I have been renting a flat that I bought a few years back and have therefore gained some experience with letting, so here are a few tips that I have picked up...

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1) Keep money aside for tricky or unforeseen circumstances such as times when the property is empty or repairs are needed. I try to save up all left over money at the end of each month once the bills have been paid. 2) Renting is about the bottom line, especially when starting out money can be tight, so always whenever you face a cost consider "will this add (or maintain) to the rental income". Don't get involved in long complicated designs or "upgrades" if a quick coat of magnolia will do the job. 3) Think carefully about your type of property and the area that it is in, people generally move to be near schools, work or because they have a change of circumstance. Think about why someone maybe moving to your area, if your property is near a school, think about families and how they would like to see your house decorated. 4) Don't make improvements because you think that it would be nice, make improvements that will be attractive to your potential tenants. 5) If you are buying to rent, buy somewhere that you can get on the market quickly. Margins are low and just a few months off the market could severely reduce your yearly income. 6) Don't skimp of fixtures and fittings, a good property badly finished will loose value. The same applies if you rent a furnished property, don't fill it with poor quality or ugly furniture, make it neneutralut clean and smart. 7) Get good quality landlords liability ininsurancegenerally this is not expensive and will cover you should your tetenantsave an accident in your property. 8) Letting agents while not cheap can be invaluable when issues arise. Try to be prepared for a difficult situation, have you got someone on hand that can help with experience and advice? If not the cost of an agent could easily be worth the extra cost. 9) Be pro-active and manage your relationship with your tetenantsbe hehelpfulucourteousnd efefficientt resolving problems and generally your receive the same in return. 10) Enjoy the fact that someone else is paying your mortgage for you!

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