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for twelve months. Your listing will be made live immediately
and again whenever you have a vacancy. There will be no limit
to how many times your listing can be made live during a 12
month period. As well as receiving enquiries from house-hunters
surfing the net and visiting our site, we will also drive potential
tenants your way every day by prospective tenants calling you
direct. These people are actively looking for a property just
like yours..
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0113 2302303 or 4
Management
Intercity Accommodation has been established since
1980. We do not sell properties nor do we sell any financial
products. Consequently our experience of the letting market
and knowledge of the Housing Acts 1988 & 2004 is not diverted
in any way. Our levels of service are maintained by our policy
of strictly limiting the numbers the numbers of properties managed
at any one time.
Since 1980 our occupancy rates have averaged at over 90 percent
per annum with prospective tenants currently being referred
to our offices by the Housing Advice Center, Leeds City Council,
the Tourist Board and the Trading Standards Department to name
but a few. A judicious allocation of our annual advertising
budget attracts a sustained level of enquiries throughout the
year.
Many people are renting properties for the first time and there
may be questions that are particular to your circumstances that
you need assistance with, or perhaps you simply want a general
outline of our industry or a certain point explaining a bit
more. Please do not feel that by asking questions that you are
wasting our time. You may in fact be highlighting an issue that
has not occurred previously thereby helping us to avoid any
similar confusion in the future.
Investing in real estate is a great way to increase your wealth
through capital appreciation. However, if you are interested
in buying and renting residential properties there are several
things to consider. Being a landlord can be extremely stressful
and expensive if you have managed to invest in property which
has not been well maintained. In this article, we will discussion
the benefits and risks of renting out residential real estate.
One of the biggest benefits to renting property is that it
is very lucrative. Not only are you making an income each month
you also possess a real physical asset which is quite different
then owning stock you will never be able to see or touch.
Many people just are not comfortable owning something they
can no see. In the recent decades, many people have decided
not to invest in the stock market and place all their money
into real estate. Who could resist! With rapidly increasing
prices, high demand, and almost no risk – the benefits
are obvious.
Rental real estate gives you a monthly income. Property also
increases in value and your capital appreciates each year. Real
estate is one of the few investments that do extremely well
in time of increase inflation.
Remember, rental real estate can also be purchased with borrowed
money and this is called leverage. For almost no money down
an investor can own and rent a large residential property like
condos or apartments. If your rental properties cost you more
then you received in income from them, the profit is tax free.
Once there is equity in your residential property, you can apply
for a home equity loan and use that money to invest with.
There are also several risks associated with rental properties.
First and foremost you are liability for any injuries which
take place on the property. If a visitor breaks a finger in
a door, you have to pay for it. Not only that but you are subject
to lawsuits which will be suing for not just the injury but
emotional distress. This is why it is extremely important that
all of your properties meet government building and living standards.
There are always unexpected expenses. Apartments flood, walls
get cracks, and foundations leak. They are all your responsibility.
On top of that you have to deal with tenants. Ninety percent
of your tenants will be great people who mind their own business
but the other 10% will make you want to rip your hair out.
In case you are the owner of a property that you wish to rent
to an interested prospective tenant, you have to decide which
would be the best way to make your rental property most appealing
to potential renters. Real estate agents support that there
are several ways in which this can be done.
- There is always the solution of furnishing your rental property.
Many landlords decide that this is the best possible way to
increase the rental agreement on their property and if they
do have furniture in excess, it is actually a convenient way
to store them and make profit from their use by the tenant.
In case this sounds like something you would be interested in
doing, you have to make sure that your rental property is in
excellent condition and that the phone jack on the wall and
other appliances are in perfect shape.
- There is also the option of partly furnishing your property.
This method will appeal to renters who are interested in finding
a house that is not packed with furniture that do not match
and that they want to bring in some of their own. But it is
always a good idea to offer a nice quality couch, bed, mattress,
drawers and kitchen appliances. Nice looking furniture will
make your property much more appealing to potential renters
and will help you securing the rent you wish to receive every
month.
- Do not forget that your property has to be shown to its potential
residents clean. Everything has to be as clean as possible and
especially the kitchen appliance, cupboards along with the bathroom
have to be in great shape. Consider hiring a professional team
to do the cleaning and remember that in most cases, providing
a clean apartment is among your responsibilities as the rental's
lawful owner.
- Repair ceilings, kitchen cabinets, existing wallpaper, closets
and doors. Make sure your contractor will take care of your
bathroom damages and ask him to replace the bathroom tiles that
have been damaged by the previous tenants or owners. Installing
a new bathroom curtain and brand new hooks can further assist
your efforts of renting it at the price range you have in mind.
- Repaint with the right light colours the walls of the residence
and get rid off difficult to handle paints.
- Increase the existing lighting and replace old blinds with
bright new ones.
- Take care of the things the previous owner or tenant has
left inside the house and if you are thinking of using some
or all of them to furnish the house make sure you write down
what you are leaving in there and what type of furniture are
missing and your tenant will probably request you to supply.
- Shampoo carpets and for deep cleaning that helps reduce the
allergens and the odours caused by dust mites, pollen, dust
and pet dander. It generally advisable to deeply clean your
carpets so as to brighten and deodorise their surface.




If you're still waiting for the perfect time to
buy investment properties, stop because you'll probably find
yourself waiting year after year for that time to come. Over
time the real estate market will go up and down, but you can
still make money no matter when you decide to invest. You don't
need a crystal ball to try and predict the future to make it
big in real estate. Don't think that you need to time the market
perfectly, because you don't. With a few simple strategies,
you can make big money investing in real estate even if your
timing isn't perfect. Buying Wholesale Properties One thing
you always want to do, especially in a cold (slow) real estate
market is to get a really good deal on every property that you
invest in. You want to be able to sell you're the property below
the current market value and still make a nice profit. People
are always buying houses, even in cold markets. As an investor
you basically always want to buy property at wholesale prices
and then sell it at or close to retail prices.
