Will Your Property Appeal To Renters And Do You Know What Being A Landlord Entails?

Following on from our last article "Renting Is Not As Buoyant As It Used to Be", we go on to discuss what you need to do to successfully rent your property and your responsibilities as a landlord.

Properties belonging to "accidental" landlords will usually need some money spending on re-decorating them to make them more universally pleasing rather than decorated to a personal taste as a private home would be.

"You need to ask yourself if you are prepared to make the necessary investment in the property, and whether you are prepared to refinance in order to make that investment. If not, you may struggle," says a spokesperson from Knight Frank's residential lettings department.

The National Landlords Association (NLA) says that more then 70 per cent of landlords expect rent arrears problems in 2009 and warnings are being made to highly geared homeowners to be very cautious.

A spokesperson from the NLA warns, "For the highly geared landlord whose monthly mortgage payments rely heavily on monthly rental income, tenants not paying can quickly spell disaster." Buy-to-let loans are offered on 25 per cent deposits but the experts say you need more than this to make any money now. "The only landlords who are going to make lets work over the next couple of years are those with a decent slab of equity in their property - around 40 per cent," a spokesperson says from head of residential research at Knight Frank.

On deciding to rent you property you must inform your lender immediately or you will be in breach of contract and if the lender were to find out they could make you pay back the mortgage for breaking the contract and corporate tenants know better than to sign a contract without proof of your lender's consent.

You may have to switch straightaway or stay as you are for a specific length of time depending on your lender. However, switching immediately can be difficult due to lack of deals and the prohibitive cost of both rates and fees. In addition to getting permission from your lender, you need to inform your household insurer, and if you are planning to let your property furnished it is worth getting specialist landlord's insurance.

It is a good idea to join a landlord's association as they will keep you up to speed on ever-changing rules and regulations and will also offer discounts on certain services such as insurance. Membership fees do vary but the average is about 70 pounds per year.

Every landlord must have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)which lasts for 10 years and has to be available for a tenant to inspect. It is also a requirement for deposits to be held by a deposit protection scheme like the Deposit Protection Service, or My Deposits or the Tenancy Deposit Scheme, both insurance-backed schemes. Rental houses in multiple occupation (HMO) must be licenced by the landlord and adhere to rules and regulations as set out by the local housing authority.

Finally, there are a plethora of health and safety regulations which must be upheld and the landlord is responsible for maintaining the property and any appliances, furniture and any electricity or gas systems. A letting agent or a landlords' association will be able to advise on everything that must be supplied or done.

Going into the buy to let market, do you need a Secured Loan