As long as you know what you’re doing, rental properties can make a great investment and they can give your long-term finances a major boost. However, if you’re to achieve the results you’re after, you’ll need to know how best to secure your rental income. If your yields falter for any reason, you could find you’re quickly left out of pocket. To help ensure your rental property keeps bringing money in, take a look at the following guide.
Get the right insurance
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One issue you can’t afford to neglect is insurance. As a landlord, you’ll need special cover that reflects the fact you’re not living in the property yourself. If you lack this financial protection, you could be left facing potentially hefty bills that obliterate any earnings you make through rent. Fortunately, it’s now easy to access tailored cover for landlords. Specialist brokers like Chill can help you access competitive insurance deals that protect your property and its contents from any damage that may occur.
In addition to buildings and contents insurance, you might want to consider taking out rent guarantee policies that protect you from periods of no rental payments. These policies can also cover legal costs and expenses for rental arrears and evictions.
Understand your target market
Another key to securing your rental income is making sure you understand your target market. By getting to grips with what people want from your rental property, you can tailor it to suit their demands and achieve high occupancy from the right tenants at the highest possible prices. For example, if your property is an area that’s popular with students, a fully-furnished but no-frills property may be best. Alternatively, if you are in a location that’s popular with professionals and families who are looking for long-term lets, perhaps an unfurnished but well finished home would be more suitable.
To ensure you’re fully clued up, keep in touch with property trends in your area. It also helps to get feedback from your tenants.
Keep void periods to a minimum
Any time your property is empty, you’re losing out on cash. To help you minimize any void periods, have a system in place to reduce changeover times between tenants and make sure the notice period specified in your tenancy agreement gives you enough time to market your property. You might also want to keep a list of potential tenants from previous viewings.
Consider using an agent
Although letting agents will take a cut of your rental profits, it’s worth considering using these firms. They will advertise your property in an effective and professional manner, find and vet tenants and deal with day to day management issues. This could be particularly useful if you’re too busy to look after your investment properly yourself or if you live far away.
By bearing tips like these in mind, you’ll stand the best possible chance of securing your rental income.
