What Landlord Strategies Are Best?
OnTax Accountants In Dunfermline continues helping landlords to run their businesses successfully and therefore has mentioned below some important landlording tips. OnTax Accountants In Dunfermline believes that most of the problems landlords face are due to the selection of wrong tenants.
Do not blindly select the first tenant you come across. Make sure you give attention to details such as the tenant’s financial history and previous landlord’s comments. It is very important to run a background check to be on a safe side. OnTax Accountants In Dunfermline thinks that undertaking a credit check is recommended as it will give you the true picture of a tenant’s ability to pay rent. Plus, take up references to double check everything.
Make sure you do not overdo it as that may put off a good tenant. In addition, do not handover keys to a tenant until everything has been taken care of. Also, one cannot exaggerate this point but it is very important to have the contract in black and white to avoid difficulties. We have discovered that since 28 February 1997, all new tenancies are automatically Assured Shorthold Tenancies (ASTs), unless mentioned otherwise, so that landlords are in a safe zone.
We believe that it is still possible to create a tenancy orally. Yet, this may put the landlord in hot water in case something goes wrong. A security deposit provides safety in the case of arrears. It is important to handle the deposit with integrity while paying attention to the laws concerning the deposits.
Deposit Protection
Under the law all landlords are required to participate in a tenancy deposit scheme if they take a deposit. We have discovered that landlords are required to communicate these details to the tenant within 14 days of taking it.
We can also reveal that the failure to do so may put the tenant in legal trouble under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988. In addition to these, clauses regarding the deposit should also be highlighted in the agreement.
Deal Fairly With Tenants...And They Should Reciprocate!
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You may use a different amount than the monthly rental - 8 weeks for example to prevent tenants from using the deposit as their last month's rent. However, the deposit shouldn’t be too high or too low to avoid trouble. Also make sure you repay it promptly if everything goes well.
We advise to always keep the rent at the right level, which generally depends on the market conditions. You can research the market to know the prevailing prices and then set a rent amount accordingly. We also suggest that if you are renting the property for a long period of time make sure you go for rent reviews so that the amount can be revised periodically depending on the changing scenario. Also, remember not to charge too high as this may result in longer void periods.
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