About Letting Your Property

If you are considering buying a property to let we can assist you with some very straight forward advice and often point you in the right direction. All of this is fully independent - we do not have links to others for mutual benefit, we only have our clients' interests at heart and our advice is free of charge.

Before letting we will visit your property at a time convenient for you and undertake a rental assessment considering the locality and prevailing market conditions. Our assessment will always be honest; we will not tell our potential clients what we think they want to hear to secure their business, as this is not the basis for a successful long term relationship. This service is free of charge and free of obligation.

A landlord retains full responsibility for the buildings insurance on their property. It is the landlord's responsibility to advise their insurer that the property is to be let. Fireside can provide advice on specialist Buy To Let Insurance. Specialist insurance need not be vastly different in cost to insuring your own home. It is our recommendation that all landlords retain some level of contents insurance cover, even if the property is unfurnished, as contents insurance cover can provide a landlord with a level of public liability insurance. Tenants are always responsible for the insurance of their own contents.

If the property you intend to let is mortgaged it is usually a condition of the mortgage provider that you advise them of your intentions and obtain written permission to let the property. This is frequently granted, although the provider may ask you to provide the tenant with notice that the property is subject to mortgage and the rights of repossession. Mortgage providers will generally deny the right to let if there are arrears with the mortgage payments. If your property is leasehold written consent from the freeholder or managing agent is usually required. Some covenants within the head lease will also need to be incorporated in your tenancy agreement. Fireside would normally require a copy of the head lease prior to drawing up any tenancy agreements.

Standard Services. Rents are usually exclusive of all standard services such as gas, electricity, telephone, water and cable/satellite services. We would advise that all services are taken out of the landlord's name prior to tenant occupancy. Fireside can assist with this for you if you so desire. Utility companies should be advised of moving in dates of tenants and meter readings taken where appropriate. Fireside will take our own meter readings for inventory purposes only as long as the meters are accessible. Fireside can arrange for the draining down of properties for the winter or the management of heating systems. Depending upon the local authority, a property may be subject to council tax, or a proportion of it, even when empty, again Fireside can assist you with this information.

Confidentiality. Fireside can assure you that we treat all our clients business dealings with the utmost confidentiality at all times.

Preparing Your Property to Let

Just as with selling a house a clean, well maintained and well presented property will let easier and quicker than one that is not. You will also achieve a higher rent and perhaps more importantly are less likely to encounter problems during the tenancy.

All items within the property should be in a good condition and have been serviced if necessary. Heating systems should be fully serviced annually to avoid costly break downs and call outs. Gas and electrical appliances should have instructions for use with them. It should be remembered that if you provide white goods, which is becoming more the norm, such as washing machines in the property you will be responsible for the cost of any repairs that are necessary. It is the responsibility of the landlord to provide adequate heating and hot water in the property; we therefore advise that all properties have a separate electric immersion heater in case of a failure of the main heating system. We can always provide portable heaters as a temporary measure whilst repairs are awaited.

Gardens and external areas of the property should be tidy in appearance. Although you may leave garden tools you should not expect the tenant to become Alan Titchmarsh! For larger gardens you may wish to utilise gardening services which Fireside can arrange for you with the cost reflected in the rent. It is important if we know when managing a property the boundary details and whose responsibility it is for maintaining them.

It is not a requirement of the landlord to maintain a television licence for a property but it should have a functioning ariel point. It is useful to let Fireside know if you have objections to a satellite dish being fixed to the property.

Please arrange for keys to be held by ourselves (if the property is being managed) and for at least two full sets for the tenants. All keys held by us are security coded and not identifiable to non Fireside staff. Cutting additional keys, if not supplied, is time consuming and can be unnecessarily costly for the landlord.

If a burglar alarm is installed in the property it is essential that a full set of instructions are held at the property for it and that a 24 hour service agreement is in place should any problems occur. We recommend smoke alarms and fire blankets for kitchens are fitted to all properties and Fireside can arrange this for you.

At Fireside we believe letting to be a two way street. Whilst we only seek good tenants we seek only good landlords. It is with reciprocal respect between landlord and tenant that long standing fruitful business relationships are borne. Remember it is cheaper for you to keep an existing tenant renewing their lease than to keep finding new ones.

Furnished or Unfurnished

Generally within the lettings market it is clear that there is a greater demand for unfurnished rather than furnished property. It is expected when letting an unfurnished property that floor coverings, window coverings, light fittings and a cooker are included. Many properties now include all the white goods. With regard to the legal repossession rights of the landlord there is no difference between furnished and unfurnished.

