Thinking of becoming Landlord...Many questions

chiefgoobster

Lordmoney..
Whatever you think about being a landlord, it isn't a walk in the park.I'm not saying though that you think it is but it's not quite a sit back and watch the rent roll in.

I'd not emply agents to manage nor find tenants.Personally i think it's money for old rope for them and nothing you can't do yourself with a bit of legwork/homework.

If you end up being a LL , try your best to be 2 steps ahead of things. Make sure the decor is as best as, fixtures and fittings etc are in good order etc.Visit your tenant and sort any problems out before they become problems !

Check your tenants out. Do backround checks and get them to show you some I.D.

Be a good landlord and don't give us a bad name ! Look after your tenants and they'll be good to you.

best of luck

lordmoney

Thanks for the great advice chiefgoobster. I couldn't agree more. I'm the type of person that usually plans ahead and don't like to leave things till last minute.

Now I'm thinking if I should start another thread or keep these questions here.......

1. How do people go about purchasing properties from auctions?
2. What's the process?
3. How does one get a mortgage for an auction property?

tumbledowngirl

lordmoney wrote: »

Thank you tumbledowngirl for a helpful answer.

I forgot to mention one important reason as to why I would like to go down the rental route. In say about 5-10yrs time, I want to be able to purchase a decent home and since right now I can't afford a high priced property, I'm thinking that I already own a home for which there isn't a huge mortgage, why not buy a 2nd home, rent it out and when the time is right, sell both homes and purchase my dream home.

Does that sound like a plan?

It sounds like A plan...but who knows what the housing market might do in the intervening years?:o
Certainly, we're hoping to make an amount of capital gain on our property, but there's no guarantee obviously.

G_M

google 'property auctions'. Lots of guides on how they work.

Visit a few without your chequebook to see how they work.

Never bid till

* you're satisfied with the legals (either checked yourself or paid a solicitor)
* you're satisfied with the condition (either checked yourself or paid a surveyor)
* you're satisfied with your finance (either have cash yourself or paid for a confirmed mortgage)

so you have to pay upfront, and good chance you get outbid and waste the money.......