In any city, there will be rental properties ideal for short and long term letting. The short terms are good for vacation dwellers and long term rentals will be expecting professionals or officials who will stay in the city for a reasonable period of time.
To be part of the city even for a reasonable time renting an apartment or house on a long term rental will do good. If the renter require for less than a year many landlords refuse and add fines fearing void periods.
Even though, a buy-to-let property is often meant for short term letting, things are changing. There is always a debate on the benefits of short term vs long term
Why long Term is Good?
Offering a property on long term will bring immense advantages if it is closer to the owner’s domestic surroundings. Areas with strong concentration of expat residents, city centres and yearlong resort town areas are ideal to catch long term letting returns.
The landlord will gain and can escape the anxiety of vacant periods. Under the current scenario in real estate markets, mortgage is hard to come by for all potential buyers. This translates into leveraging the demands for long term lettings.
Although the economic slowdown has pulled down prices considerably the ability to access market is becoming difficult. Compared to previous years, an increasing number of potential buyers are hoping to tap the long term letting market.
For buy-to-let investors, the option of letting their properties for long term, outside the peak season will assure a steady financial return without bogged down by void periods.
To ensure steady income during the low seasons, smart owners are favouring extended contracts when they have found high seasons have not been as gainful as expected.
Many new landlords are constrained to list their properties onto the rental market when prices have been down. That entails waiting for the market to improve before attempting to sell. So they are facing losses and owners do understand that they can make some returns on property rather than suffer by selling in the current market conditions. So, putting it on a long lease is the remedy.
Guaranteed income
A guaranteed income for the entire duration of the long term contract will enable owners to calculate returns realistically from the investment. Generally majority of the contracts will be for duration one to 2 years.
When launching a property onto the long term rental market in a foreign country, be recommended to contract a reliable property management company. A professional management company will take good care of the property and sort out all emerging issues. This also provides peace of mind to the investor or house owner.
Location
In considering the purchase of a buy-to-let property for the long term market rental location is important. To ensure strong returns and high demand from clients, the local market understanding regarding immediate surrounding is imperative.
Also important is to familiarise with the legal implications of the country where the property is located, in terms of owner’s rights and tenant rights. Overall, the urge to place a buy-to-let investment on the long term letting market is gaining ground. Given the rapid changes in the real estate sector over the few years, a new approach and new tactics are essential to safeguard the investment. Being ready for Long lets is part of that process and ensuring steady returns is most essential.
