You might not know this, but there are a few things you should bear in mind when you buy a property. Especially one that you intend on renting out to people at a later stage. These days, the rental market is booming.
Many people can’t afford to get on the property ladder, and so their next best option is to rent their next home while they save. If you’d like to invest some money, buy-to-let properties offer a stable return. If you’ve just bought one, it’s essential you prepare it before renting it out. Here is what you need to know on the subject:
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Location, location, location!
If you want to achieve a high rental income, you will need to buy a property within an urban or inner city area. Of course, that means you will pay more for the house or apartment that you get. But the upside is that you won’t ever have a shortage of tenants, so you won’t need to worry about not having money to cover your mortgage.
It’s worth noting that some investors buy places in the suburbs as it means they can increase their portfolio quicker. Whatever your approach, the location is always the top consideration when looking at places to buy and then rent out later.
The best thing to do is spend some time on the Internet doing some research. Draw up a shortlist of areas, and find out what kinds of people live there. For example, are they full of young professional couples? Or are they more family-oriented?
Landlords always have a type of tenant in mind when they get buy-to-let properties. You should think about what yours is.
Spend as little as possible
Even though you are just a mere landlord, you should think of what you do as a business. That means spending as little as possible to achieve maximum profits. It’s a strategy that applies from when you buy a property to the point you are ready for renting out your investment.
Consider renting your house or apartment with no furniture in it to keep costs down. Stick to neutral colors and basic but hard-wearing carpets for each room. The thing about tenants is that you have to have to renovate the property each time they move out.
By sticking with the above approach, you can significantly keep your maintenance costs down.
Hire a property management company
It’s likely that you have a day job, or you’re just busy with other business ventures. For the most part, you seldom get any trouble with tenants. But what happens if things go wrong? It makes sense to hire a property manager to look after your interests and take on rental property maintenance and repairs.
They can be as involved as you want them to be. For example, you can have them manage any repairs that need to get done at your property. They know the best contractors that can provide commercial roofing installation, roof repairs, etc. Or you might want to handle that yourself, and just use them to collect rent payments on your behalf.
Property managers are a cost-effective way of having someone represent your interests. The other pro of using them is that they can find you tenants faster than you can!
