When I talk to potential landlords there are a number of areas we talk about when discussing suitable property like how letting works, what sort of property is in demand and we often touch on these areas:
- Understand the impact of leases, ground rent and service charges on your profit. What is the lease length and how will this impact on your costs. Is the service charge you are facing high or low compared to others in the area?
- Parking. Most tenants have a car or two and will want to park it off street. Not having this will re-duce your choice of tenants.
- Space. Tenants like as much space as possible, where possible go for good sized rooms, like you would for yourself. There should be space in bedrooms to walk around a bed of appropriate size.
- Decorative state. Tired properties take longer to let, but are cheaper to buy! You don’t have to buy in a great state, but when brought to the market a property should be crisp and clean. We can help with this but be prepared to do or pay for work.
- Read the EPC for a property you are looking at. Section 43 of the 2011 Energy Act which has to be enacted by April 2018 will state a minimum level of energy efficiency in rental property, likely to be ‘E’. Below an E and it may well be illegal to let the property.
- Think about why people want to live in a particular location. Normally because of access to em-ployment. The choice of location needs to have a lot going for it. Is the property near larger employers like Hillingdon Hospital, Stockley Park or employers based in Uxbridge? Is it near major transport links? The more of these the better – you want to appeal to as many tenants as possible.
If you would like more useful information call in for coffee at our office on Hillingdon Hill, Uxbridge or give us a call on 01895 257935.
