No need to worry with property
If you own a property to rent then there are a few things that you may want to do first before you start to let it out to tenants. Letting a property is a serious business and you want to ensure that it is as successful as possible, so here are a few ways to ensure that you enjoy a more successful rental.
Make Sure Your Property is in Good Condition
The first thing to do with your property to rent is to make sure that it is all in good condition. You are not going to attract the best tenants who are willing to pay the highest monthly rent if they do not get a good first impression, so it is an essential step to take.Make sure that all the lights are working properly, the windows open and close without problems, and all of the other fixtures and fittings are in good condition.Another good step to take is to paint the rooms in a neutral colour. Colours which are too bold may put off prospective tenants, but if you use neutral colours then more people may be happy to live there.
Decide on the Types of Tenants You Want
There are many different tenants, including students, families, professionals and more, and it is a good idea to decide who you would like to rent out your property to rent. This may have an effect on how you decorate the property and which fixtures you install, so it is a good idea to think about this as early as possible.
London attracts a wide range of people who come to the capital to live and work. Everyone will at some point be faced with the challenge of finding their next home amongst the vast number of properties to rent in London. This can be a time consuming and draining process, but keeping a few things in mind can make the search for your ideal flat or house for rent easier and more enjoyable.
Deciding on the Essentials
Viewings are by far the most time consuming part of the search, particularly when looking for properties to rent in London. Distances are far and travel times can be long during rush hour. It is therefore a good idea to do as much preparation as possible before actually going to see available flats and houses for rent.The first thing to focus on should be the size of the flats or houses for rent you are looking for. You will already know how many people you are planning to live with or if it’s going to be a place for yourself. Decide on the number of bedrooms you need as a minimum.With so many properties to rent in London is important to limit your search to a few areas of the city. There are several points you should consider when deciding on a location.
Refining your Search
Once you have decided if you are looking for flats or houses for rent and the area you would like to live in, you can start doing some research on the price you can expect to pay. Be realistic about this and don’t assume you will come across many properties that are much cheaper than the ones you find advertised. Prices for the minimum size of rental property you are looking for might be too high in the area you started your search in. In this case you could consider neighbourhoods close by which might be cheaper or expand your search to other parts of the city.With the basic requirements, area and price firmly established you can further narrow your search for properties to rent in London by deciding on the type, style and furnishing you are looking for before contacting estate agents and private landlords to arrange viewings.
Of course you will never find a property to rent in London which exactly matches all of the criteria you set out, but having a clear picture in your mind and deciding on the area and price before arranging viewings will help you to prevent wasted time and effort.
It’s been a turbulent few years for the British economy, what with the darkening recession and the housing market crashes; it’s been a gloomy time for everyone. There have been sudden decreases in property prices causing massive issues for those hoping to sell their house. Now you would have thought that the price decrease would have drastically increased the amount of buyers however, the recession has caused a decrease in people’s wages. Even with the drops and reductions going round, the ratio of 10 per cent deposit to monthly income is still unmanageably high.There are however, a few people that have really shone during this dark time. These are the property investors: those ambitious few who have money tucked aside thriving on the crash of the housing market.
The amount of people renting residential property has increased dramatically over the past few years, as well as a number of businesses looking for commercial property. If you’re a first time investor or if you’ve already got a bundle of experience, commercial property will definitely serve you better in the long run.It’s important to consider a few things before you go right ahead and start splashing the cash. You have to consider what sort of commercial property you’re after. There are plenty to choose from: restaurants, hotels, garages, office blocks and small shops. The commercial property you choose will relate solely to the amount of money you have. It’s absolutely crucial to perform efficient research into a variety of locations, looking at the success rate of its commercial properties.
Commercial investments are great as you’re able to secure long-term rental agreements. The shortest term is actually five years, this will give you security when it comes to your finances and you’ve automatically eradicated the worry of finding new tenants on short notice.One of the things that makes commercial property so appealing is the high return on investment. The property’s occupancy will pay for rent, tax and insurance. Commercial property will also remain in a much better condition than any residential properties. This property will be used for business purposes, so it’s in their best interest to maintain cleanliness and keep everything in order. As plenty of residential housing suffers at the hands of tenants, this is a great weight off your shoulders.
There are three basic methods used by appraisers to determine the fair market value of income producing real estate that real estate investors might find helpful when buying investment property. In this article, we will discuss how each one works and then show you how you would estimate the market value of a subject income property based on each method.
Income Approach
The income approach method for determining a property’s market value is where you use the return you desire from your cash investment and then capitalize that percentage by the net operating income being produced by the property.Let’s say, for example, you desire a 8.5 percent return on your investment and you estimate the net operating income (NOI) for the subject apartment to be $38,500. Here’s the computation:
$38,500 / 8.5 = $452,940
You would be willing to pay $452,940 for the apartment complex based upon its income stream and your desired return on investment.
Market Data Approach
The market data approach makes use of a list of properties comparable to the subject property and determines a property value-price per unit. In this case, these comparable properties should be in similar areas, with similar apartment sizes, amenities, appearance and rent structures, and should all be buildings that have sold recently.
You would then divide the prices at which each building sold by the number of units in each apartment complex to determine an average price per apartment to use as a multiplier. The average price per unit is then applied to the subject income property.
Cost Approach
The cost approach method estimates what it would cost to replace the entire apartment complex. In other words, what would it cost to buy the land and build a building identical to the subject property?First, you must determine the land value. If a study indicates comparable land is selling for $10 a square foot and the subject property is on a 100 x 200 foot lot or 20,000 square feet, then the land is worth $200,000.Second, you must determine what it would cost to replace the site improvements such as the parking area, lawn, shrubs, trees, etc. You determine it would cost about $30,000 to replace them.
Finally, you must compute what it would cost to duplicate the building. If the subject apartment complex has seven one-bedroom apartments of 600 square feet each or a total of 4,200 square feet, and it would cost $60.00 a square foot to build, then the cost of a replacement structure will be $252,000.The total cost of a new building is $200,000 + $30,000 + $252,000 or $482,000.Okay, but the subject income property is several years old, so we must establish a comparable by figuring a depreciated value on the $252,000.In this case, assume the subject income property has depreciated 20 percent or $50,400. This would leave a depreciated value for the building of $201,600. To this amount, add the $30,000 in site improvements and the $200,000 land value, giving a total market value using the cost approach of $431,600.
Estimate of Market Value
1. Income Approach:
NOI of $38,500 capitalized @ 8.5% = $ 452,940
2. Market Data Approach:
7 Units @ $60,000 per unit = $ 420,000
3. Cost Approach:
Land of 20,000 square feet @ $10.00 square foot = $200,000
Site Improvements = 30,000
Duplicated Building (less 20% depreciated value) = $201,600
Cost of replacement = $431,600
4. Final Estimate of Market Value = $440,000
It should be noted that the final line on the analysis is an estimate of market value. How did we arrive at it? We correlated all three of the appraisal methods and simply made a judgment by putting a slightly heavier emphasis on the income approach. Other real estate investors might arrive at a different estimate of market value, but you get the idea.