My brother has a house with a tenant, so far it seems to be going well.  It has done for a couple of years now thankfully. You do kind of need to strike lucky and find someone suitable.  Otherwise it can be a complete nightmare! If you have ever watched the shows on TV about tenants from hell.  Wrecking your home and not paying the rent you will know what I mean.

I guess the tenant is fortunate too as my brother is very flexible about certain things.  For example she has been allowed to re-decorate, something not all landlords allow. I think my brother is quite laid back in general as long as the rent is being paid and the house is not falling apart!

We have debated buying a property to let out ourselves.  But I do feel nervous doing so when I have seen so many bad tenants. I think it would be a good investment for the future and if the boys stay in the area then they could have a boost up the property ladder when they needed it. It’s tough starting out these days with living costs so high. But I am torn about what to do.  I cannot be in a situation where the tenant doesn’t pay up or move out!!!

Naturally I would do my research before committing to anything.  I hate risk and do my best to mitigate it.  I wouldn’t take the leap becoming a landlord until I knew exactly what I was doing. Here are some essentials before handing over the keys!

Writing an Inventory

This means both the tenant and the landlord are clear about what is included in the property and the condition it is in. It should include information on anything that is worn or damaged.  So the new tenant does not get the blame for anything they haven’t done. This gives the landlord documented proof if they did damage something and they needed to make a claim against the security deposit if the landlord needed to buy a replacement. Although I do think you need to be open to reasonable wear and tear as a landlord and not make deductions for that.

Having landlord Insurance in place

HomeLet mention on their site the importance of having insurance in place in the event of damage to your property or loss of rental income.  Giving how many people seem to get away without paying for months on end from the television shows I think having insurance in place is a priority! It seems for the unfortunate landlords on the TV that some have suffered real hardship because they cannot then meet their own mortgage commitments.

Tenants deposits

Fortunately, the law has changed now so landlords must use a tenancy deposit protection scheme.  As someone who has struggled to get deposits back in the past through no fault of my own I think this is a huge help for vulnerable tenants. On the flip-side its vital landlords do this correctly otherwise a tenant with rent arrears could use it in their defence.  For your own protection make sure you their deposit in a safe scheme.

If you want to visit the property

You must give your tenants 24 hours’ notice if you want to visit the property and at a reasonable time of day. If there is an emergency then its acceptable to enter the property at other times.  But please be clear about all of this in your initial tenancy agreement.  That way everyone knows what to expect.

Once you get your head around the idea, becoming a landlord doesn’t seem so bad. Although the property market is changing because of COVID.