Are you an accidental landlord?

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There are many homeowners in the UK who have found that they have become an ‘accidental landlord’ in that they own an investment rental property without initially intending to do so.

There are several ways that people have become accidental landlords, it could be due to life-changing circumstances such as the death of a partner a family break up or divorce. You may have married or cohabited later on in life when you both have a property each or could be relocation for a new job opportunity, or you may have met your partner later on in life and are moving to live with them in their property. Whatever the reason for your change in circumstances, you could decide to rent out your existing property and see it as an investment rather than to sell up. There are also people who are in negative equity, and so it makes no financial sense to sell up and repay any mortgage deficit.

If you are in this situation and have never rented out a property before, there are rules and regulations you will need to be aware of. It’s worth taking the time to educate yourself on what your responsibilities as a landlord are.

In terms of marketing your property, there are many ways to do this but most importantly you need to ensure that your property in rentable condition and that your rental price is realistic according to the condition of the property, number of bedrooms, room size, location, transport links, and amenities.

Make sure you do lots of research into how much similar properties in the area are being rented out for and talk to several local estate agents to find out what the rent should be and whether it’s financially viable to hire a letting agent to remove some of the stress of being a landlord.

There are legalities surrounding buy-to-let mortgages and you’ll need to be aware of your financial liabilities going forward. In addition, you will need to respond to tenant queries promptly and resolve any issues as soon as possible. It’s essential that you maintain a good relationship with your tenants where possible.

It’s really important to focus on how your property can make you a profit, and the best way to do this is to gain whole-of-market advice from a mortgage advisor.

Talk to us at Derngate for expert impartial advice on the most suitable buy-to-let mortgage for you.

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate on buy to let mortgages.

https://www.mortgageadvicebureau.com/news/HaveYouBecomeanAccidentalLandlord/1308

 

April 18, 2017Danny PerryBlog

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