Is Anyone Here A Landlord?

[Cazgar]

As the title says, anyone here especially in the uk a landlord?
It's something I'm thinking of doing, buying a flat to rent out.
Just want to be aware of any pitfalls anyone might have encountered before I go ahead

 

[Tonyb111111]

As the title says, anyone here especially in the uk a landlord?
It's something I'm thinking of doing, buying a flat to rent out.
Just want to be aware of any pitfalls anyone might have encountered before I go ahead

I'm not a propoerty tycoon, but we bought a 2 bed terrace in 2008 to rent out. What do you want to know

 

[Cazgar]

Everything lol
No, just want to know how you find it, do you manage it yourself or have a letting agent do it for you?
To cut a long story short, I have a small inheritance that is earning nothing in the bank.
I thought of buying a couple of flats & letting them out & just want to know if it's as easy as it sounds

 

[Tonyb111111]

In a nutshell, if you make sure the house/flat is in good nick before you rent, vet the tenents properly and trust your gut feeling about them,it is generally a stroll in the park. I opted to manage it myself, as i didnt think the agents did enought to warrant the 10-15% they were charging of the rental. I am currently on my 4th set of tenents asthey tend to upgrade from a 2 bed quite quick. When i first started out, i joined the Residential Landlords Association, for about £90 they have templates for every kind of official communication you need to stay within the law, like tenancy agreements,everything you need is downloadable and they walk you through the process. If its a second home, I would suggest you go for an interest only mortgage to maximise the profit.

 

[Cazgar]

Thank you, that's the kind of thing I wanted to know, it's the legal stuff that baffles me, but if there's an organisation to join that's great to help with contracts & stuff
Luckily I'm in th position to pay cash, so won't need a mortgage, & have friends in trades that can help with any maintenance needed

 

[Tonyb111111]

Heres the link for the Residential Landlords Association http/www.rla.org.uk/join/join.shtml?gclid=CJH-_NW8iq8CFaImtAodelBX9Q

This will take of all the legal stuff and give you allthe advice you need. With this out of the way, the restof it good fun and requires very time and effort for a good return

 

[Cazgar]

Thank you very much, I'll check that link out, nice to hear from someone who's done it

 

[Squidward]

I still have my first property which I kept after the Mrs and I bought.

The one thing I would say is choose your tenants very very carefuly.
I had a bad experience.

 

[Cazgar]

That's the one thing that worries me about it all, finding good tenants.
I guess a lot of it is luck & checking references properly

 

[shelaghfishface]

landlord zone is an excellent forum /site with lots and lots of legal and general advice

 

[Cazgar]

Thank you, I'll check it out.
Going to see another flat next week I'm interested in