New to renting (Help)

[Barnsley10]

Hi ya everyone,

Im new to this site and after reading most of the posts on the forum Ive learned quite a bit as Im looking at becoming a landlord.

Due to being new to this Im looking for a little helpand assisstance from all you experienced landlords out there. The question I have is do a look at going through a estate agent or do I do it alone.

To be honest Im not all that sure what is required if I was to go it alone instead of through an estate agent. Im fully aware that I need a gas & electric certificate to say they have been checked and serviced but not sure what else I need legeally as I dont want to end up in any trouble.

I really fancy having a go at this alone but not sure whats fully required, is their a ceck list I can obtain so I then know whats required.

If anyone can help in anyway it would be much appreciatted.

Thanks In advance,

Dave

[Reg]

You need:

• A gas safety certificate;

• Special tenant insurance if the let property is a house;

• A tenancy agreement (downloadable from this site);

• To check tenants for CCJs (there are many good ones to choose from (I use www.letsure.co.uk);

• also check references (old work places, a previous landlord (the one before the last landlord if possible);

• A tenancy deposit scheme to put the deposit in;

• To market your property (I use a local, popular, property newspaper);

Good luck

[J4L]

Obviously I'm going to be pro agents, however I would say that if you do choose this route choose very carefully and read the small print.

my own 'personal' opinion is that using a 'letting agent' rather than an 'estate agent' may benefit you more because these guys are 100% into what they do whereas estate agents bread & butter is their sales and they do tend to concentrate more on this rather than the rental side of their business.

Just my opinion, and NO i'm not plying for business, it's just my advice.

Phew, am I gonna have to put a disclaimer on ALL my posts, haha!

Gareth

[Barnsley10]

Thanks for your responce, theres just a few things Im still not sure of.

• A gas safety certificate;

Question, Do I need the electric certificate as well?

• Special tenant insurance if the let property is a house;

Question, Is this the insurance for buildings & contents?

• A tenancy agreement (downloadable from this site);

Thanks.

• To check tenants for CCJs (there are many good ones to choose from (I use www.letsure.co.uk);

Question, What is meant by CCJs?

• also check references (old work places, a previous landlord (the one before the last landlord if possible);

Thanks.

• A tenancy deposit scheme to put the deposit in;

Question, Which one would you advise?

• To market your property (I use a local, popular, property newspaper);

Thanks.

[odecar]

Thanks for your responce, theres just a few things Im still not sure of.

• A gas safety certificate;

Question, Do I need the electric certificate as well?

Advisable as cover your ass and highlights any problems

• Special tenant insurance if the let property is a house;

Question, Is this the insurance for buildings & contents?

Go for a BTL insurance, Sainsburys via their website is cheap.

• To check tenants for CCJs (there are many good ones to choose from (I use www.letsure.co.uk);

Question, What is meant by CCJs?

County Court Judgements - to show whether in previous accommodation that the named persons had been so far behind with payments that their creditors took them to court for judgement, a history of these shows a record of bad payment.

[Reg]

Question, Do I need the electric certificate as well?

As far as I know (guys correct me if I'm wrong) you do not currently need a electric safety certificate

Question, Is this the insurance for buildings & contents?

Yes, although if you rent a house unfurnished you probably won't need contents insurance

Question, What is meant by CCJs?

A CCJ is a check to see if anyone has been taken to court for non-payment for an outstanding debt, ideally you should get a guarantor as a form of security who is responsible should the tenant default, this is important for tenants on a small wage or on housing benefits, but tenants on a fair/good wage may be offended if you ask for a guarantor.

Question, Which tenant deposit scheme would you advise?

I can't recommend any (any help guys?), you'll be able to suss it out by searching the internet, I think there are two main choices, one of which is is free

[Trenners]

Hi Barnsley,

I agree with J4L (which is unusual for me). You should use a letting agent, The questions you are asking the forum are fundamental and will all be handled by an experienced letting agent.

Don't be tempted to go for the "high street branded" agents as their quality of service, in my experience, is poor.

Go for a more personable letting company (like J4L) that is hungry to establish their business and want to impress you with their exceptional customer service.

Note for J4L: Please put my commission cheque in the post <big grin>

Good luck with your new business venture.

Mark

[Molly's dad]

Question, Do I need the electric certificate as well?

As far as I know (guys correct me if I'm wrong) you do not currently need a electric safety certificate

You are right - it is not part of current legislation to get an Elec Safety Cert.

I would disagree with the above sentiment if you want to become a landlord fulltime or atleast grow a decent portfolio. There is nothing beating a 'getting your hands dirty' type approach and doing as posted above, get the ads out, get the people in, do the checks and treat it as a learning exercise.

On the other hand, if you want it as a 'nestegg' and have it sit there with minimal hassles - go through a letting agent.

However my experience with them, is unpublishable. They are (generally) useless in handling disputes and collecting outstanding rent. But if the tennant is paying rent on time every month, there is not hassles - but they charge you 10-17% for nothing.

MD

[J4L]

Hi Barnsley,

I agree with J4L (which is unusual for me). You should use a letting agent, The questions you are asking the forum are fundamental and will all be handled by an experienced letting agent.

Don't be tempted to go for the "high street branded" agents as their quality of service, in my experience, is poor.

Go for a more personable letting company (like J4L) that is hungry to establish their business and want to impress you with their exceptional customer service.

Note for J4L: Please put my commission cheque in the post <big grin>

Good luck with your new business venture.

Mark

I'm glad somebody does Mark!!! haha.

The reason I posted such was because the OP was asking 'fundamental' questions as Mark has posted and although MD suggests going it alone there are some huge mistakes that could be made so be very careful. I'm sure if you shop around (depending where your based that is) you'll be able to get a much cheaper rate than Molly's Dad has suggested. Why not try and negotiate with a LA and see what they can offer. In my experience everybody wants to make a deal in this day and age.

If you do go it alone you always have forums like this to come and ask for advice, everybody is very helpful here when people experience problems so it's a nice 'back-stop' to have.

With regard to the TD Schemes there are actually 3, 2 are insurance based schemes that you have to pay for and the 3rd is a free service where you actually deposit the cash online.

Here's a link to the free one for you to have a look

Deposit Protection Service

And Mark I can't remember your %age rate!! What did we agree again? haha

[Simon Dewsberry]

Sit down for this one !

If your main source of info is this forum and you have no LL associate friends i am going to do the unthinkable ....

and agree with both J4L and Trenners ......did i just type that ? LOL

You can easily make monster booboos on the first couple of lets as i have done ( and still do!! More on that in the near future .................keep watching i have got a very interesting story developing but for legal reasons cant put it on here yet -..)

I recommend you use a LA for the first T at the very least to ref, credit check , sort lease, check in inventory - to actually manage the prop I would DO your self as basically all the LA will do is collect rent (on standing order and then tell you they cant get it when T plays up!) the better ones will inspect prop on monthly basis and write letters if rent is late - but 7%-15% is a lot to give away for this service !! (Over my dead body !) and do you think anyone is going to care more about your prop then you ?!!

Insurance - unless you have anique furn -just go for Blds ins not contents as any claim will stick your premum thru the roof

Dep schemes - There is only 1 sensible way - that is to pay £30 per Dep and KEEP in your control - I will be posting more on this very soon (ref above story..)

www.mydeposits.co.uk is pretty straight forward ...and my preference ... It should also be noted that you do nit "have to " take a depost although i do not subscribe to this method ...(more to come on that soon as well...!)

Hope this helps !

Simon