Targeting the right tenants for your property
Think about the type of tenants you are trying to target. Who are you looking for and who do you think would be the right fit for your property? To try and source out the best means of marketing your properties, you could explore social media, local newspapers and online advertising. It may also be worth testing different methods for different demographics, such as social media if you have a property that would suit younger tenants.
Make sure you target the right tenants with accurate descriptions of the property. If prospective tenants call, use this as a chance to fact find them. Here are some questions you could ask them:
- What type of property are they looking for?
- What areas are they looking in?
- Do they have a partner and/or children?
- What is their budget?
- Do they have references?
- Do they smoke?
- Do they need parking and/or a garden
- Do they have a deposit?
The more information you can gather at this early stage, the better. If you can't help the prospective tenant or don’t have what they’re looking for, you could let them know if you have properties becoming available soon and take their details. You could also consider referring these tenants on to other landlords you may know, that may be able to offer something suitable.
Viewings, credit checks and deposits
Try to get all potential tenants to view the property on the same day, with 10-minute intervals in-between. Not only does this save you time, but it also shows that the property is in demand and tenants will often make a decision sooner. Come prepared with an appointments sheet or list to keep track of everything.
If the tenant is interested in taking your property, you may want to ask for a holding deposit. Not only does this ensure the tenant commits to the tenancy, but also compensates you for your time should they not progress.
When meeting the tenant to hand over keys, ensure you carry out a document check, which proves the identity of the tenant and guarantor, then ask them to read and sign the inventory and tenancy agreements. Also, make sure you are clued up on Right to Rent.
Keeping tenants
Sometimes tenants outgrow a property, or it is no longer suitable for them. Instead of losing these tenants completely, speak to them about how their circumstances have changed and see if another of your properties would be suitable for them. Keeping in touch with your tenants and their situation can be beneficial for you both.
Make sure you take meter readings for gas and electricity when you purchase a new property and when the tenant moves in or out. This is vital to ensure that you are not charged any portion of usage that is not yours.
Ensure you inform the following organisations when new tenants move in and/or out:
- Gas company
- Electricity companies
- Water service provider - if a property is empty make sure you inform the water supplier. If it is on a service charge they may end up billing you during void periods
- Local council - some councils either charge zero or 50% council tax on properties that are currently empty, provided they are actively being marketed, so it is worth telling the council of any void periods no matter how short
Upkeep and maintenance
Stay up to date with the repairs and maintenance work that is required in your properties and listen to your tenants' requests and concerns. Make sure you approach reputable tradespeople that are ideally part of professional organisations and aim to get at least 3 independent estimates. Once you have found reliable and reasonably priced tradespeople, you can keep using them.
When a tradesperson carries out a repair, always follow up the job by either contacting the tenant or viewing the work yourself. This will not only help clarify whether the tenant is happy with the repair, but will show the tradespeople that you expect a certain quality of work.
If problems occur with work that has been carried out, ensure you get the same tradespeople to carry out the repair/remedial work where possible. This way you won’t pay for unnecessary costs by getting new professionals in. Keeping orderly records of work carried out by way of invoices will help you in this.
In instances where repairs may be expensive to carry out, but the repair will not impact the living standards of the tenants, it may be more economical to offer the tenant a reduction in rent as an alternative. Although this is not the best long-term solution, it may be beneficial in the short term, especially where the repair may be better to carry out when the property is vacated.
For more guidance on maintenance and repairs for landlords, stay up to date with the latest content on our Help Centre.