Naivety of Newbie Landlords

I was out a couple of nights ago with an old mate discussing the newbie landlord experiences of mutual friend.  This friend John had gone out several years ago and shelled out £60 odd grand to buy a place to rent out.  He thought he had a good deal because he bought the property with an existing tenant.  It turns out that this tenant was not as much of an asset as he first thought.  She stopped paying rent and then left leaving the property in a 'fair state'.

Need for a deposit

John had unfortunately not collected an initial rental deposit which meant that he couldn't even start to claim back any of the lost rent or costs of putting the damage right.  What still amazes me is the naivety of 'newby' landlords who invest tens of thousands of pounds in a rental property without appearing to do even a little bit of basic research.  Renting out property is not difficult (I've never claimed it is).  However, you should be aware that you are running a small business and therefore you really do need to research it carefully and know a little about it before taking the plunge.

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