The Must Do Checklist When Letting Your Property

When attempting property lettings Norwich or anywhere else yourself you will want to be sure of a few things.

A property that is in good condition is not only more likely to let quicker but it is less likely to be trashed by the occupants. A lot of landlords have the opinion that the tenants will only trash the place anyway so why bother spending any money in preparing it, in my experience this is totally the wrong way to go about letting a house, if the tenants go into a property that has been looked after and is clean they are more inclined to keep it that way. However if it’s a dive they will just trash it!

It is true though that some tenants will trash a property anyway but don’t listen to the horror stories this is the exception rather than the rule and people will generally look after the place if it is in good condition.

One of the most important points when letting a property is finding the right tenants in the begining. If you start off with the wrong tenants it can be a nightmare to get rid of them and cost a lot of money to do so and put any damage right they may of caused. You must meet all of your tenants before letting to them (this may sound obvious but I know people that have let without meeting the tenants) this way you can assess the kind of people they are, are they well presented? Do they seem keen to rent the property, what is their body language saying about them? These pointers should help you pick the right tenants for your house. As well as giving them the once over you will want to get reference’s from their current landlord as well as a previous one ( the current one is likely to say the sun shines out of their backside if he wants rid of them) also an employment reference with an indication of salary is essential with a landline phone number (and call it to make sure it’s not their mate from down the pub).

Ask the tenants for 3 months banks statements (a copy will do) this will give you informaiton such as if they have been used to paying rent and if there has been regular money going through the acocunt.

One of the last things you want to do before handing over the keys when you are letting Norwich property is run a check through one of the credit referencing agencies. Credit checking the tenants will give you valuable informaiton on their credit history and any ccj’s etc they may have. A credit check willalso give you tenants address history and whether they have been on the electoral role in their previous adress’s. You will more than likely come across potential tenants with a less than perfect credit history for all sorts of reasons. This alone is not a reason to refuse them point blank more of a tool to put the full picture together on the tenants so you can choose the best ones to put in to your lettings norwich property.