Buy to let help

[Bickles]

Following a meeting with the accountant we are considering buying a rental property.
We own our own house outright and have a rental property already that we own outright but the income is in a trust for DS9 using DS’s tax allowance and is used to pay his school fees.
This would be for me and DH and we are both tax payers. DH is a higher rate and I would be but pension contributions keep me under the higher rate threshold.
I would welcome any insight. We would have around £50k deposit, looking for a smaller property (current rental is 4 bed), a 2-3 bed flat or small house around £200k. We are in the North so this is realistic.
Would welcome any experience.

A larger home attracts families, so needs to be a bit more resilient than a smaller home that suits a single person or retired couple.
I have accepted tenants on benefits, their income has not fluctuated over covid, they have been lovely. Check your local housing allowance (LHA) rates to see if your BTL would be affordable to them. (max benefit payable for 1,2,3 bed home etc). Tenants can apply for a more expensive home if they think they can make up the difference from their other benefits income.
Landlords will not be able to reasonably deny a tenant the enjoyment of a pet in their home - think about this when choosing carpets etc, or specialise in a hypo allergenic space for non pet enthusiasts.
Flats can be challenging, and have additional costs. People like a bit of a garden, but might not be willing/able to manage it.
Keep it simple.
Use a contract that includes modest rent rise annually, we haven't raised rents for a few years and now isn't the right time to do so.