LETTING YOUR PROPERTY

Thinking of letting your property? Wondering about the pros and cons of using an agent vs letting from the owner?

Many property owners let their property privately with great success, others have tried to go that route with great disappointment. Let’s talk about the renting process.

It all starts with marketing the property. Some portals attract a better calibre of tenant than others.

The next step is setting up viewing appointments with prospective tenants, and this could be challenging if the property is already occupied by existing tenants as they might not be very flexible when it comes to viewing times. Prospective tenants also tend not to show up for viewing appointments which makes this a very time-consuming step in the process.

When viewings do go according to plan, and prospective tenants arrive to their appointments, it is vital that you/your agent be vigilant at the viewing, as first impressions are very important. The first five to ten minutes of this viewing will tell you or your agent a lot about the calibre of the prospective tenant if you/they know what to look out for!

The next step, should the prospective tenant like the place upon viewing, will be the application forms, affordability, credit checks and reference checks. Again, it is very important to do reference checks, workplace checks (confirm employment) and previous rental checks.  Once all the checks have been done the lease agreement is signed by the tenants and landlord/or agent acting on behalf of the landlord.

The tenant will then make the necessary payments. Please note, the deposit needs to be kept in an interest-bearing Trust account. On request from the tenant, the interest on the deposit should be paid back to the tenant along with the deposit after the lease period ends.

The next step is the incoming inspection(s), and handover of the keys.  Again, the owner/agent needs to be very diligent, and photos should be taken of all defects and the same document can them be used on the outgoing inspection to compare the condition of the property.

Tenants will then be invoiced monthly and owners will get statements. Tenants who fail to pay the rent on time will be sent Letters of Demand. It is also very important that the owner/agent do regular inspections during the lease period.

This outline of the rental process touches on key concerns and steps that are of the utmost importance – sadly many agents or owners skip a few steps and end up utterly disappointed.

To pay an experienced agent a 10% management fee is a small price to pay in comparison to the cost of placing the wrong tenant.

Kindly visit our website for our two letting options.