Using the Internet Classifieds to Rent out a flat.
I’d recently finished doing up the flat so that I could rent it out. I had considered using a factoring agency to fix the flat and rent it out for me. But in the end I ended up getting the flat upt o spec and arranging for it to be rented.
I managed to get the flat rewired up to standards which included a mains wired smoke alarm and the carbon monoxide detector. I also got my gas fire looked at as I had been informed when the kitchen was put in, that it needed to be fixed or replaced. As it turns out the person who had condemned the fire was wrong to as I got another qualified gas guy to look at it and he did not understand how it was condemned in the first place. Brett also did up the bathroom by tiling it and replacing the shower head and rail.
With this done we put up an advert in gumtree and waited. At first we did an advert without pictures. We managed to get some responses. However we re-posted the advert with pictures, which got some more attention.
The advert was roughly worded like this:
Bright Spacious 1 Bedroom Flat with Dining Kitchen.
10 minutes minutes walk to the city centre and 5 minutes walk from the beach. Close to two supermarkets, two cinemas and 3 gyms. 5 minutes walk to King Street for easy access to Bridge of Don and Altens. Also handy for Buses to Garthdee. Easy distance for Aberdeen University and The Robert Gordon University City Centre Campus.
Rent £amount per month short Assured tenancy with option to renew, 1 month deposit, plus 1 month in advance. Bills and council tax not included.
I also included a few of these pictures:
In the end we ended up filming a walk through of of the flat.
Gumtree has an option to embed you-tube videos. I would advise anyone thinking of renting out their flat to do a video walk through. It gives a good impression of the layout of your property. Keep yourself out of it, otherwise it may look a bit cheesy.
It does look really cool with a video option in the advert.
It also sorts out who is seriously interested.
We got a phonecall from a tenant who is currently in Austria. They haven’t set foot in the flat, but on the basis of that video the flat has been secured by deposit. Ironically on the same day someone else was interested in renting the flat out as well. However the Austrian tennant got in there first.
So to summarise:
To rent out the flat using gumtree
- Clean your flat from top to bottom. Get the most unsightly jobs fixed.
- Take pictures of your flat, ideally on a bright sunny day, but failing that with some light.
- Take a video of your flat and do a walk through
- Upload the video to youtube, take a note of the embed link details
- Create an advert on gumtree, choose 3 pictures and include your video.
- For the text tell people about the flat and the advantages of your location. (E.g Close to the shops and leisure facilities. )
- Include useful details like council tax bands.
Extras to remember:
- Register as a private landlord at http://www.landlordregistrationscotland.gov.uk/. This is not optional. You are required to do this by law. Even if your flat is not multiple occupancy. You will get fined heavily if you are not registered.
- Get the electrical wiring checked and certified, arrange for this yearly.
- Get a Gas Safety Certificate. Arrange a check yearly.
- Take a copy of all of the manuals for the appliances. Give the tenants a copy.
- You can get copy of legal forms and advice from the city councils. Edinburgh Council has a fairly helpful website and some form templates for the legalities.
