We give you the best tips and tricks to make renting your flat fast and secure. From finding the right tenant, to analysing which month is best for renting.
By Rosa Domingo, Hospitality Director at Withfor.
There are many things that can happen when renting. You have to take into account a series of factors on how to rent a flat safely, especially if it is the first time you do it.
This is one of the most frequent topics with our clients. Recently, one of our clients, Ana*, told us what a big and difficult task it is not only to find the ideal property, but also to find all the information on how to rent a flat, as she had been trying for months without success.
Renting your flat is not as easy as it seems, as there are many things to consider.
That is why she decided to contact us, Withfor, a luxury real estate agency in Barcelona. I greeted her in the office, and we discussed some key aspects during the whole rental process, some that sometimes go unnoticed by the owners but that we take in to account thanks to our experience and even more so in a city with such a wide and diverse real estate market as Barcelona.
Our commitment is always to be here for you, so we have compiled from Ana’s experience the essential points and we share these tips with you for renting a flat successfully.
Tenants’ perception is everything. What happened in Ana’s flat was that the wall colours were very dull, there were a few light bulbs that didn’t work and the furniture in the living room had a lot of decoration that strongly marked her personal taste.
Our recommendation as specialists was to pay special attention to the home, to ensure that everything was in perfect condition and to avoid it being too personal when the time came to show it. This is one of the key tricks when renting a flat as a landlord.
You have to understand that the property will be shown in a window display, and a prospective tenant has to be able to visualise themselves living there. Therefore, the simpler the space, the easier it will be to imagine yourself in it to get an idea.
Animals are faithful companions of humans and most of us love to have them at home; however, it is necessary to take great care of the cleaning when we have them.
This was precisely the case for Ana. She had a cat. On entering the flat, there were clear indications that there was an animal in the house, as small tears could be seen on the sofa and a litter box in the corner of the kitchen. By relocating the box and covering the sofa with a cover, she gave the space a new look.
Another very important thing that Ana needed to get was the energy certificate. This document together with the certificate of habitability are key requirements that, as the owner, you must have up to date and valid if you want to rent the property.
Not only is it essential and compulsory by law, but it is also a determining factor in the positioning of the flat’s advert on real estate portals. An advert with this information will have better quality and therefore will have a greater chance of being seen by a wider public. And if you also have a floor plan, all the better!
And to our readers we should say that, in case you do not have this certificate and you do not know where to begin to process it, in Withfor we give advice to obtain it in an easy way and without major worry; we could even take charge of it ourselves.
Other frequent doubts are the documentation to rent a flat: Do I have the valid habitability certificate, for how long is it better to rent, what is the profit to receive, up to what margin am I willing to lower the price, what type of rent contract should I establish?
In order to do this, it is necessary to have a conversation to review both the cost calculations involved in renting, what we want to obtain in terms of profitability, and the market prices, to find out how much my flat is worth or how much I can rent it for.
We often advise our clients to find a price according to expectations and the market. We also recommend including the cost of an insurance against non-payment, as the case may be.
In the case of Ana’s flat, some details such as the light bulbs and a few faucets were broken. When the change was made, everything looked better.
Therefore, before putting your flat up for rent you must have all the elements inside it up to date. This includes appliances and furniture in good condition and in good working order.
Cleanliness is a must, and in general terms, the flat should be a suitable place for dignified habitation.
Another thing to bear in mind is that seasonal variations go up and down, but it is true that the peaks of demand during the year tend to be during the holiday season and the start of the student calendar, especially at the beginning of postgraduate and masters university classes.
So, August – September and December – January are the key months.
The truth is that there is no single formula that ensures the speed of renting a flat. Rather, it is a sum of elements that can play in your favour, for example:
Given the case that you see yourself in this situation, from Withfor we have several steps to sell a flat in a legal and safe way among which stand out:
Remember that, when in doubt, at Withfor, we are always available to help and advise you in the best possible way.
*Pseudonym used to refer to one of our clients.
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