Can't find any tenants

geek84

Hi Folks

I have got myself in a terrible mess. I have recently purchased a buy to let property, but am having great diffilculty in finding tenants!

At the moment, the property is empty and of course I will need to pay the council tax, water rates, and standnig charges for gas & electricity meters. On top of that, my first mortgage payment is coming up soon. So rather than getting an income from this property, I am spending more money on it!

Where is the best place to advertise for tenants? Do you think I should approach my local council who could provide tenants?

I live in the Midlands.

Thanks in advance.

Jowo_2

How are you marketing your property - where are you advertising and who is your target market?

Do you have any experience or knowledge in screening prospective tenants? Do you know the pitfalls and risks that are involved with letting the property to the local council and/or benefit claimants?

Have you considered finding a reputable letting agent, one who belongs to a professional body like ARLA?

An empty property not earning income is far better than making a rash decision and handing over keys to bad tenants.

silvercar

If the property is empty you can apply to the council to be exempt from council tax for 6 months.

J_J_Carter

Charging too much.

BitterAndTwisted

Either you're not marketing it properly, the rent is too high or your property is not attractive to prospective tenants. Or a combination of all three.

What research did you do before you bought this money-spinner?

geek84

Hi Folks

Thanks for you replies. The property is in a good area - there are a fair few properties in that street which are let to tenants.

In terms of marketing, I have advertised it in the local newspaper a few times and on the internet i.e. gumtree.

Any further advice would be grately appreciated.

BitterAndTwisted

Find a decent local letting-agent and interview them about what prospective tenants they have on their books and about what the market-rent in your area is. They are likely to charge you a tenant-finding fee and around 8 to 10% of the monthly rent to collect it from your tenants. Having the property empty for a month has already cost you 8% of any prospective annual rent by now, so you'd best get on with it pronto

wilbydoughboy

I would suggest charging at 3 to 4% per annum to attract tenants and keep your fingers crossed to find tenants quickly. I have recently sold my other property and put the cash into a 5% fixed 5 year bond although I had to accept £33,000 of of the original asking price but I wanted to get rid of the property as it was costing up to £850 per month whilst empty and was becoming a worry for me. I believe that property will drop in price over the coming years and it may take over 10 years to get back to 2007 peak prices so dont be to greedy and accept a smaller percentage to help see you through the downturn.

Callie22

We're currently looking to rent a property and anything half decent is being snapped up in literally a couple of days. With the greatest of respect, if you've had viewings and you're struggling to find tenants then you're either overpriced (and not open to negotiation), or the property is a mess, or there's a combination of the two that's putting people off. There are properties that I've viewed that have been empty for months, and the problem is the LLs aren't even willing to go down £10 or £20 a month, and they don't seem to grasp that tenants don't want to move into dirty, badly decorated and poorly maintained properties.

Also, much as I hate agencies, as a tenant I'm likely to avoid newspaper ads and I'm definitely likely to avoid Gumtree. You hear of far too many scams and renting is hassle enough.

BitterAndTwisted

A couple of half-hearted press ads in a local paper which few tenants actually buy to look for properties ain't going to cut it. Gumtree is full of scammers so tenants are wary.

If it's nice property, furnished decently and in a good area a letting agent will find you tenants in the blinking of an eye. Unless there are too many properties to let in the neighbourhood and therefore tenants are able to be very fussy and able to barter over the rent.

I'm assuming that covering the expenses until you found tenants was built into your business-plan when you embarked on this venture?

haggis4

You can only have 6 months free of council tax for property in England. Trust me - I own a buy to let in Scotland and was very disappointed when I found this out!!


Best bet is to talk to local letting agents and see what they can offer you. Some will do a tenant find only sevice that may be a one off fee of a couple of hundred but its well worth it as they advertise the property, research and credit check the tenants and draw up the contracts. If you are able to look after the property yourself then this can be the best option if your not willing to pay them a monthly percentage of the rent to fully manage the property.

Remember to talk to several letting agencies as the prices and services can vary widely!

Good luck