Whether you want to buy property to rent out as an investment, or you are going to be moving out of your property for a while to work overseas for example, but don’t want to sell it, then you are probably wondering how you actually go about letting your property out. Whatever the reason for renting out your property, it is a good way to get a source of income and means that the property is not left empty.
The first thing to do when you are planning to rent your property out is to speak to your mortgage lender if you still have a mortgage that you are paying for the property. They may allow you to continue with the mortgage under the current terms if you are only renting it out for a short time, but if it is over a year then you will likely need to change the current mortgage into a buy to let one, which they will be able to discuss with you.
You also need to think about whether you will let the property out yourself or whether you want to do it through a lettings agency like this letting agency Gloucester based company http://www.tgres.co.uk/
When you use a lettings agency, you will need to pay them a fee, however they will deal with the necessary paperwork and manage the property for you which means that you do not have to do this yourself.
You also need to be aware of the legal responsibilities that you have when you are a landlord. These include fire safety regulations, so this means that you need to have working smoke alarms installed in the property on every floor as well as a carbon monoxide alarm in any room that has a fuel burning appliance. If you are providing the property as furnished, the material of the furnishings needs to be fire resistant.
Gas safety is another legal responsibility for landlords. Gas safety checks need to be done regularly by a qualified gas engineer, and all of the systems in the property that use gas need to be checked and a certificate should be provided for these to confirm that they are safe to use.