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 house or flat to rent in London 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 rental properties.

The first thing to focus on should be the size of the flat or house to 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. You might already know where you would like to live – perhaps you grew up in the area or all your friends and family live nearby. If, however, you are new to London and are looking for a property to rent for the first time here, then it is worth taking a few more points into consideration.

Commenting times can be long in London and one of the most important factors when deciding where you would like to live is the distance to your workplace and the time required to get there. Remember you will usually make the journey to and from work 10 times every week. Assuming it will take you one hour each way, you will spend more than an entire working day per week commuting!

Refining your Search
Once you have decided on the type of property and the area, you can start doing some research on the price you can expect to pay on websites such as www.padz.com . 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.

Author
Thomas Karcher – www.padz.com

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Looking for properties to rent in London can be a time consuming process. Deciding on what you are looking for and doing as much research as possible before arranging viewings will save time and effort.

Landlords who have bought a property to rent and are looking to offer rooms to rent individually as a houseshare will need to think about providing furniture for their tenants. It is a good idea to consider the cost and timing implications as soon as the refurbishment programme is under way as delays in obtaining suitable furniture can result in unnecessary void periods. Tenants looking for rooms to rent in a houseshare will generally expect at least some basic furniture in the room. Especially in large cities such as London, tenants will frequently come to work or study from overseas and bring only personal items with them. It is therefore advisable to offer rooms to rent with at least some basic items . Well selected furniture will make a room more appealing. It will be easier to let and possibly achieve a higher rental income.

Quality and Durability are Key in a Houseshare
Tenants will have different expectations of what should be provided but as a minimum each room to rent should at least contain the following: bed with mattress, a wardrobe, chest of drawers, a desk with chair. In addition, landlords can provide additional furniture such as shelves, bedside tables, CD racks, additional chairs or drawers. It is usually best to limit the amount of furniture to a sensible minimum as additional items will not only increase the initial purchase cost but maintaining and replacing these will be time consuming and create additional expenses.

With all furniture, durability should be one of the main concerns. It might be worth investing in good quality beds and wardrobes even if the initial cost is slightly higher than the cheapest models. Many landlords have tried to furnish their rooms to rent on the tightest budget possible only to find that they are spending a significant amount of time repairing furniture which has started to disintegrate a year later. Tenants will appreciate if you provide a comfortable room with good quality furniture and might well stay in the houseshare for longer.

Avoiding Unnecessary Maintenance
Although large items will be the most expensive and most difficult ones to replace, smaller furnishings and fittings can be just as time consuming to renew they break. Binds might need re-fixing or replacingt after some time and curtains and cushions need to be washed and cleaned on a regular basis. It might be a good idea to invest in a spare set of items that are likely to need replacement in the future, such as lamp shades, blinds or curtains and keep those in a safe place. It will be difficult to buy matching items in a few years time. If you are a landlord lucky enough to own a number of rental properties it is also a good idea to buy the same furniture for all houseshares as furniture can easily be moved between rooms to rent and flatshares if necessary.

Author
Thomas Karcher – www.PADZ.com

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Buying the right furniture for rooms to rent in a houseshare can increase rental income and minimise the time and expense required for maintenance.

So you have just bought a new property to rent out but it’s obvious that the place has seen better days? Before you start with the refurbishment it is wise to take a step back and consider the best way to go about this. Many landlords have embarked on extensive refurbishments of their rental properties only to realise that some of the work they have undertaken does actually not increase the amount of rent they are able to achieve.

Time is an important consideration as you will generally not be able to let the property until the refurbishment is complete. A quick and effective refurbishment programme can help to increase the amount you are able to change tenants to rent from you while keeping the void period caused by the refurbishment to a minimum. Keeping it simple really pays off here. Firstly, consider doing the work that has the highest visual impact but is quick to complete. Painting walls, radiators and doors can make a rental property much more appealing with only a couple of days work. New curtains and a few pieces of cheap but well chosen furniture can transform a room instantly. New flooring or tiling will take longer but might be worth the time and money if the property to rent is in a poor condition. If possible, stay away from any major alterations, such as kitchen extensions, window replacements and structural work. While these are things you might want to do in your own house, always bear in mind that this is not a place where you will live yourself. All these works will take a considerable amount of time while having very little or no effect on the achievable rent.

Neutral Always Wins
Although it is tempting to decorate according to your own taste, decorating a property to rent is not the same as refurbishing your own house. The flat or house for rent should appeal to a wide range of potential tenants. To achieve this, all decoration should be neutral in colour. Tenants are then able to put their own stamp on the property to rent through pictures and their belongings. Painting all walls white is ideal – not only does it give the property to rent a clean and airy feel, it is also the cheapest paint to buy. Keep in mind that you will need to paint over marks and scratches when the tenants move out. This will be easy if all the walls are white, but it will be a lot harder to find a matching colour for anything else in a couple of years time.

