Top Tips For Potential Landlords

After 22 years of viewing and managing Wimbledon tennis properties, here are my 5 top tips to help you get started…

1. Get yourself a professional agent with excellent local knowledge.
Key points to look out for:

> Your agent should be ARLA qualified to ensure good legal knowledge and ensure you are up to date with all aspects of letting your property. They should, be a member of a regulatory body such as The Property Ombudsman, and a member of a Client Money Protection scheme to ensure all Client Monies they handle for you are protected.
> Check that your agent will provide you with a legally binding Tenancy and Agency agreement for your rental.
> The standard commission rate for Wimbledon tennis rentals is 15% + VAT of the total rent achieved…Don’t pay anymore than that…!

2. Is your house in the right location ?   You need to be within a 20 minute walk (max) from the AELTC and ideally located in Wimbledon Village for a player or corporate rental. However, we have domestic TV channels and junior players who enjoy staying in Southfields, and in particularly in the grid area. Be aware, prices vary based on location and decorative condition, and a good agent can guide you on this at the time of viewing.

3. Is your house in the tip top decorative order necessary for a Wimbledon rental ?   The reality is that our clients want high standards. We need power showers, spacious double beds (no singles please), modern kitchen/dining areas, cinema/TV rooms with all the TV packages possible, tip top tech (high speed wifi is essential), and gardens need to be well equipped and nicely presented.

4. Your house needs to be immaculately clean and entirely uncluttered when you hand it over for the rental, so you will need to put the work in, this is not money for nothing. Also, to ensure your property comes back to you in the same order, make sure your cleaner can work for the Tenants during the rental and at the end of the rental. This is imperative to ensure you are happy on your return.

5. You need an annual Landlord’s gas safety certificate and an EICR in order to rent (these are legal requirements), and everything needs to be in excellent working order.