How To Guide: Becoming A Landlord For The First Time

Are you thinking about letting out your property for the first time? Our simple guide is here to explain the first steps in letting your property, plus all of the options available from our experienced lettings team. 

At Robert Watts,  we have three packages available to our landlords, whether you have time to spare and are looking for an entry-level service or if you would like everything taken care of with our fully managed package. Whichever package you choose, these six steps are essential to successfully letting your property. 

1. Free Market Appraisal 

The first step to letting your property is learning how much it could earn in rent. Accurate valuations are key to achieving a good price for your investment within a reasonable time frame, so choosing your agent well is important. 

2. Marketing the Property 

Once you have agreed on a rental price for your property, your agent can begin marketing it. There is a range of ways for a lettings agent to showcase your property, from uploading the listing onto portals like Rightmove to sharing details across social media and emailing the listing out to their database of registered clients. 

Marketing can be the make or break of a successful lettings process. Ensuring your property reaches the right audience is key to finding the perfect tenant in a timely manner, so make sure to pay attention to how effective your local agent’s current marketing is. 

3. Right to Rent Checks 

Right to Rent is one of the essential legal aspects of letting your property. These checks are designed to ensure that your prospective tenant is over the age of 18 and is legally allowed to rent your property. 

4. Property Inventory  

An inventory is an exhaustive list of all the items present in the property you intend to let. This will be important for the end of the tenancy, so you have a room-by-room record of what your tenants are expected to return to you and will prevent any potential disagreements which could arise at the end of the tenancy. 

5. Legal Documents 

Your legal documents include a tenancy agreement and any other associated documents that are required to let your property.  

6. Deposit Collection 

At the beginning of the tenancy, a deposit is collected, typically equivalent to five weeks’ rent, as well as the first month’s rent payment. This then has to be registered with a deposit protection scheme to ensure your tenants will receive their deposit back at the end of their tenancy should they meet the terms of the original agreement, do not damage the property and pay their rent and bills. 

These six steps are the essentials for the beginning of your journey as a landlord, but looking after your property and your tenants’ needs is an ongoing process with many moving parts, from collecting rent to monitoring maintenance requests.

If you are feeling overwhelmed after reading the initial points listed above, then our fully let and managed service may be perfect for you. This package is designed to take the stress out of the day-to-day running of your property rental and help our landlords avoid any nasty surprises along the way. Our Fully Let & Managed package includes the initial marketing, finding suitable tenants, all safety checks, preparing the agreement, move-ins, rent collection, inspections and organisation of any repair, with rent guarantees also available for an additional fee. 

 To learn more about our Fully Let & Managed service plus our other two packages for landlords, click here.

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