The rental market can be quite complicated for a beginner – and full of pitfalls – so what should you look out for as a new landlord to make sure you don’t overspend before you start earning money? Where can you easily waste it?
Rent price is too high
The first issue that can cause your rental ad not to attract prospective tenants is a price that is too high. This usually results from a lack of market analysis and no market knowledge. If you do not know how much your apartment is worth, what the prices in the area are like, and what advantages and disadvantages may affect your income, you are not able to correctly determine the amount of rent, and as a result you earn less than you could, or you wait longer than you should for a tenant - and the apartment stands empty.
There are various ways to estimate how high the rent should be. The first one is simply "see how much the competition in the area is charging and apply a similar price" - our rent calculator, which checks the rental prices of over 150 thousand properties recently available on the most popular rental ad portals in Poland and will tell you what prices look like in your area, can help you in this task.
Another solution is to calculate the annual rate of return on investment, based on the prices of apartments for sale in the area (i.e. how much you would earn on the apartment if you bought it for investment purposes). Currently, it is estimated that an apartment in a large city can bring (depending on, among other things, size and location) about 4-5% return on investment per year.
More detailed information on how to calculate the rental price can be found in a separate article.
Poorly prepared flat listing
The monthly rent amount is one of the most important factors that affect how quickly you will be able to find a tenant, but it is not an only one. What might be as important is the ability of "selling" the apartment well. Of course, the tenant will physically see their apartment some time - but these days most transactions take place online - and the potential tenant will see it online before making a decision.
It is important to present your property well. Start with photos - because each of us "buys with our eyes". The photos should be large, show the apartment in its entirety (at least one from each room) and the building itself - even the entrance to the staircase, so that it is easy to find the premises once you have arranged a meeting, or so that the person viewing your listing can assess the surroundings of the apartment.
Preparing a listing is not everything. In most cases, you have to pay for it - so is it worth spending more to have it appear in many places? Not necessarily. There are ways to place your advert for free ( you can do this on Rendin, for example ), and then use other free ways to distribute it - such as your Facebook profile or local groups with ads. This way, you will save on initial costs, and all candidates will be verified by us in terms of their credibility.
We change the rental industry
In Poland, the rental laws favor the tenants, even in cases of fraud. At Rendin, we champion fairness for both parties! Our solution supports equitable rental relationships by providing landlords with:
Professional legal aid whenever they need it
Rent payment guarantee
Property damage reimbursement
We envision modern property renting as simple, accessible, and, most of all, secure for both landlords and tenants.
Renting your apartment "as is"
This is often the case with, for example, an inherited apartment. After removing private items, the person who took over the apartment wants to immediately put it on the market. This can cause two problems - the first may be time of waiting for a new tenant (due to worn-out furniture or the apartment itself) - but this time can be shortened by a lower price. However, a bigger problem that can arise in such a case is the fact that the new owner does not really know the condition of the apartment - and unforeseen problems can arise, for example resulting from old appliances or problems with the supply of utilities (e.g. a broken and old gas furnace, or radiators that do not heat).
How to avoid these types of problems? First of all, by inspecting the condition of the apartment. Then you are aware of the problems and can fix them before they appear. You can also refresh the apartment, remove damaged furniture or equipment, or even repaint it before the lease begins.
Neglecting the documents
A new landlord does often think about potential legal problems. This is why they do not really consider what the contract they should sign and how it should look like. Some leases are still concluded on the basis of oral contracts. This is asking for problems in the event of any issues with the tenant may come up.
The second mistake that can cost you a lot is downloading any contract from the Internet "just to have a piece of paper". You can of course find a good document online, but it may just as well be an old file containing outdated provisions. It is also worth paying attention to what type of lease the contract concerns - both in terms of time (fixed or indefinite), and the type of lease - ordinary or occasional lease.
Not paying attention to describing the apartment condition
When meeting the tenant and handing over the keys, it is very important, to sign the handover protocol in addition to the contract - this document allows you to describe the condition of the apartment at the start of the lease. Thanks to it, you have information about how your apartment looked before the tenant entered it - what it contained and what its condition was. In addition to the description, the protocol may also include photos.
Why do you need a protocol? This is a document that may prove indispensable when any problems arise - e.g. damage or dirt, or you think something has disappeared. Thanks to the fact that the condition and equipment of the apartment have been described and documented, you can quickly return to it - both you and the tenant. This way you will avoid disputes - both parties know what the apartment looked like at the beginning and, for example, to what condition it should be returned at the end.
These tips will hopefully help you rent your apartment quickly and easily - and avoid problems and additional costs. Now all you have to do is create a rental ad on Rendin!