Where does property rental in the UK stand today?

The present market situation has become a great topic for discussion. In last 5 to 10 years the property prices have gone up dramatically in the UK. The pace has now slowed down dramatically.

There are a number of first time buyers who are not in a position to afford a property for various reasons. There has been an increase in personal debt. This debt might be arising out of credit card, personal loans or student loans. All these factors have contributed to the decline in purchasing power of the people. The hike in property prices, way above the rate of employment, have left majority of people in position unable to afford a property. Yet, the better property on the market in terms of location gets filled easily.

There are a large number of people who are still staying in rented accommodation for years. This is a positive factor for the rental market. The rising inflation and interest rates have made purchasing a property all the more difficult. This is the reason why there has been an increase in the number of property rentals in UK. The trend is likely to continue until the property market stabilise.

Modalities involved in letting your home

There are around 2.6 million homes in UK that are rented. For renting a house, the landlord should know about the legal rights and obligations to ensure his safety. When a landlord opts to let his property, he automatically sets up an assured ’short hold’ tenancy. Short hold tenancy means:

•    Landlord has the right to get back his home after the tenant’s period is completed.
•    Landlord can change the rent according to the market rate of the similar property.
•    Landlord can get his home back if the tenant owes at least two months or eight weeks rent.
•    Landlord can evict tenants who cause a nuisance to the local people.

Landlord can end the tenancy at any point of time but the reason should be valid for the possession which is set out in legislation.

Many people leave their property empty for some reason, but such people lose a large portion of their money through rent and council tax. Landlords should rent their property when it is not in use as it increases the profit and utilises the asset in a proper manner.

Factors that landlords should consider while renting property

High maintenance sector of the property rental market can be made easier if landlords follow following tips.
Landlords should have simple checkout leaflets, which outline the expectations and procedures at the end of their tenancy. Landlord should provide a ‘Household Folder’, which carries helpful information like:

•    House and Electrical Safety
•    Condensation
•    Responsibility of  Repairs
•    Landlord and Student Responsibilities
•    Visits by the Landlord
•    Crime Prevention
•    Fire Safety
•    First Aid
•    Emergency Telephone Numbers
•    Disposal of Refuse
•    Legal certificates

Insurance cover
Landlords should have 24-hour emergency plumbing insurance cover. Landlord should include a general clause in the tenancy agreement which states that tenants should:

•    Replace defective electric bulbs
•    Vacuum filters and belts
•    Starters
•    Tap
•    Fluorescent Tubes
•    Fuse

Avoid the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS)
Landlords should not take security deposit and avoid the Tenancy Deposit Scheme. Instead they should sign a contract in which they can charge each tenant £50 non-returnable administration fee, which would be benefit both the parties.

Importance of Lease Contract while letting your property

A Lease is an assignment of the right to ownership and use of merchandise for a fixed period of time in return for mutually agreed remuneration.

Sale whether it is on agreement, on return or on collateral interest is not labelled as “lease”. It does not mater whether it is a real estate property or any other kind of property. There must be a proper contract lease, which has proper legal terms and binding contract because lease contract is void in misunderstanding or breach of trust. It is an official authorised document that certifies a lease transaction between the individual who is renting the property and the leaseholder.

By approaching a lawyer and stating his assets and choices of remuneration, a lease holder can enter into lease. When both the parties mutually agree on the payment, the contract is drafted by the leasing lawyer that is signed by both the parties.

The contract mentions the charges of the penalty in case the lease holder does not make timely payments. Lease contracts are more in the interest of a leaseholder. At times, lease contracts are combined with an option of purchasing, where the leaseholder can buy the property under the agreed terms at the end of the lease term.

The benefits of self letting through Internet

The best way of self letting is through internet. There is clearly a boom in field of online property letting and now there many web sites which provide both sales and rental information. The benefits of self letting through Internet are as follows:

Massive coverage: The users of internet are quit staggering in number. Any person who has internet can find the web page and view details easily.

Quick response: If Letting is done through internet the response one gets is very quick because of online booking forms and email.

Low cost: Letting through Internet is very cheap. There are many free sites, which charge almost nothing for advertising on their web pages. Approaching popular sites is a good option because they have a good, loyal audience and a huge, credible property database.

User friendly: Once the details of your property are added, your property is live on the internet and one easily change the data as per one’s convenience whenever one wants.

How to improve self letting through internet?

The charges of the letting agents are very high and so to avoid that, the concept of self letting has emerged. There are certain factors one should keep in mind while doing self letting. One should  use online availability calendar because it helps in managing information like when the property is free, provides information about availability and also it can provide vital information about the  potential renters.

