Introduction - assuming you have now successfully purchased your property, the next stage in property letting uk is to prepare your property for letting. The steps you will have to go through are detailed below. Ideally, the timeframe for all of these steps is no more than a couple of weeks (to save the cost of rental voids) as you will be paying the mortgage from the day you complete.

Furnish The Property – at this point you will need to either go out to the shops to furnish your property or make a proactive decision to let the property unfurnished:-

What Will Your Target Tenant Expect? - a furnished property will let generally quicker than an unfurnished one and also command a higher rent (as tenants would otherwise need to transport or purchase new furniture if the property letting uk is unfurnished). However, most tenants do have some furniture of their own, which they would like to bring to the property. Think back to your target / ideal tenant; a student or single person moving into a flat may not want to go out and buy all sorts of expensive furniture, personal to their tastes. Conversely, the thirty something professional couple will have probably built up a collection of furniture already. Therefore, ensure any furniture you buy is what is expected from your ideal target tenant (both in terms of quantity and quality).

Planning the Interior Look & Feel – to furnish across different rooms using the same colours, look and feel means planning. Using any available floor plans work out which bits of furniture goes where. Think about natural light, available space and tenants expectations. If space is limited, purchase smaller units, use lighter paints and mirrors to all create a feeling of space and light. Having the right kitchen and bathroom in particular, could affect the prospective tenants decision to let your property or not. These are the key rooms. If you add a power shower and/ or a dishwasher, these are items that tenants perceive as adding value – saving them time and inconvenience. Planning furniture and design for student let’s is obviously much easier than corporate tenants, as the later would tend to be modern and expensive fittings. Visit your local DIY center, bathroom and kitchen showrooms to “borrow” ideas for design – which worktops goes with which tiles; does the sofa match your chosen paint colours and so on. Use tester paints; take home fabrics, brochures – anything that will help you plan quickly and effectively. Some larger chains offer a bathroom and/ or kitchen design service; based on your floor plans and presented on a PC in the showroom with the chosen designs and units.

You can spend thousands unnecessarily – there is no point spending 1000 pounds on a well known brand of double bed that is going to high wear and tear - a cheaper bed that is replaced every five years or so is much more economical and tenants will be just as satisfied.

Wear and Tear is Inevitable - expect that if you purchase furniture for your investment property, it will suffer wear and tear due to constant use over time; chips, knocks, breaks, smears, spills etc. Don’t skimp on items that need to be durable – you will only have more breakages more frequently with cheaper items through natural wear and tear – it is worth spending a bit more to make items last that bit longer. Corporate tenants expect top-notch furnishings – whereas students are not as fussy. Avoid light woolen carpets as spills will show and be harder to clean – instead go for darker, man made carpets, which will be easier to clean, and more heard wearing. Alternatively, consider using wood laminate floorings provide a very durable, professional material that will hlp reduce cleaning bills and natural wear and tear.Plan/ budget to replace items every five years or so. The Inland Revenue allows you to deduct 10% of the net annual rental income (less water rates and council tax if you pay it), as an allowable expense when you let a furnished property. This allowance reflects the natural, practical and therefore economic, wear and tear ‘depreciation’ the contents of your investment property will suffer over the long term. If you are letting unfurnished it is sensible to provide the very basics – fridge/ freezer, cooker, washing machine, carpets and curtains.

Make Up A Shopping List - if you are letting furnished the tenant can, in theory move in empty handed and have everything they need to live in comfort and convenience. In practice, you will probably need to think about what items your ideal tenant is likely to expect, want and need. Remember that there are usually lead times of around a month for kitchen and bathroom units – build this into your project plan. The following shopping list is not exhaustive but should help your shopping list making. It is ranked by the tenants perceived importance:-

Kitchen – fitted cupboards, cooker, fridge/freezer, washer /dryer, microwave, kettle, iron / ironing board, hooker, broom, dustpan and bucket, cutlery and kitchen utensils and saucepans, washing up bowl, fire extinguisher, oven gloves, cupboard space, dustbin. Remember to file away the warranties (in case white goods break and need repairing).

