London Buy-to-Let Guide
An empty buy-to-let property is an unnecessary stress and one that MyLondonHome are committed to avoiding. Our aim is to maximise your return on investment and we do this by sourcing trustworthy tenants who are willing to pay the best possible price for your London property.
When it comes to letting your central London property, we’ve outlined a few steps to success in the below buy-to-let guide:
Arrange a Valuation
Before a property comes to market, it is important to get an accurate idea of its current rental value. Central London is a diverse rental market, with microcosms of both yield and profile of tenant found across the capital. Within this wide and varied marketplace, our Area Valuation Specialists are constantly valuing buy-to-let property within their specialist areas, ensuring our expert knowledge of your property’s potential rental value is maintained.
Choosing the Right Agent
With literally hundreds of letting agents operating across central London, it can be difficult knowing whom to trust. The best lettings agents in London will belong to a number of schemes and accreditations, including ARLA, The London Rental Standard and The Property Ombudsman. MyLondonHome letting agents actively work with all of the aforementioned schemes in order to ensure our clients’ money, data and properties are safely managed.
It’s important you consider the marketing strategy, opening hours and track record of your letting agent before instructing them to let your property. Be wary of hidden costs when it comes to creating floor plans, taking photographs and sourcing EPC’s; MyLondonHome offer all of these services free of charge, however some letting agents will bill you for these features.
Consider a Corporate Tenant
MyLondonHome have a vast database of corporate tenants looking for accommodation in central London. Some of the world’s leading companies use our services to secure central London property, meaning the profile of potential tenants we can source are of the highest calibre. Many owners of buy-to-let property also consider our award-winning Property Management service, giving peace of mind to both themselves and their professional tenants.
Property Management
Many of our professional tenants prefer the safety and security that comes with renting a managed property, particularly from MyLondonHome’s award-winning Property Management team. Often, a managed property is the key to maximising your rental income, as corporate tenants will pay a premium to ensure their needs are catered for. Your dedicated London Property Manager would handle everything from emergency repairs and maintenance issues to rent collection and the transfer of utilities.
Maintenance & Decoration
When hoping for a quick and successful let, it’s vital that the property is presented as best as possible. Whether it’s adding a fresh coat of paint, repairing any fixtures and fittings or more exhaustive maintenance issues, MyLondonHome offer both a professional cleaning service and a comprehensive maintenance service.
Marketing your Property
When the time comes to market your buy-to-let property, we’ll find you the perfect tenant. We do this, via an extensive array of marketing strategies, including: a vast Google spend, National Newspaper advertisements, National Radio campaigns, email campaigns and our traditional methods such as phone and SMS property alerts.
Viewings
Working in Central London, we appreciate the need for flexible viewing hours and as such we conduct many evening and weekend viewings. Our offices are open Monday-Friday 8am-7pm and Saturday and Sundays 9am-5pm. Our staff are in-tune with the busy London lifestyle and can be contacted via mobile at any reasonable hour.
Negotiating an Offer
At MyLondonHome, we act on behalf of the landlord and an offer is only accepted upon their approval. It’s our job to negotiate the best possible rental price and that’s why we ensure that every enquiry, viewing and offer is relayed back to you as soon as possible. As soon as we receive an offer you deem acceptable we act as quickly as possible to conclude the deal.
Offer Accepted
Upon acceptance of an offer:
- We begin the referencing process
- Take a payment (deposit and rent).
- Draw up a tenancy agreement
- Check in & inventory
After all of the above processes are complete, your buy-to-let property has been successfully let.