How to let a property yourself

This week we’re kicking off a trilogy of episodes about the nitty gritty of lettings. In future weeks we’ll be talking about how to manage a property and how to handle nightmare tenants – but first, the basics: how do you let a property in the first place?

You could use an agent, of course, but if you want to do it yourself we run through a 10-step process to boost your chances of success:

• Get your property “market ready”
• Do your market research
• Price competitively
• Use brilliant photos
• Reply quickly to enquiries and show the property effectively
• Review progress and take action every week
• Negotiate the deal and structure a win-win
• Always reference check!
• Tick all the legal boxes (“right to rent” checks, gas safety, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, EPC, “how to rent” leaflet, protect the deposit and issue prescribed information)
• Get a professional inventory and check-in report

For referencing, your options include Homelet and a product from the RLA. These aren’t recommendations – just starting points for your research.

For inventory apps, you might want to check out iSurvey or The Inventory Manager.

Thank you to David Kidd, who recommended Britain’s Trillion Pound Island – a BBC documentary about the Cayman Islands.

We had some issues with the angle the programme took, but it’s an interesting insight into a secretive world all the same.

This story in the Telegraph shows how dramatically mortgage rates have fallen over the last five years, even while the base rate has remained unchanged.

It’s specifically talking about owner-occupier mortgages, but should still give some comfort that an increase in the base rate doesn’t necessarily mean the same level of increase in the mortgage market – competition among lenders is a big factor too.