This really depends on how much support you need. At Bespoke Property we offer three main service levels: Tenant Find, Rent Collect and Fully Managed. Each involves a different degree of service from Bespoke Property and the fees we charge reflect this. Be sure you understand an agent’s fees and exactly what you receive for your money when you ask them to conduct a lettings valuation.

Choosing a fully managed service allows you to completely relax. You never have to worry about the let. It creates a professional distance between you and the tenancy, and means you can avoid having to deal with all the bad bits like rent arrears and deposit disputes.

If you choose a Rent Collect or Fully Managed service, we will organise for the tenant to pay the rent via standing order or direct debit. We will then transfer the money to your account minus our commission and any outgoings or fees (such as maintenance work fees). You will receive a statement every month.

All landlords could be liable to pay tax on their rental income, whether they live in the UK or are based overseas. Further information can be found on the Inland Revenue’s website.

The tenant is responsible for the council tax (unless you decide to include this in the rent) but this needs to be clearly stated in the tenancy agreement. If the property is standing empty, it is the landlord’s responsibility to pay.

If you have instructed Bespoke Property on either a full management or rent collection service, we will chase all late and unpaid rents on your behalf and we are proud of the low rate of arrears experienced by our landlords.

However, many landlords opt to seek further protection by insuring themselves against the threat of a tenant failing to pay their rent. For this purpose we offer our Rent Guarantee which protects landlords against the threat of unpaid rent and legal fees (subject to terms and conditions).

We strongly recommend that you take the option of a professional inventory (Included in our fully managed service). It helps you protect your property and forms part of the contract between you and your tenant. It will detail the condition of the property when a tenant moves in and at the end of their tenancy. Vital to ensure there is no deposit disputes at the end of tenancies.

It depends entirely on what and where your property is as to whether you should let it furnished or unfurnished as the market will determine what is preferred. It is worth discussing this at the point of valuation with Bespoke Property about demand levels for each type of tenancy in your area and working out which option makes sense in your case.

If we are instructed to manage your property, we will take full responsibility for its upkeep all the while we are acting as your managing agent. We have an extensive database of trusted tradesmen, suppliers and contractors who can be called into action when your property needs to be repaired or vital maintenance work is required.

It is impossible to guarantee that your tenants will look after your home in the way you would hope, but at Bespoke Property we pride ourselves on choosing quality tenants for our landlord’s properties. Indeed, we place tremendous focus on analysing the prospective tenants for each of the properties we are letting, which we believe helps our landlords to enjoy a low number of dispute cases.

As part of our Fully Managed Service, we will carry out visits to check on the condition of the property and report back with their findings.