When you own a property that isn’t your primary residence, having it sitting empty is a big no no. Whilst it’s sitting vacant, the property you bought as an investment to provide you with a regular income is just another liability that you can do without. So, whether you’ve just become a landlord for the first time or you’ve just lost your sitting tenants, getting new ones is a major priority and it’s something that will cost you money, every day that it’s left unresolved.
So, in order to assist anyone out there who’s in this very position, we’ve put these 5 tips together to get your bricks and mortar income moving again.
1. Make Sure Your Property is Bright and Spotless
Whilst this might seem like a given, you might be surprised to learn that many people neglect this aspect of their property. This is particularly the case when talking about recently vacated properties, as ex tenants don’t always leave things how they found them – even when a deposit has been taken.
We’re not just talking about dirt when it comes to making things spotless, as clutter can have the same effect in putting off any prospective tenants before they’ve really seen the benefits your property offers. If you want people to be able to visualise themselves living in your buy to let property, you need to show them a blank canvas – this means a clear, bright and airy building.
This can be achieved with a two pronged attack that includes a deep clean (either by yourself or by professionals) and spot of light decorating. A new coat of magnolia on the walls and some new curtains can do wonders, as can getting your carpets cleaned. Compared with the cost of the rent you’re missing out on by having no tenants, the money you’ll spend getting this done is a mere drop in the ocean.
2. Give Your Home Some Curb Appeal
If you’ve spent a good deal of time and money making the interior of your rental property spotless, the last thing you want to do is to be let down by how the outside looks. There’s an awful lot you can do to improve the external aesthetics of your property with a little investment of your time and money.
For example, you can:
- Thoroughly clean all external windows and window frames
- Ensure any external lights have working bulbs in them
- Clean or replace any tired or dirty net curtains
- Paint or replace your front door
- Add some potted plants, available for a minimal cost from your local DIY store
- Tidy up your garden and/or bushes and shrubs
- Remove any weeds growing in between paving slabs
- Make sure there’s no litter or rubbish bags in view
- Whichever way you tackle the problem, think new, think bright and think fresh.
3. Advertise Thoroughly Online
If you need your property rented fast, then there are few better resources than the many online portals that exist online. The more people’s eyes that your property gets in front of, the better chance you’ll have of finding the tenants you need. The fact is, that in this modern digital age, we do most things online. In fact 9 out of every 10 potential rental clients start their search online.
Amongst those available are:
Rightmove
Zoopla
Prime Location
On the Market
The cost involved in listing in this way can be fairly minimal and can really help to drum up interest.
4. Be Flexible With Your Tenants
Whilst we don’t advocate not fully vetting your tenants, as failing to do so can cause far worse issues than a lack of tenants, you can slacken off some of your eligibility criteria if you want to help things along. For example, allowing pets when you perhaps didn’t before can really open up the field. We’re a nation of pet lovers in the UK, so catering for them is a savvy move.
5. Drop the Cost of Rental
Undercutting the competition is another way of ensuring that potential tenants come to you instead of going to someone else. Of course, this means that you’ll have to take a bit of a financial hit, but when that cost is compared to the money you’re losing by having a vacant property, it’s fairly insignificant. Add in the fact that you have the complete control to gradually increase the rent slowly from that point and you can start to see the wisdom behind the move.
In Summary
Faced with the prospect of an ongoing liability that could cost you upwards of £500 per month, anything you can do to rectify the situation is of paramount importance to your financial health. The good news is that most of the methods available don’t cost an awful lot to put into place and if you employ just some of them, your rental property could soon be paying you like it should be.
Thanks for reading our property blog. We hope the tips provided have been of help in your search for tenants.
