5 of the biggest mistakes landlords make

Are you thinking of letting property to tenants for the first time? Make sure you don’t make one of the five mistakes outlined below!

1. Forgetting to secure a deposit

You are responsible for making sure that your tenant’s deposit is secured properly in a tenant deposit scheme. Failure to do this could result in you being prosecuted by your tenants 

2. Providing new tenants with long-term contracts

It doesn’t matter how well you have vetted a prospective tenant, until they have been living in your property, you don’t know for sure whether they are a good tenant or not. Never hand out tenancy agreements of more than six months to new tenants.

3. Failing to make a property inventory

If your property is damaged by your tenants or they lose some of its contents, you will have little evidence to provide the adjudicator (appointed by the tenant deposit scheme) if you don’t have a physical property inventory list.

4. Not carrying out regular inspections

If you don’t carry out regular inspections of your properties, how do you know if your tenants are keeping them in a good condition? Not only that but there could be problems with your property that have not been reported and could potentially be causing expensive damage.

5. Disregarding the benefits of a tenant guarantor

If you are letting your property to first time renters or students, we highly recommend making obtaining a tenant guarantor a requirement. If you don’t and they fail to pay their rent, you will have to go through a time consuming legal battle. If they have a guarantor, it means you can claim their rent from them instead.

Avoid making these mistakes by working with an experienced Property Management company like Altwood Properties. Contact us today for more information.