Rent-to-Rent: low investment, high returns

Rent-to-Rent is one of the hottest property strategies in the UK.  You can create your own Rent-to-Rent business by taking over the management of properties on behalf of landlords who don’t want to manage them themselves, and who don’t want to pay the high fees of a letting agent.

Done in the right way, it’s compliant with UK law and can generate substantial earning potential for you.  It also gives the landlord a guaranteed rental income, so it’s a winning situation all round.

Why choose Rent-to-Rent?

• You can achieve a substantial monthly income without a huge outlay
• You don’t need to apply for a mortgage – or to save up that 25% deposit
• You don’t have to pay the legal fees, stamp duty or any other fees associated with purchasing property
• There are no third-party agents involved, you deal directly with the landlord.

This strategy gives you the means to:

• Create your own business and benefit by earning a full-time income from property
• Get into property, even if you don’t have a big cash pot to start with
• Start a property business even if you don’t have a perfect credit rating
• Discover a better future if you’re ready to take positive action and take on as many properties as you can find

If you are looking for a way to get your property career started without having to save up that essential 25% deposit a mortgage requires, this is definitely the strategy for you.

What do you need to get started?

Firstly, you need to find properties whose landlords want to offload and let someone else worry about finding tenants.  You can choose a wide variety of Rent-to-Rent approaches, some of the most popular being HMOs and serviced accommodation.

Secondly, you’ll need tenants – you can advertise for these online and locally offline.  If you’re good at social media, that can be a great source of tenants, but always check references if you want to ensure you house people who can pay and will look after the property. 

Once you’ve agreed with the landlord the monthly rental income they want from you – anything over that is pure profit for you.

Your responsibilities

As the renting agent you are responsible for ensuring the property remains in good condition so that, when you eventually hand it back to the owner, it’s in the same state of repair as when you took it on.

Ideally, you would allocate a percentage of your income to repairs and refurbishment.  This will cover emergencies too, such as plumbing, electrical and other such problems.  Having a slush fund to tap into is simply good practice so you don’t come unstuck if something untoward happens.

Larger outlays such as a new boiler, structural repairs, etc. would normally still be the responsibility of the owner.  It’s important to ensure that who is responsible for what is covered in your contract at the outset.