Advertising a Property to Rent While Refurbishing
You should start advertising and looking for tenants as soon as possible, even while the works are going on. Most tenants won’t mind this and might indeed be taken by the idea of being able to move into an apartment or house for rent which has just been refurbished. It will also give you time to collect references and carry out credit checks while completing the refurbishment. As soon as the paint is dry your new tenants will be able to move in, keeping the void period to an absolute minimum.

Author
Thomas Karcher – padz.com

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Keeping a few things in mind when refurbishing a property to rent will increase the amount of rent a rental property can achieve while keeping void periods to a minimum.

Landlords renting out rooms in flatshares and houseshares will often face the rather tedious task of having to advertise for new tenants.  Students and young professionals , particularly if they are living in rooms to rent in London or other major cities such as Birmingham and Manchester frequently move house.  Although the rental markets of these cities are busy for most parts of the year, a good advertisement and well arranged viewings can help to make finding new tenants for your rooms to rent easier and quicker.

A well written advert should give tenants looking for rooms to rent some basic  information  – size, shape and decoration of the room, furniture in the room, other people living in the houseshare and a short description about the local area.  This will keep your time spent on calls to a minimum and it won’t be necessary to explain all this information to everyone.  If you notice that the same questions are being asked by several tenants, then go back and include this information in the advert as well.

When taking calls, it is a good idea to ask the tenants a few basic questions such as how long they are expecting to stay in the room and if they are looking for a room to rent for themselves or if they are a couple.  Arranging viewings and only then realising that there are two or even more people expecting to share the same room although you are only looking for a single tenant is wasting both your tenant’s and your own time.  Asking the right questions when you speak to the tenant on the phone will avoid this.

Showing Tenants Around your Flatshare or Houseshare
When arranging viewings it is a good idea to set a time one or two days in advance and asking all tenants to arrive within a one hour window, say between 2 and 3 pm.  Especially when looking for tenants for rooms to rent in London, public transport delays can mean tenants can turn up at the rental property later then expected.  Should more than one potential tenant turn up at the flatshare at the same time, you can always politely ask one of them to wait initial you have finished showing the room to rent to the other person.  Most tenants won’t mind.

Let tenants go into the room first as this maximises the impression of space.  Putting a poster on the wall and a nice throw on the bed will instantly make an empty room attractive and welcoming.  After the viewing, simply take the poster and throw with you are re-use for all your other rooms to rent!

Questions to ask Potential Tenants
Make sure you know the answers to common questions asked by tenants such as: How much is the council tax?  What other bills are there?  How far are the local shops away?  Where are the nearest public transport stops?

You should ask potential tenants where they have lived previously and about their current job without sounding too inquisitive.  You will have to check their references before signing the contract but some gentle enquiries will quickly tell you if a tenant would be suitable for your room to rent.

Should a tenant be interested to take the room it is always a good idea to ask them for a small holding deposit.  This will ensure the tenant is committed to living in the flatshare and unlikely to change his/her mind while you are checking references and preparing the contract. Make sure you point out that the deposit is non-refundable but will be credited against the first month’s rent.  After the viewing, email the tenant your standard tenancy application form to collect all personal details and references required to finalise the rental agreement.

Author
Thomas Karcher – padz.com

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Landlords can save time by knowing how to successfully arranging viewings of their rooms to rent. Especially for rooms to rent in London these tips can make finding the right tenant easier and quicker.

Many landlords have chosen to let rooms in their properties separately, especially if the rental property is located within a major city centre such as central London or close to a University.  Renting out rooms individually can significantly increase the rental income of a property as tenants are usually prepared to pay more when looking for rooms to rent rather than sharing a flat or house to rent with friends. But landlords should be aware that renting out rooms in a flatshare in London does increase the time required to manage the property. Tenants will leave and new tenants will have to be found more frequently than for whole properties to rent.

London attracts a wide range of potential tenants from all around the world who come to the capital to work or to study. Most of them will be here for a limited period of time to complete their course if they are students or they might have temporarily relocated to work in their company’s London office for a predetermined period of time. The market and number of potential tenants for flatshares in London is therefore huge and landlords who are prepared to provide good quality accommodation are able to achieve high returns on their properties.

