, if you have a number of properties (or even just one will do if it’s the right one) and you decide to sell them and not buy anymore, you’ll have made yourself a nice chunk of money that is ideal for using to fund your retirement. Gone are the days when people were able to retire properly at 60 or 65 and just enjoy their lives; many people will need to keep working for years after they had hoped to retire. If you invest early enough in property, this won’t be an issue for you.

More Time With Your Family

A landlord who relies solely on the income from their rental properties won’t need another job, and therefore won’t be heading out of the door at the same time each day and commuting to an office, heading back later and finding that the kids are already in bed. You’ll gain a lot more time if you are a landlord because you will simply need to look after your tenants and properties. If you engage a management company, you won’t even have to do that. That means more time to play with your kids, more time with your spouse, you’ll even have more time to go on holiday. Life becomes a lot less stressful (although that doesn’t mean being a landlord isn’t hard work; it just means you’ll be working differently).

You’ll Learn A Lot

Even if you didn’t intend to be, if you’re a landlord you are also a business owner. That means you need to learn a lot about how to run that business, including all the tax implications, as quickly as you can. It’s always good to learn new things, and running a business as a landlord means that you’ll never stop learning; there is always something else that you need to know about, whether it’s new regulations or how to decorate a home to keep your tenant happy, there is certainly never a dull moment.