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Landlords Guide
Whether you are a Landlord, Tenant or Guarantor, the letting and renting process is full of potential loopholes and hurdles. We hope this Landlord guide goes some way to explaining the process and reduces the pitfalls you can sometimes face. Money can be lost by both parties if the process of letting is not properly conducted.
This guide comprises helpful guidance for all parties and clicking on the section heading below will take you to the section you require.
Call us on 01795 533544 for any further advice and to arrange a free appraisal of your property.
Service options
Letting your property can be a daunting task especially if you are new to lettings. We at Baldwins offer an experienced, professional team to support you along the way.
We offer the knowledge to make letting your property trouble free. We offer three packages of Management to choose from;
Option 1: Let Only
By opting for a let only package you would be choosing to collect the rents for the term of the tenancy and be the point of call for your tenant should they need any maintenance carried out at the property.
We would erect a board at your property, if desired, advertise your property on a number of property websites and our own website, place your property in our window and on our let list that is handed out to everyone who enquires about lettings and place your property in the local paper.
We would also run all the Tenant references at no cost to yourself.
Rent protection is not available on this option.
All other services will be chargeable individually.
Option 2: Rent Collect
With this package we collect the rent every month and chase the Tenant for rent if payment is late. With this option, the referencing company we use offers a Rent Protection Policy. The Rent Protection Policy covers you for a full year even if your Tenants change in that time. With this policy, if the Tenant cannot or will not pay the rent the policy will pay it for you. If you have a mortgage to cover, you will have peace of mind that the rent will be met. The policy also covers legal costs should you need to take further action against your Tenant.
The rent will be collected each month from your Tenant on a Standing Order from their bank to our client account. The money that is collected from the Tenant will then be sent to your account within ten working days. Should the Tenants pay rents in advance, the monies will be sent to you in one sum unless you instruct us not to do so. Any interest earned on the monies that you may ask us to hold in our client account for you is minimal and will be used towards administrative costs for the purpose of this service.
However, on this option you will still be responsible to your Tenant for maintenance issues and, again, you will be the point of contact.
With regard to advertising we offer the same as in the Let Only package.
The cost of this package to you is a percentage of the rental income on a monthly basis. All other services would be charged individually.
Option 3: Fully Managed
This service offers all that the previous two packages provide and more.
Full Management offers a stress free let as we will be responsible for managing the let on your behalf.
We would be the point of contact for your Tenant and we would only contact you if monies needed to be spent on the property.
The Rent Protection Policy is available on this option as well.
We carry out quarterly inspections of your property and send you a typed report following each visit. This offers peace of mind should you be moving a distance from your property or out of the country.
The cost of this package to you is a percentage of the rental income on a monthly basis.
We use approved contractors which offer a good level of craftsmanship.
With the Full Management option, we also offer an out of hours service. The contractor will be supplied with your telephone number as well as the Tenant’s number. The Tenant in turn would have the contractor’s number. If the contractor is called out he will contact you for permission to attend whenever possible. If the contractor is unable to contact you he will visit the property and this is when you would be charged for this service.
When the contractor arrives at the property, if the problem is deemed to be something that the Tenant has caused the contractor will charge the Tenant for the call out and the works. The contractor will also use his discretion and if it is something that can wait until office hours, he will do so and take further instructions. This is an optional part of this package.
A £200 float will be kept on account by us at all times with this option only. This is so that when contractors are needed we can issue the works orders straight away. We are unable to instruct a contractor without monies in place on account. If any of this float is spent, the deficit will be collected from the next month’s rent to reimburse the float. This money will be paid back to you at the end of a Tenancy when the Tenant vacates the property. These monies will be held in our client account and no interest is payable as it will be minimal.
You will be assigned a Property Manager so that you have a constant point of contact at this office.
General Requirements
EPC (Energy Performance Certificate)
By law an EPC must be obtained before a property can be marketed. We have a Domestic Energy Assessor who can prepare these on your behalf for a reasonable charge.
An Energy Performance Certificate shows how energy efficient your property is and will be issued to all prospective tenants who view your property. The EPC is valid for ten years for letting purposes.
Gas Safety Certificate
These are also required by law and have to be renewed every year.
Electrical Certificates
These, as yet, are not required by law although on older properties we would suggest that they are carried out. There is a clause in our agreements that Landlords need to sign that indemnifies us should be an electrical fault occur and there has been no electrical test carried out on the property.
Landlords living abroad & taxation
Landlords living abroad are requested to complete an NRL1 form and send it to the Tax Office. In turn, they will then issue you with a registration number which will allow you to receive rental income with no tax deducted.
If you have not completed this form, 20% of the rent will be deducted by us and passed to the tax office. At the end of the tax year you will be required to complete a tax return and they will pay back any monies that have been over paid by you.
The NRL1 form can be downloaded from the tax office website which is; www.hmrc.gov.uk/nonresidents/fagnrl1_bw.shtml
If you have a large income from a property or portfolio of properties, it would be advisable to instruct an accountant.
Contractors
All the contractors we use are reputable companies and have been working alongside us for some time. All contractors are required to have public liability insurance.