Advertising a flatshare in London
Most tenants will be new to the capital and need to find accommodation to rent quickly. They will stay with friends or in a cheap hostel or hotel and start looking for rooms to rent on the internet as soon as they arrive. When trying to appeal to international tenants is therefore important to advertise the rental property using clear language and to avoid any expressions international tenants will be unlikely to be familiar with such as ‘conversion’ or ‘duplex’. Good directions of how to find the property from the nearest public transport stop will ensure the tenants arrive for viewings on time. Make sure to check if Google maps shows the property in the correct location when typing in the postcode of the rental property as most tenants will use Google before coming to view the room to rent.

Considerations for landlords when letting flatshares in London
The amount of work involved in renting out rooms separately should not be underestimated. When letting a rental property on an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) with a fixed term of 6 months, the landlord can be reasonably sure that the tenant will stay for at least the fixed period and most tenants will stay for a year or longer. Renting out rooms individually will mean that each tenant will have their own rental agreement and the time they stay in the rental property is usually no more than a year.

If your flatshare in London is rented out to four tenants, for example, you can expect it look four new tenants, check references and prepare contracts for four new tenants about every 12 months. Every landlord has to decide for themselves if the expected uplift in rental income is worth the additional work created by a flatshare or househare.

Author
Thomas Karcher – padz.com

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Renting our rooms in flatshares in London can be profitable but landlords should be aware of the additional work this creates.

One of the most important legal requirements landlords have is to carry out an annual gas safety check. Every landlord has to have all gas appliances checked every 12 months by a Gas Safe registered engineer. The Gas Safe register replaced the CORGI gas register in April 2009. Arranging for an engineer to check a property takes time and costs money, especially if a landlord has several rental properties. It is, however, important for every landlord to understand and comply with the law relating to gas safety. The landlord has a legal duty to ensure that all gas appliances, fittings and flues provided in any houses for rent or flats to rent are safe.

Prices for Gas Safety Checks are Dropping
Historically, gas safety checks used to be relatively expensive with prices around £70-£100 per certificate for each flat to rent or house to rent. Many landlords have therefore decided to avoid having any gas appliances in their properties to rent and installed electric appliances for cooking and heating. However, the current weak economic climate has also affected the price engineers can charge for gas safety checks. Recently, prices for gas safety checks for properties to rent in London have fallen as low as £35. Searching on Google for cheap gas safety checks shows numerous plumbers offering checks for far less than a year ago. Before allowing anyone to carry out work on gas in your flats to rent and houses for rent, ask to see the Gas Safe Registered Installer identification card. You can also find a gas safe registered business on the Gas Safe website.

Combining Checks for all Your Houses for rent and Flats to rent
Meeting engineers to carry out gas safety checks on each property to rent can be time consuming, especially if the properties are located a significant distance away from your home. In this case, it might be worth considering carrying out all gas safety checks for all your flats to rent and houses for rent on the same day. Engineers will generally be happy for you to travel with them from one rental property to the next while they carry out the checks. Even if the gas safety certificate for one of your rentals is still valid for another few months, it might be worth obtaining a new certificate now. It will bring all dates in line and in 12 months time, all flats to rent and houses for rent will need a new gas safety check and this again can be carried out on the same day. Also, if more than one certificate is required, you might be able to negotiate a further discount with the engineer.

Carrying out gas safety checks for a landlord’s houses for rent and flats to rent is an important legal requirement. Being organised can save time and money.

Experienced landlords know just how hard it is to find good and reliable tenants for their houses for rent. So once good tenants have been found, either for a househare or whole property it is important for landlords to retain their tenants for as long as possible. A few simple steps can really help to make sure tenants want to stay for longer.

The first thing to consider is why tenants leave. Some tenants will be forced to leave through a change of job or lifestyle and there is little that the professional landlord can do about this. However many tenants will leave simply because they feel their problems are not being addressed and think that there are better houses for rent available. If you are renting out room in a houseshare, tenants will also be very sensitive to price increases.

Looking After Your Tenant

Landlords who want to keep their tenants should look after them properly. Tenants should feel that you care about them properly and fix any problems quickly. This alone can often prevent tenants looking at other houses for rent.

If the tenant raises a problem with the house for rent such as a shower that has stopped working or a blocked drain then you should respond by phone immediately to let them know that you are aware of the problem and to explain what you are doing about it. You should always take action on the same day, even if the tradesperson might not be available until the following day. Make the tenant feel that you a dealing with the problem as quickly as possible.

In houseshares, the landlord usually has to check the property regularly as to make sure it is clean and tidy. This allows the landlord to spot any problems and have them fixed.

