If you have bought an investment property, then you will want it to be rented out as soon as it is ready, otherwise you will be losing money. Here are some of the best ways to ensure that you can rent out your investment property quickly and that you find the right tenant at the same time.
Research The Market
Something that will put prospective tenants off choosing your property to live in, or even view, is the price. You may have a rent in mind that you want to achieve, but that doesn’t mean that price will be possible. You need to check to see what else is available in your area and compare those properties to your own. Find as many similar houses or flats as you can and note the rents they are asking for. This way, you can get a good idea of what you might be able to achieve. Be prepared to be flexible though when you want to rent out your investment property, as you may need to reduce your price over time or take an offer if you think it can work for you.
Image by Shahid Abdullah from Pixabay
Work Out The Costs
Once you know how much rent you are likely to achieve, you should work out all the costs. For example, depending on your situation, you may be taxed on your rental income, which would be at 20 percent (or 40 percent for higher earners). This can make a big difference to your profit. There will be other costs associated with the property as well, such as the mortgage (if you have one), landlord’s insurance, and the cost of maintenance. If the rent you could get won’t cover these costs, you may need to look at alternatives such as selling the property or converting it into a multiple occupancy property that you can charge for by the room rather than as a whole.
Advertise
Unless people know that your property is up for rent, they won’t ask to see it. Therefore, you need to do as much as possible to advertise it if you want to rent out your investment property. If you choose to go with a lettings agent, they will do this for you, but of course they will also charge. If you prefer to do everything yourself, you can use social media to your advantage to begin with. You can share the details of your property and ensure that as many people see it as possible by boosting the posts to your chosen audience. You can use presentation software to put together all the benefits of renting your particular property so that prospective tenants can see everything they need to before contacting you. This saves you (and them) time because only those who are really interested in the property will need to see it.
Local press can also be a helpful way to advertise your property, as can word of mouth. Really, the more ways you can promote it, the better, as the right tenant will spot it quickly, and you will be able to move them in sooner.
Get Insurance
Although the tenant will deal with the contents insurance, since you are the property owner, you will need to organise buildings insurance. You will also need landlord’s insurance. Landlord’s insurance is in place to protect you from non-paying tenants, for example, and will ensure that you don’t lose money in the long term.