Historically, when trying to search for a place to advertise your rental property landlords have turned to high street letting agents. Whilst these agents will often hinge their advantage over their online counterparts on years of industry experience, the reality is that online agents are ahead of the curve. Of course, online letting agents such as PropertyLoop have helped to connect countless landlords and tenants, leaving the traditional brick and mortar letting agencies behind as more renters turn to finding their next home through the internet.
In essence, online letting agents cut out the middle man in renting, bringing together both parties to reach a clear and fair agreement. Through a comprehensive pool of tenants and expertly curated marketing campaigns, landlords find their ideal tenants, faster and at a fraction of the cost.
For some the appeal of a high street letting agent is their tangibility, that the landlord can visit them if and when required. Realistically though, once again, this is an extra inconvenience that the online initiate has offered a solution to; when advertising your rental with PropertyLoop, once your property is listed you receive regular updates alongside a platform that allows direct communication with the tenants.
For landlords that favour the short term let model Airbnb has been the traditional place to turn. The platform allows renters to offer accommodation anywhere from a single night to six months. Naturally, with such a short tenancy period, it is common to attract a different type of tenant such as holidaymakers and those traveling for business. This lends itself to a more sporadic type of renting that can be suitably flexible around the landlord’s needs; allowing to let the property at any point whilst charging a higher premium. The shorter tenancy period also solves another one of the biggest issues landlords face, unwanted tenants. Whilst it doesn’t totally resolve the issue of having a problem tenant in the property in the first place, thanks to the frequent lack of referencing with short term lets, it does give landlords reassurance they will not be staying for long.
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How Do I Advertise My House for Rent?
Perhaps the most important component of trying to find the ideal tenant for an unoccupied rental property; marketing your letting opportunity correctly can not only present landlords with a larger pool of potential tenants, but ensure they are a lot closer to the type of tenant they wish to let to. It goes without saying that is there are no tenants in the property; the landlord is missing income through a lack of rent, making it essential to attract quality tenants quickly. With this being said, rush the process and a landlord could end up with something potentially worse than an extended void period, a problem tenant.
When advertising your rental opportunity it is vital that you assess the competition, see what similar rental opportunities are offering in the area, and how much they are charging for this space. This in turn with a holding and tenancy deposit could deter potential tenants due to the high upfront costs that come with letting your property. Of course, details such as the rent should be clearly outlined in the properties description.
Whilst some landlords become heavily dependent on photographs of their rental to do the talking, the importance of a compelling property description cannot be understated. This is not to dismiss the effectiveness of imagery in securing a new tenant, but rather a good rental listing can use the characteristics of the property to promote the desired, unique lifestyle of the tenant. If the ideal tenant that the landlord wishes to let to is a young professional or perhaps even a student, the description of the rental opportunity should be heavily informed by this decision; detailing proximity to city centre, ease of transport routes, local restaurants, gyms and other amenities. On the other hand if the landlord is wishing to attract a family to their buy to let property, typically the description of the opportunity will reveal local education, hospitals and childcare facilities.
Regardless of the demographic intended for the rental, it goes without saying that the listing should encompass all the details of the rental property you have to offer. Simply stating the general location of your buy to let and explaining how many bedrooms it has to offer falls short of the mark, and doesn’t inspire confidence in potential renters. Advice to landlords writing their own property description to go from room to room, as if it were a personal property viewing highlighting all its key features. These details usually comprise, the amount of rent a tenant is expected to pay, the frequency at which rental payments are due, if any bills or utilities are include in the rental charge; alongside the number of bedrooms and any garden space the rental property has to offer.
However, even the most compelling property descriptions are unfortunately redundant if aspiring tenants never see it. It is critical to have you rental opportunity listed in an online portal, but with this being said, the portals that grant the most exposure will not deal will landlords directly. This means that landlords must turn to letting agents to access this rich pool of potential tenants. Online letting agents will naturally be more suited to getting tenants to engage with your property on these platforms, not to mention that they will also usually host your rental property on their own dedicated spaces.
