10 mistakes to avoid when you are renting a flat

Putting a flat up for rent can be easy or really difficult. How we have prepared for it will be what makes the difference. The rental market has a high profitability and that is why we need to be very conscious of the process. This is not just to publish the flat in a website, take some appointments to visit it and rent it. We often make some mistakes that complicate the successful ending of the operation or that cause some problems during the renting period. In this post we want to point out the top 10 mistakes when putting a flat up for rent.

Not having experience or be too slow deciding. The rental market is really active because there are few flats to rent compared to the demand. It is important to take into account the offers that are inside our limits.

Do not set the recommended price. We need to know the average prices to negotiate properly, having in mind the situation, characteristics and extras of the property. Set a price based on the mortgage we are paying is not a guarantee of renting it faster. If that price is above the average price of the market will be hard to rent, but if the price is well below we will be losing profitability.

Do not decide correctly when and where are we publishing the offer. Depending on who is our ideal tenant and the type of renting, we would have to publish the offer in the most suitable channel. In addition, if we have a holiday home and we want to have it as a holiday rental, publishing the offer at the beginning of the year would be the best time to do it but if what we have is a student flat the best moment would be spring.

Do not include pictures of the flat in the advert. We need to upload good images of the different places of the property, with a good lighting and where the characteristics we are describing are shown.

Don’t do a good selection of the tenant. Knowing the type of tenant that would be in the property will help us to search and spread the offer. Take your time to do all the necessary interviews to the people that want to rent your property. You need to ask for the documents that certify their solvency to face a monthly rent and some references of older rents. Even then, we need to have some limits to our requirements.

Not having the flat ready to live. The tenant will always be in a hurry to start living in the property. We need to have the small repairs solved and make sure all the electrical appliances are working properly. The flat must be clean and painted.

Do not write a good contract. The contract needs to have all conditions and the most important, it needs to be written based on current regulations. Accept the payment of a deposit for the contract.

Do not change the ownership of supplies. The title holder of the supplies must be the tenant the account number is not enough. We avoid any issues with the bank in case of problems or unpaid bills.

Don’t do an inventory. It is essential to attach at the end of the contract an added document where there is a list of all the things you leave in the property and have it sign for both parts of the signing contract. The photos we have used in the advert can be also added as proof of the conditions of the property when it is rented.

Do not hire a tenant default insurance. It will avoid problems in case the tenant doesn’t pay the rent.