As a property landlord, the last thing you want to be faced with is the prospect of having an empty property that is draining your profits. You want your properties to remain filled with tenants, month-in month-out without having to scrape around for the cash. So what do you do? If you are struggling to keep your property investments occupied, there are a number of tricks you can use to minimise the amount of time your property is empty. Advertise You can never advertise your property investments too much. As the more aware tenants are of your property, the more they’ll be interested in contacting you for a tenancy. The best places to advertise include: â€Local papers †start with the local paper but also consider advertising in a regional newspaper as well. A lot of tenants move around for their jobs so may be looking to move to your area â€Local shops - you’ll be surprised by how many people browse these â€Letting agents †advertise with a letting agent and you are guaranteed to get spotted by a tenant. The only thing you will have to consider here is the cost, as the letting agent will want a fee for finding you a tenant â€Online property portals †now the best place to advertise by far is on online property portals such as Rightmove and PropertyFinder. These get a lot of coverage and are a tenant’s first port of call when it comes to looking for a place to live. Presentation Okay so you have advertised your property and gained some interest. But how do you snag them: presentation. Some may be of the opinion that tenants will live in about any living condition as long as the rent is cheap, but they are wrong. Your property has to be liveable and look presentable. So before viewings make sure it is clean, tidy and that the garden has not been neglected. After all, a well presented property advertised at the right price will soon attract tenants. Be Realistic Are you being realistic with your rental prices? Yes, you want to make a profit, but tenants will have a pretty good idea how much properties cost to rent in the area so you can’t be too expensive. Do some research and see what similar properties are renting for in the area. Check out local newspapers, websites and letting agents. Is it worth lowering? Lowering your rent can be a tricky business. Do it once and your tenants might think they’ll be able to get you to do it again in order to keep them. Yet there is some worth is lowering your rent sometimes. For instance what is worse. Losing a whole months rent for a few months or reducing your rent by 30 a month and keeping a tenant? Sometimes you will need to be competitive so always keep an eye on other buy to let properties in the area. Be more liberal There is a growing market for property landlords offering buy to lets that will accept pets. Mainly because so many landlords are reluctant to risk property damage. Being more liberal will definitely make you a more attractive landlord. Simply make sure that their tenancy agreement covers damages and costs caused by pets; make them aware of it and you’ll immediately increase your market place. Offer incentives Simple incentives such as free broadband or a digital TV, can easily make your property investment more appealing than other properties. And fortunately such perks are not that expensive for you to install. Use a letting agent Letting agents can certainly make letting out your property less stressful, so should you opt to use letting agents make sure you advertise with more than one to increase the visibility of your property. Attend a property course Property investment courses are an incredible way to boost your credentials and make tenants feel more confident in you as a landlord. In addition, most property courses can provide you with the tools, the strategies and the knowledge to ensure that you always invest in properties with a high tenancy band. For more information visit www.propertymentor.co.uk And that is it! Any of the above tips can help you to make your property investments more visible to tenants, so give them a try and see the difference they make.
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