Hi, I’m completely new here and just starting the LL journey. We’re about to buy a house to rent out in Darlington. I was just wondering what the rental market was like for family properties at the moment, of course our estate agent is telling me it’s fab, but they would do 
. The property we’re looking at is a 3 bed (2 double and a single) big garden, nice quiet street within walking distance of local shops and a range of schools. We were advised rental income would be about £650/£675 a month. Does anyone have a similar property, and how are you finding the number of potential renters? Ideally we’re looking for a family with a few kids who want to rent long term. Thanks in advance
Check portals like RightMove and zoopla for available properties in area. Make sure you enable the option to show properties which have already been let.
Don’t allow EA to force you into having to renew tenancy agreement every 6 or 12 months at a price. Just go onto periodic tenancy.
negotiate a contract where you keep the tenant if you ditch the agent ever.
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@Lucy43 Sorry to say, but this sounds a bit cart before the horse to do your research on the rental market after you’ve committed to buying a property.
TBH you seem to have no idea what you are doing, and therefore I suggest you don’t buy the property. DO some research, pretend you want to rent a property and go and vist 10 properties currently up for rent in your area.
Yes do your homework. Realising market values is not difficult. Get the assistance of a letting agent and you will learn the ropes. A course would help. I would not recommended letting a first property without an agent.
Understand that being a\ landlord can be hard work and takes up a big slice of your time and energy as well as your financial investment. It can also be a big financial risk !
In the present environment of falling house prices , rising mortgage interest rates , and tenants facing a cost of living crisis it is easy to lose a lot of money !
Long term over 20 -30 years you will probably come out on top but you could lose a lot over the next 5 years unless you really know what you are doing and are ready to put a lot of time and effort into your investment.
Make sure you do you sums right - there are a lot of costs in being landlord - and repairs and maintenance and legal fees can eat up a lot of income - and one bad tenant who doesn’t pay rent can take years of hard work to make up for.
But if you want to do it go for it - personally I think there is no more honourable or ethical investment than putting a roof over people heads ! When I became a landlord I already had experience as a voluntary committee member with a community minded housing association - and had worked hard improving my own home. But in the first few years we only made it work by doing lots of our own repairs on our rented property and investing lots of time in learning the law and our obligations and property management .
If you are not ready for this you will either make a loss or become a bad landlord!
It’s not money for nowt! Its a job as well as an investment. But despite the flak we landlords get it can be a rewarding one. Its great to provide people with home. Buy it is getting tougher Make sure you are ready for it.
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If it were me I would stick my money in a bond for few years until the market has settled. Drop expected.
I wonder if my lender thinks that 
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