More people are looking at buy-to-let properties to fund their retirement – and with UK home ownership falling to 66 percent, there may never be a better time to buy property to let out.
However these days it’s not just a matter of sitting back and watching your investment grow.
As buy-to-let properties are in particular danger of property fraud, extra steps need to be taken when you buy to reduce this threat and protect your investment.
Checking for variable costs such as ground rent, service charges, building maintenance, insurance and in some cases water rates, will help you avoid a financial loss.
Before a tenant can walk through the door, there are a number of legal requirements you’ll have to tick off so you don’t fall foul of the law, such as obtaining safety certificates for gas boilers, heaters and fires – if you don’t have the right documentation you could face a large fine or possibly even prison.
With the legal requirements all in order, you need to find regular and reliable tenants to maximise rental returns – an empty property won’t pay the buy-to-let mortgage. Mortgage lenders are also aware of this and are becoming increasingly cautious about lending to inexperienced landlords.
Finding the best letting agent for you and your property is key, as is checking the tenancy agreement and keeping an eye on new legislation. For example it is now compulsory for private landlords to hold tenants’ deposits with a third-party tenancy deposit scheme of which there are plenty to choose from.
With these and so many other things to think about, join the many landlords who find peace of mind by making use of our specialist knowledge and legal expertise to help them protect their investment:
Our specialist residential conveyancing team has extensive experience of working with landlords, lenders and other advisors on buy-to-let projects, ensuring appropriate protection of your investment – all at a fixed price.
Should problems with tenants arise, our disputes & litigation team are experts in dispute resolution, tenant eviction, rent recovery and providing general advice on landlord legislation.