Having own website or web page helps tremendously. One can use web counters like free Site Meter which check the response from the person who has visited the website. Such things help in your ongoing campaign.

The images which are put on the website should be very classy as first impression is the last impression. The photos should contain outside and interiors of the house. People should be eliminated from the pictures and image should be very bright in color. One has to make sure that the images are clicked during daytime or by turning the lights on. A bad picture would avoid customer for house, even if the property is located at a decent place.

The description of the property or house should be very good. It should be written in a very good format. Include information of the local attractions near the house or the property. The description should be written in a simple language so that potential property renters can understand easily.

How a Marketing Plan can help in Renting a Property?

Rental business is same as any other form of business hence, for running it properly there should be a proper marketing plan. Even renting business needs a proper marketing plan. It is not necessary that the marketing plan should be very big. It can have few bullet points, but the important factor is how marketing plan is prepared because one has to think of why, who and where? In the marketing plan, one has to speculate and refine the strategies.

Marketing options
Advertising in a local newspaper would be a very good idea initially. There are certain newspapers which have special editions on property and rental. Giving your ad in that newspaper can prove to be good value for your money. Nowadays potential tenants who are young and educated use internet for searching property on rental basis. So targeting that section of the society can prove to very crucial.

There are numerous websites which provide information and customers for letting. There is a site named Gum Tree which is owned by e-bay. It can be very helpful for posting an ad. The target audiences who are seeking for property on lease visit very often on such sites.

Once the marketing plan is ready, it becomes very easy to conduct the whole process as marketing plan provides the guidance.

What are the factors that affect the Property Rental Market?

Affordability
Today is the scenario where lots of people are renting property on lease as property prices continues to rise. With current market, the situation of first time buyers has been adversely affected.

Interest Rates
Another important factor, which contributes to the number of the people in the rental market, is interest rates. You will wonder how this affects the rental market. But it does. Higher or lower interest rates make huge impact on the rental market. Let us take a scenario which will help us understand better how interest rates affect the rental market

When interest rates are increased the first person to suffer is the landlord as mortgage values of property will rise (unless it on fixed rate) rental values can increase, depending on how high the interest rate are. It can lead to an increase in the number of people selling property because of increase in the mortgage payment.

Supply and Demand
Supply and demand plays an important role in how the market performs. There should be balance in both demand and supply as too much demand will affect supply and vice- versa. Same is the case with rental market. Increase in the houses available for rent would decreases the rent and if there is shortage of homes there would be a great hike in the rentals. So both these factors are inter-dependent on each other.

Factors involved in property renting

It does not matter whether an individual has only one or a large number of properties. The key thing is whether he is getting rent from them or not. In other terms, is he making profit from them? Many property owners use letting agents for letting their property on rental basis. But now, a new concept has evolved, that is www (World Wide Web) through which people rent their home. What this method has done is it has eliminated the middleman i.e. letting agent and hence increased the profit of those who own a property and want to let it.

Properties can be classified on the basis of following factors:
•    Location
•    Condition
•    Registered
•    Price

Location
There is a lot of competition from other property owners and agents which make the task harder. Luxury things like swimming pool, closeness to the beach are vital factors which affect the price and quality of the property as it catches the eyes of the tourists who are seeking for rental accommodation.

Condition
The condition of the house should be well maintained and meet up to the expectations of the people looking for a home on the rent.

Registered or accredited tourist awards
If the property has got any rating of quality it adds up to the price of property and rent.

Price
The price of the property on lease should not be too less and also not too much as it can affect both the parties.

Basic process of letting a house to a tenant

The process of letting a property is really a skill. It really tests the landlord’s abilities and efficiency. Letting has a combination of marketing as well as selling skills. Selection of a tenant Selecting a tenant is a skillful process because for selecting tenants you have to employ all of your working knowledge so that we can pick up the best tenants. Selecting a tenant sometimes becomes a very hard job as there are several tenants which equally qualify for the best tenants at the same time. While selecting tenants one should try and stay fairly dispassionate throughout the process because in the end it is a business transaction.

Organizing the move in / move out

After selecting the tenants, one has to seek out the dates for them to move in and move out. If one has a tenant, make sure that they are happy with the appropriate time otherwise, landlord can be in a situation where he can be served an appropriate legally notice.

The ‘check in’
On the check-in day, landlord hands the property to tenants. This is also known as ‘D day’ in the letting industry.

Property ‘handover’
Handover is the process where landlord legally hands over his property to the tenants for a fixed period of time. Tenants take the keys and occupy the place for fixed period of time.

Paperwork
This stage is often overlooked as in this stage there is only paper work which need to be done. You should be careful while doing all the paper work and make sure that you read the fine print.