Putting a Property Up for Rental? Here’s What You Need to Do First
Whether it is your current home or a second property that you have bought specifically for the purposes of renting out, you need to make sure that it is in the perfect state for you to do so. It is not enough to simply put it up on the market. Here are some of the things you should do to ensure that your property is ready for the rental market.
Conduct Tests
While many of us live our day to day lives without thinking about the appliances and items keeping us safe in our homes, as a landlord you need a guarantee that everything is up to scratch. Whether you are heading to FireRiskManchester.co.uk for a fire safety test or you want to get electrical safety certificates for the appliances you are providing as landlord, you need to make sure that you have conducted the correct test.
You have a duty to provide a safe environment for your new tenants to live in. Having proof that this property is safe for them to live in will often be a key part of this.
Remove Your Own Items
If this is your home that you are vacating, you need to make sure that you have removed any of your own items and put them into storage or to your new property. Your tenants want to turn the property into their own home, and your furniture should not be in their way.
Sometimes, there might be the potential for you to hold onto a cupboard or some other space that you could use to store certain items. If you do want to do this, you need to make sure that your tenants have no access to it, and discuss this arrangement with them beforehand to ensure that they are aware of it.
Decide on Furnished/Unfurnished
There are many advantages to choosing to offer both furnished and unfurnished properties, so it is something that you must look into carefully. If you are going to offer a furnished property, you need to make sure that you find high-quality furniture that has the potential to last through several tenancies, especially if you are expecting new tenants every year as opposed to more long-term let agreements. No matter what you choose, you should still compile an inventory of what is actually being left in the property. Should something break or go missing, you or your tenants will be able to match it against the inventory and be able to find a suitable replacement. It is an easy way to avoid arguments about potentially missing items when your tenants are preparing to move out.
These are just three of the things you should do when prepping a property for rental. Above all, you need to make sure that you are providing a safe and welcoming home for someone else. Make sure the property is of the highest standards it can be before you put it on the market.