Guide to becoming a landlord

Thinking of Becoming a Landlord?

Ok, you've come into some money or have been sensible and are now in a position to make a sizeable investment into a buy-to-let property, but where do you start?

Research
Research
Research!

Research is the most important element of the beginning of your life as a landlord. You must make sure that the property you buy is the right type and in the right area for your target market. Even if you have a sizeable budget you still need to be sensible and make the most of your investment.

Once you have found the area and possibly the type of property you are going to invest in it might be useful to phone or pop in to see a local letting agent, some are very helpful and will give you a real idea of what monthly rental level you can expect to receive, how many rental properties similar to your possible investment there are in the area, and they should also give you an idea of how long you can expect a rental property to remain vacant, which is an important issue to consider when it comes to working out your budget.

Most letting agents will offer two types of service, for a one-off fee they will advertise your rental property, find you a tenant, carry out finance and reference checks on them and sort out inventories and contracts. Or, for a set monthly fee – usually a percentage of the monthly rent you will be charging – carry out all the above actions as well as look after the property for you so you won't have to take any phone calls from the tenants or arrange for works to be done on the property if needed, instead you will just be billed for these as and when they occur.

As with a rental agreement, any agreement you make with a letting agent must be checked thoroughly, and do bring up any issues you are uncomfortable with or don't understand.

If you decide to go ahead and become a landlord, either through a letting agent or do everything yourself then you still need to be sure of your legal rights and many other things besides. Luckily there are a few good places to go for information:

• Citizens Advice Bureau's online advice centre
• The Association of Residential Letting Agents
• The National Association of Estate Agents
• The Letting Centre
• Landlord Zone
• Residential Landlord

  It is also worth doing even more research and contacting the local council for the property as well as the amenities providers so that you can have all the information you need to give to your new tenants or to deal with yourself if you are planning on an inclusive rental contract.

  Good luck!