In our opinion the cost of maintaining and replacing items of furniture often outweighs the slightly higher rent that is achievable. However where it is necessary to let a furnished property we will happily advise on the amount and quality of furniture to leave in the property. If electrical items are left in the property we suggest that they are tested to compliance every twelve months by a qualified electrician (Fireside can arrange this for you) and that they have service contracts or guarantees with them.

Property Management

If you elect to ask Fireside to manage your property for you we can offer complete peace of mind to you as landlord both when the property is occupied and unoccupied. Working with various contractors we can offer a full range of services. We work only with contractors whom we have worked with over many years to ensure you receive quality workmanship, prompt service and realistic prices. We will form a written agreement with you at the commencement of the management as to limits on the values of work in which you wish us to engage and will always ask for your written consent before acting. We recommend that a float is provided by the landlord before the tenancy begins or a small portion of the rent withheld by us each month so that essential repairs to not provide an instant financial headache.

• Landlords Gas Certificates
• Boiler and Heating System Servicing
• New Heating Systems
• Electrical Repair and Replacement
• Window and Door Repair and Replacement
• Drainage and Plumbing
• Roofing Repair and Replacement
• Gardening and Cleaning Services
• Alarm Systems

Legal Obligations

All landlords are subject to legislation relating to the letting of property. The ramifications for ignoring these issues can be very serious. The primary areas for you to be aware are as follows.

Gas

The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations act of 1994 covers all gas appliances and gas pipe work in let property. Every twelve months a CORGI registered contractor must carry out a full inspection of the let property and issue a landlord's gas certificate to both the landlord and tenant. Should a landlord suspect a fault with any gas appliance or service it should be shut down immediately and a gas contractor contacted for rectification. Fireside can assist in all aspects of this matter.

As an agent working on your behalf we may also be held liable and charged with criminal offences if this law is not adhered to. We INSIST on having an up to date copy of the certificate for any property we let or manage.

Electricity

The Electrical (safety) Regulations act of 1994 requires all electrical equipment including the mains wiring must be safe within a let property. We recommend a full inspection by a qualified electrician at every change of tenancy or every two years. This is as not a costly as it may appear and should a tenant be injured as a result of faulty electrics it may the only line of defence you have in proving that you were diligent as a landlord. Again Fireside can organise these for you.

Furniture

The Furniture and Furnishings (fire & safety) Regulations 1993 were designed to improve safety standards for tenants. These regulations appertain to ALL landlords regardless of stature. In essence all upholstered furniture with a filling material situated in rented accommodation must have met the requirements of the 1988 regulations for fire resistance. All furniture manufactured after 1950 must have a permanent label sewn into the piece confirming compliance.

Fees

The Letting Service

If you wish for Fireside to simply find a tenant for your property we will charge a fee equivalent to 75% of one months rent or a minimum charge of £300.00. For this fee we will utilise unlimited resources to find a tenant, including our rent appraisal, all advertising, signboards etc. We offer accompanied viewings if required and will run a full tenant vetting procedure ensuring all financial and character checks are conducted diligently. We utilise the services of several highly creditable and recognised external referencing agencies to give you complete piece of mind. We will further fully reference check any guarantor if required. Once a tenant has been found we will draw up a legal tenancy agreement, prepare a brief inventory and property condition schedule, collect initial rent and deposits and organise a key handover. For a reasonable additional charge will prepare a full detailed inventory and schedule of condition complete with photographs for your own record.

The Letting and Rent Collection Service

In addition to the letting service we will collect and forward the rent for a fee of 3% of the monthly rental.

The Letting and Management Service

In addition to the letting service above Fireside will manage your property for you. This service removes all the day to day headaches of dealing directly with tenants for landlords. The cost for this service will be 60% of one months rent plus 10% of the rent passing for the course of the tenancy.

Our management service includes the following but again can be adapted to suit the needs of the individual client:

Regular property visits. At least once every three months we will inspect the property and identify any items that should be bought to the landlord's attention. We will collect the monthly rent, one month in advance, and immediately forward to the landlord less agreed commissions or authorised repair costs. We will provide a full remittance for the rent.

Fireside will be the first point of contact for the tenant in all instances. In the event of problems we will fully ascertain the extent of the problem and advise the landlord at the first opportunity to do so to seek authority for whatever action is required. We will happily instruct landlords preferred contractors if required. The level of contact will be agreed with the landlord at the point of instruction as many landlords will set a financial limit where action can be taken without authority.

We will service the legal notices to end the tenancy when required or re-negotiate terms for the continuation of the tenancy. At the termination of a tenancy we will inspect the property (ideally with the landlord), collect keys and report any dilapidations if necessary.