Some landlords have hailed social media platforms as a valid way to find tenants. Whilst we do acknowledge that this gives the landlord complete independence in how their property is represented, it is done so without the guidance of seasoned industry professionals that could find a tenant far more efficiently, helping prevent the perils of void periods. It is also worth mentioning that these online spaces are not intended for such a purpose and whilst some interest may be found, the quality of such engagement is debatable. When listing your property in a dedicated online space you can be confident those inquiring about the opportunity will be doing so with the intent of actually renting.
What Do I Need to Do to Rent My House Out?
Before renting out your property it is important to understand the responsibilities of being a landlord. To this end landlords are obliged to ensure that any rental opportunity that are occupied and advertised to be clear from any potential hazards to the tenant’s safety. Furthermore alongside ensuring that the tenants receive a valid energy performance certificate, the landlord must provide a gas and electrical safety certificate before the start of the tenancy. Prior to the move in date, the property owner must also validate the tenants “right to rent” during the referencing process, giving them a copy of the “how to rent” guide during this time. Once the tenant provides the landlord with their tenancy deposit, the property owner is also required to deposit this into a government approved deposit protection scheme.
If it is requested by a tenant, or if the local authority deems your rental property to be in a hazardous condition, your let may be subject to a Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) inspection. When an inspection takes place HHSRS will assess the safety of your rental property through scoring 29 potentially hazardous areas, grading each one based on its degree of seriousness. If the local authority finds a hazard within the rental they are able to issue the landlord with an improvement notice demanding that the necessary remedial work is conducted before it is reoccupied. Additionally, the council may restrict tenant’s access to the property either partially, or in its entirety. The council is also able to address any issues they find with the property themselves whilst leaving the landlord with the associated costs.
Landlords and property owners are also subject to financial obligations. Unfortunately it is not just as simple as sitting back and watching the rental payments roll in. Landlords are required to pay income tax on any rental income from their properties; however, deductions to the total amount can be made in consideration of the day to day operational costs of the business. In some cases, if the the action of renting out the property is considered a business, ie, it is their main source of income, or more than one property is being let out, the property owner will need to pay class 2 national insurance.
Advertising Your Rental With PropertyLoop
When advertising your rental opportunity with PropertyLoop, landlords gain a simplistic, streamlined letting experience that revolutionises the dynamic between renters and landlords. Not only do we find landlords their ideal tenant, but our dedicated platform brings the communities closer together, offering guidance, experience and complete clarity throughout the entire renting process. The PropertyLoop dashboard is a channel for direct communication between property owners and their tenants; alongside housing important rental documents, letting adverts and support, making managing even the most comprehensive of portfolios simple to manage. Not only this but we recognise that finding the ideal tenants and starting your rental journey can quickly become an expensive venture, however, with PropertyLoop the landlords don’t have to spend a penny! We don’t demand a premium on referencing or essential marketing, and there are no upfront or hidden costs to worry about, we are totally commission free!
We utilise the latest in rental marketing initiatives to attract tenants to your property. To this end, we offer a 3D virtual tour to provide potential occupants a captivating perspective of their future home. These hyper realistic virtual viewings grand tenants a fully immersive experience that showcases the individuality of your rental opportunity like never before. Tenants are able to interact and explore your rental in a dimensionally accurate recreation, with each magnificent detail being inescapable through our 2D and 3D floor plans and dollhouse view perspectives. PropertyLoop also provide landlords with a cinematic 4K video tour of their property, with potential tenants being able to enjoy a stunning guide through the rental in an experiences curated by professional directors.
Why continue paying thousands each year in commission to let your property? With 97% of landlords recommending our services, and with over 50,000 tenants joining our rental community in the last year alone PropertyLoop is welcoming a new era of renting.
The PropertyLoop platform establishes the trust, transparency and personal service that has been lost from the renting sector. We are anything but another faceless corporation looking to profit from your investment, but a community founded on expertise and ambition.
We offer landlords complete clarity on available specialists through a landlord controlled rating and review system, giving users complete confidence of your PropertyPro’s proven results in finding owner’s ideal tenants faster.
With PropertyLoop landlords will have everything they need to let out their rental from start to finish, with no hidden fees, financial barriers or catches; only a revolutionary new way to let.
