Buying to rent out?

[BuyToRent]

Hope I am posting in the right section?

I have been considering buying a property to rent out for some time but would love to hear from anyone who has done it as I'm not really all that sure what I'd need to do. Did you fully furnish the property? Do you rent privately? Is the income you get from it worth all the hassle?

Do you already own another property? If so, then there are stamp duty considerations and then your legal obligations as a landlord. Reference and credit checks to be done and a managing agent (that charge) if you can't/don't want to manage the property yourself. You'll need specialist insurances. The tax advantages of having a buy to let investment are finishing next year so yields are not what they once were - you'll need to cost it all out to see if it's worth it.

Talk it over with a local letting agent. But don't believe everything they say.

If you will need a mortgage to do this you might find it very stressful. Can you afford to pay the mortgage for a couple of months if there's no tenant? And what if the property needs repairs? If this is all very tight financially for you then think carefully.

I wouldn't.

You could get lucky and make a small profit, but after tax and letting agent fees, repairs, insurance etc etc I don't think it is worth the hassle.
As you don't know anything about this business you will more likely lose money, possibly thousands if you get a tenant who won't pay and won't leave.

To win at that game you have to be incredibly savvy and more than a little lucky.

I think unless you are very experienced, the buy to let boom has long gone.

TBH the ongoing changes in the rental tax situation mean that time is running out for landlords hoping to make any sort of profit now. You need to really understand the tax implications before even considering this-a decent financial advisor should be able to put you off!
The fact that your first question was “ do you furnish the property” says it all!

You should consider going on National landlords Association or Landlordzone to get a grasp of the main issues. NLA will let you do courses and become a qualified landlord.
I would not do this if I had to take out a large mortgage Also I would kit out the place really well because if tenants ask for repairs and they are not done it is a real pain getting them out of the property

Have owned about 50 buy to let's over the last 20 years. Have sold all but the 10 'best ones, all have no mortgages on them.
We will not be buying any more, and I would advise you not to unless you are buying without a mortgage... be warned it is not the easy money making venture most people think it is.
There are more downsides than upsides... thinking about it there are very few upsides to the industry at the moment

Don't do it! It is not fun and you'd be very lucky to make even a small profit.