Bedrooms – fitted wardrobes, double beds (ideally with draw space underneath), new mattresses, wardrobes, dressing table and chair, washing basket.

Bathroom – power shower, towel rail, shower curtain, mirror, toiletries cupboard, toilet brush (include some unused cleaning bottles as a hint). All units should be thoroughly cleaned with bleach, bath and basing sealant edging replaced where frayed or missing or yellowing.

Garden – lawn mower, fork, shears, hose, broom, rake, exterior dustbins, clothes line.

Dining Room – dining table and chairs.

Lounge Area – sofa suite, coffee table, bookcase, lamps, optionals - TV, DVD, Stereo, satellite.

Decorate The Property - never inflict your own personal taste about interior design and colour on someone else no matter what! Most tenants these days expect quality decoration and furnishings. With this in mind the following hints should help keep you decorating activities objective and constructive:-

• Allocate your decorating budget before you visit DIY shops. Think about what standard of décor the professional couple will expect. Perhaps some additional decorative lighting in the lounge or twinkly ceiling lights in the kitchen may modernize the look and feel of your property.

• Regardless of the type of tenant, when you paint the property, always use clean, neutral and simple colors throughout, particularly in the kitchen and bathroom. Boring beige and monotonous magnolia is just great for renting! A fresh coat of paint vastly improves the quality of the accommodation in terms of its cleanliness and overall decorative order and costs very little and the impact on prospective tenants is huge.

• Make sure the entrance door is freshly painted and clear of junk mail – first impressions count for your new tenants.

• Always buy an extra tin or two of the paint you are using throughout the property for future painting. Inevitability you chosen paint is ‘hint’ of something or rather, from a major paint manufacturer – they’re name branding may change every few years so you are not quite sure that when you go back it is exactly the same colour you originally bought… tempting you to repaint everywhere using a different colour.

General Condition of Property – once properly decorated and furnished, last minute preparations need to be finalised before you start viewings for prospective tenants. Most tenants these days expect quality decoration and furnishings. The basic presentation and general condition of the property is essential and directly impacts whether you will achieve the level of rent you hope for. In particular, you should be aware of the following:-

Cleanliness - hoover and dust everywhere and tidy loose objects away. If the property is older, pay for a professional cleaner to come in and clean everything for you before any tenants arrive – it will be impossible to be this rigorous during a handover between tenants. Make the whole house immaculate – it is amazing that some landlords ignore this basic legal obligation and obvious selling point that tenants will demand cleanliness and be prepared to pay for it. In addition, if the property is clean at the start of the tenancy, the tenants are more likely (and obliged to leave it in the same state they enter it) at the end of the tenancy. You could add a condition to the tenancy agreement that the tenants pay for a professional cleaner to clean the property just before the end of the tenancy. Make sure all light bulbs work – you don’t want to be showing tenants around in the dark.

First Impressions - put some fresh flowers out – first impressions are so vital in persuading prospective tenants that they should let your property. Wash the window frames down - dust and smears catch the eye very quickly. Make a special effort to trim hedges, mow lawns, tidy shrubs to give the impression of neatness. Get rid of junk mail and free newspapers and any other clutter near the entrance. If you are going to provide linen, make sure its clean and folded away – not spread across the beds messily. Get some all purpose filler and make sure all cracks and holes are filled, sanded and freshly painted – minor cracks are picked up by the eye very quickly.

Cleaning Materials - all old part-used cleaning products such as bleach and detergents should be removed. There is nothing wrong with providing new/ unused bleach and other household cleaning bottles (free of charge) to encourage the tenants to look after your property.

Security – another final and very important optional addition is installing security features. Window locks on every window, a strong bolt, burglar alarm, security light that is activated by motion and an intercom for the front door. These features are cheap to purchase, easy to install and will make more vulnerable tenants (like single women living alone) feel much more secure as well as reduce the probability of burglar’s vandlising your investment property.

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