Consider Rent Increases Carefully

If you have a good relationship with your tenant and they generally pay the rent on time and keep the property in good condition, then consider any increases very carefully. An increase can often trigger the tenant to immediately start looking at other houses for rent to check how your proposed amount compares to other properties on the market. As part of this price checking the tenant may very well see another rental property that he prefers to yours.

It is important to try and keep tenants staying in houseshares for as long as possible to reduce the time and effort it takes to find new flatmates.

Just one month’s void costs can often be substantially higher than the additional letting income that you would have collected from your tenant, and your next tenant being so reliable. You should consider whether any proposed rent increase can be justified and whether the new rent would seem reasonable to the tenant.

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Summary:
Landlords can put huge effort and expense into finding tenants for their houseshares and houses for rent, but then lose the tenant soon after by neglecting their needs or increasing the rent. Landlords that want to retain their tenants should think carefully about how attentive they are to their needs and any rent increases.

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Resource Box:
Advertise your houses for rent and rooms in houseshare on PADZ. Find accommodation worldwide on PADZ and review tenants, landlords and agents. Read the original article here http://www.padz.com/blog/?p=309

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As city centre rents continue to rise, many people are choosing to live in shared accommodation such as flatshares to help spread the cost of living. Flatshares can also be a great way of keeping up your social life and making new friends. Living in a flatshare is not without it’s problems though and sharing a space with other flatmates is always a compromise. Often the two biggest problem areas are kitchens and bathrooms.

Managing Flatshare Kitchens
Kitchens in flatshares are often the number one problem area, with unfinished washing up and arguments over food being the two biggest complaints.

One of the best ways to deal with flatshare washing up and to make sure that each flatmate pulls their weight and that the kitchen stays tidy is to agree a washing up rota. Each flatmate takes it in turn to do all the washing up for the entire flatshare. If they don’t do it one night then they also have to do the next night’s washing up as well.

Fridge space is another common issue with the fridge containing five different cartons of milk for each of the flatmates, with one that went off a week ago. An easy solution to this is for flatmates to agree a flat budget for basic essentials such as milk, bread, butter and essential cleaning products. All flatmates pay a set amount in to the budget each month and flatmates take it in turn to buy the essentials. This can save dramatically on fridge space, and also prevents those arguments about stealing each other’s food.

Managing Flatshare Bathrooms
The other classic problem area in flatshares is the bathroom. The key here is timing. Flatmates need to agree upon a schedule for the mornings to allow everyone to use the bathroom and still get to work on time. Once the sequence has been established then all flatmates need to stick to the schedule so that the next person will get their slot.

Bathrooms cleaning is the one task that no flatmate wants to volunteer for. The best and most realistic solution here can be to just hire a cleaner for this space. The cost of an hour’s cleaning once a fortnight split between all of the flatmates is negligible and it allows all the flatmates to have a more pleasant experience each morning.

Living in a flatshare can be great fun, and with just a few simple steps those classic problem areas in kitchens and bathrooms can be resolved.

When living in flatshare the two biggest problem areas are often kitchens and bathrooms. By just agreeing on a few simple routines flatmates can find a flatshare a far more enjoyable experience.

Looking for a flat to rent in London can be a daunting task, particularly when you are not familiar with the city. Deciding which area to live in, what a realistic budget would be and how to find high quality flats to rent takes some experience with the London property rentals market as well as the transport system.
The first task is to decide which part of London you want to live in. Given the number of flats to rent in London being advertised every day it would be nearly impossible to review and compare flats to rent from all parts of the city. Unless you have a very large budget for your flat to rent, your choice of location will be a compromise between the distance from the city centre, the quality of the area and the quality of the flat to rent.

Where Will You be Working?
The best starting point is to consider where you will be working in London and how this relates to potential flats to rent in London. If you already have a job then that should be easy, but if you also need to find work then it’s worth spending some time looking at where different industries tend to be based within the city.

What Are The Principle Transport Routes?
Once you have identified where you’ll be working, the next job is to look at the principle transport routes to that location. A combined map of tube and train lines which is available from Transport for London will show you the quickest routes to your place of work. It’s important to look carefully at the number of transport changes that you will have to make on the journey as these can be the most time consuming part of the journey. Also look carefully at the pricing zones, as moving just one stop down the line in to the next zone can make a big difference to the ticket prices.

Do a Dry Run
The average commute to work in London is 55 minutes, so before deciding upon an area within which to start looking for flats to rent in London it’s worth doing a dry run of the commute in to London. It’s important to do the commute at rush hour so that you can find out how busy the trains are. At some stations in London it’s now virtually impossible to board the train at rush hour.

When searching for flats to rent in London it’s important to consider London’s transport system and where you will be commuting from to get to work.