Buying property at wholesale prices as an investor needs to
be the norm. The better deal you can get when you purchase your
investment, the more money you'll make when you sell it. You
want to find yourself bidding low on several properties at a
time until you're able to find someone ready to sell fast and
cheap. If you are not able to get a house that you like at a
great price, don't get discouraged. One rule is to never get
personally attached and fall in love with an investment property,
remember this is just business and it's not personal.
In both hot and cold markets you'll be able to find people
who need to sell their property fast and well below market value.
There are a lot of occurrences that will put people in a situation
where they need to sell fast, divorce, bankruptcy, maybe the
owner needs to move into a nursing home and there are many,
many more. All of these events are common and can occur to just
about anyone, which is why it shouldn't be that hard to find
these types of situations.
Rent Out Investment Property If it's not such a great time
to sell your property, then why not look at renting it? In real
estate, a slow sales market does not mean a bad or slow rental
market. You should be able to find a tenant and get just as
much rent as you would in any type of sales market. It just
might make sense to rent your property until the sales market
improves. The tenants rent should cover all of your expenses
and the whole time you'll be paying down your mortgage.
So, you should make money renting out your property three different
ways. 1. You are paying off your mortgage over time 2. Your
making a monthly cash flow 3. Your property value will increase
over time
So don't get bogged down about what type of real estate market
were in today and what direction the market is going in tomorrow.
Find a great deal on an investment and go for it. Just do it,
if you make a mistake you'll be a better investor by learning
from what you did wrong. You'll be further ahead by going for
it than someone else who is waiting and trying to time the market
perfectly.
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Many people are looking for ways to increase their retirement
income. For most of these individuals, their homes are the greatest
asset. A large section of the aging population has failed to
plan effectively in order to have sufficient savings at retirement.
They now are looking to their real estate to supplement their
retirement income.
Real estate values are very unpredictable, especially now with
the decrease in the real estate bubble. Prices are falling in
some cities and flattening in others. It will take some planning
to get the most from selling your real estate to supplement
your retirement.
Be Realistic. To plan effectively, you must be realistic about
the price you may get for your home. Real estate is an up and
down market, so you should assume a traditional real estate
market for valuating your home, with gains in value equal to
the inflation rate. At retirement, you will have the same purchasing
power you currently have. If gains in real estate values are
better than the inflation rate, then you will have more. Just
don’t count on it.
Get the Most from Your Real Estate. People used to work hard
to pay off their mortgages for homes they planned to raise their
children in and retire. Since 1989, the number of people 65
and older with mortgage debt has nearly tripled, adjusting for
inflation. Making payments on real estate in retirement years
will deplete your savings and retirement income faster than
any other expenditure.
There are three reasons to pay off your real estate mortgage
— (1) decrease expenditures in your retirement years,
(2) use the mortgage interest rate that you will save to increase
your retirement savings, and (3) build more equity, in case
you need it as income on which to live later. Paying off your
mortgage is a good thing to do, regardless of what the real
estate market is doing.
Downsize Your Home. If you are living in a home that is larger
than what you need, do not hold on to it for sentimental reasons.
Selling the larger home for a smaller one can: (1) give you
a smaller mortgage payment than you currently have, or (2) purchase
a smaller home outright with no mortgage. It also means less
physical upkeep by you, as well as less maintenance and repair
costs in the future during retirement. Please keep in mind that
there will be selling, moving and new home renovation costs
that must be deducted from the sale proceeds.
Sell the Extra Real Estate. If you have a second home or vacation
real estate that will not be your retirement residence, you
may wish to sell this extra real estate now, putting the sale
proceeds into your retirement savings. You can put the mortgage
and annual upkeep payments for this property into your retirement
savings, too.
Reverse Mortgages. Though these products have been around for
some time, we are hearing a lot about them lately. Such mortgages
give you 50 percent or more of your home’s value with
no mortgage payments, which are collected by the lender at your
death or if you sell the real estate.
Beware! Reverse mortgages should be used only as a last-ditch
effort at survival. The interest and fees added to your mortgage
debt can be very costly. If you must consider a reverse mortgage,
here are a few smart tips:
• There are only a few reverse mortgage products now
on the market, but others are coming soon. So, wait two or three
years to garner more options and possibly better products.
• You must be 62 to qualify for a reverse mortgage loan,
but wait as long as possible to take such a loan. The younger
you are, the smaller the loan and higher the cost over time.
• Check out all of the products on the market and get
independent financial counseling on the best one for you. They
may look the same upfront, but the number of years and the loan
value differ greatly between products, as well as the costs
over time.
• Do not buy into the hype! Mortgage brokers receive a
large commission on these products. If you feel you are being
pushed in this direction, check out other lenders.
• Plan ahead. If you move and sell your real estate, the
lender receives all that is due on the reverse mortgage from
the sale proceeds. This could actually leave you in a worse
financial state.
If you would like a rental valuation, please contact us by clicking
the icon in the top left, or by clicking here: email
now!
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Intercity
Accommodation are letting agents in Leeds. We
have a selection of houses to rent, as well as professional
and student flats. Our managed properties in Leeds are located
in various areas in Leeds depending upon availability.
Our web site is edited daily and includes property for professionals,
professional house shares, student flats, and flats and houses
to let in Leeds.
In addition to the above services, we also offer full management,
`let-only` and `advertising-only`for owners & landlords.
Property investments can be sought & acquired for investors.
For more information on our investment opportunities, contact
our Headingley Leeds Office, Tel.: 0113 2302303 or 2302304.
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