Useful tips when advertising a property to let.

rum and black

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My tenants have left after 4 years. They were fantastic tenants. During their stay I increased the rent twice at 4% each time. I will now be advertising for new tenants and looking for any useful tips when advertising. I presume I can only increase the rent by 4% as it is 12 months since I last notified an increase. Does everyone charge a one month deposit or can one charge slightly more. Any particular guidelines I need to be aware of when advertising and seeking information from prospective tenants. Your help is appreciated.
 
References
Confirm employment
Previous landlord if any
Pps number and photo id (you should show yours also)
Inventory & photos of each room
Take 6 weeks deposit + €250 if any pets
Get standing order set up, dont hand over keys until all money is in bank.
Have a folder of all the manuals for appliances
Avoid being too specific in print about the type of tenant you want.
Try not to be lulled into a false sense of security, at some point you will get hassle, thats the business you're in.
 
DAFT is not the only way to advertise. Are you based near any large companies? My advice would be to contact HR of those companies and see if they have any relocating employees seeking a home that they can put you in contact with. That way you are sure that the work references check out. In this market, you can certainly ask for first & last month and a month's deposit.
 
Might be no harm to ask the leaving tenants if they have friends who might want to rent. Of course the same principals apply but this methodology can be advantageous.
 
Most large companies will use a relocation agency to assist relocating staff source property. Most of those in turn prefer to deal with letting agents they have established relationships with. Less hassle all round for them.

Use the calculator on the RTB site to determine the maximum rent you can now charge.
 
Set up a separate Email account to handle the initial enquiries.
Initially deal exclusively via email, - the well prepared enquirers will be open and give full detail about themselves – others often just ask “when can I view”
If the property is in a high demand area be prepared to take down the add relatively quickly after x no. of enquiries
Do your homework on what questions you aren’t allowed ask and don’t ask them – (some will have already answered these in their reply).
Check / cross check the references and other data supplied.
Meet a range of prospective tenants - remember you will probably be dealing with them for a number of years to come
 
Agree with the new email address. Means when you’re replying it’s coming from that address. There can be some harrowing stories - I wasn’t prepared for this at all.
Select from email enquiries and offer approx 4-6 parties a viewing. I scheduled 2 every half hour so not everyone arrived together. Most had employer/previous LL references with them.
select as quickly as possible and let the others know they haven’t been selected. Most are finding the process very daunting and I found a lot of people had very poor English
 
Previous landlord if any

I actually ask for two previous landlords references, and follow them up, where possible.

I have found in the past, that the current landlord might not always be upfront and “honest” about the tenant and is trying to offload them, so in turn they can tell you anything - hoping they can end the tenancy with them as soon as possible for various reasons.
The second last landlord will not have that problem.
 
I actually ask for two previous landlords references, and follow them up, where possible.

I have found in the past, that the current landlord might not always be upfront and “honest” about the tenant and is trying to offload them, so in turn they can tell you anything - hoping they can end the tenancy with them as soon as possible for various reasons.
The second last landlord will not have that problem.
Thats assuming the landlord is genuine and not a colleague of the renter.
 
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