Landlords fall broadly into two categories; investment and ‘accidental’, with a growing number of the latter.
Accidental landlord
This is when you have become a landlord due to life’s circumstances, rather than intentionally setting out to own a rental property. After the recession in the 1990s, many people became ‘accidental’ landlords because they couldn’t sell their property but needed to move, so chose to let out the property instead. Many accidental landlords have just one property, which was previously their main home.
But even if you became a landlord by accident, and even if you are renting to family or friends, you still need to follow the very many rules and regulations, you need to take specialist advice about tax and your will, you need to work out your income and costs… and you need an exit strategy for selling on the property at some point in the future.
Our specialist team can help you with all of these, or point you in the direction of trusted experts, so drop into one of our branches or call us to speak to one of our experienced agents.
Investment landlord
The main difference between you and an ‘accidental’ landlord is that you purchased the property with the intention of letting it out and making money.
People invest in property for a variety of reasons. You may wish to boost your income in retirement, or provide a future home for your children. It may be a ‘hobby’ or sideline, or the start of a new business venture.
Whatever your reasons, you need to look carefully at yields and not just bank on capital growth as since the recession we have not always experienced the same levels of capital growth we have in the past. Your rental income will need to cover the mortgage, maintenance and other costs, and you need to be prepared for interest rate rises and void periods, too.
Our lettings team will be happy to guide you through the process and advise you on setting an appropriate rental rate; we also recommend you speak to an independent financial advisor and/or property tax specialist to ensure you understand the tax implications adding rental income will have.