The RX-8

PROPERTY FEATURE
60
Worried about
becoming a
landlord?
Owning one or more properties which pay for
themselves can be one way of protecting your
future. More and more people are choosing this
instead of relying upon other people to look after
their money and assets. If YOU choose to buy a
property with a view to letting it out it is essential
that you do your research.
Step 1
Firstly, and most importantly you need to see a Financial Advisor so
that you know what your borrowing capacity will be. You must make
sure that you do not overstretch yourself as there will be times when
you will need to pay for maintenance or need to cover the mortgage
payment if the property is vacant.
Step 2
Now you know how much you can spend you need to give
consideration to the type of property you will be looking for. When
doing this you will also need to consider whether you will be
marketing to a particular group i.e. a family or a professional couple.
Another consideration will be the area.
Step 3
When you finally decide which area and what type of property you are
looking for obtain as many property details as you can and arrange to
view . We can also arrange to accompany you on these viewings so
that we can advise on letting potential, achievable rent and also
whether the property needs any work to bring it up to a suitable
standard for letting. A number of our Landlords have found this
service particularly useful.
Step 4
Having found the property, your next concern will be to let it as soon
as possible. We will keep in contact with you every step of the way
and once contracts have been exchanged and a completion date agreed
we will contact potential tenants and arrange viewings to ensure that
the time the property is vacant is left to a minimum.
Step 5
Finding the right tenant is the next step. This is as important to us as
it is to you. Very few letting agents on the Island, big or small, offer a
fully comprehensive referencing service which is undertaken by an
independent company. The references company that we use check
affordability, seek employers, landlords and bank references. They also
carry out a credit check and provide us with a credit score. Our aim is
always to find the best possible tenant for your property.
Step 6
As we all know life is never straightforward so occasionally events
occur which lead to a change in the tenants financial circumstances
and to cover this event we would always advise Landlords to protect
themselves by taking our rent and legal protection insurance to cover
non-payment of rent and also legal costs if eviction proceedings have
to be taken. Most Letting Agents offer this insurance but to varying
degrees. There is usually an excess to pay which can be one month’s
Island Life - www.islandlifemagazine.net