Who are they?

Most couples who rent are at the beginning of their lives together and are looking to make a home and also save up to buy one of their own. They tend to be nesters (particularly the women) and are excited about having their first home together.

What do they want?

Cost is still a consideration and consequently one bedroom flats are the most frequently rented type of property amongst this group. Garden flats are particularly popular and many young couples have/want to get a pet (usually a cat). More often than not, they will not have any furniture and will not want to purchase big items as they may not fit in their next property. However, they usually want to put their own mark on the property and make it feel like home so don't overfurnish to allow room for the tenants own bits and pieces.

The benefits of renting to young couples.

They are mostly easy to deal with, pro-active with property maintenance and keep the property well. Often they will redecorate themselves and sort out gardens (as long as the job is not too overwhelming!) so that your property can look better when they move out than it did when they moved in. Remember, there are good and bad tenants in every group. They work alot and socialise often and so are not at home much which means less wear and tear.

The pitfalls of renting to young couples.

Young couples are often living right to the ends of their means and money is often tight. They are the most unreliable group of tenants I have dealt with when it comes to paying rent but there are things you can do to minimise this - after all, it is usually disorganisation that leads to late rent payments. Make sure all your tenants pay rent by Standing Order, that way they can't forget and you won't have to collect rent. Rent is standardly payable on the same date each month, this date determined by what date the tenants moved into the property. When setting this up, ask the tenants when they get payed and set the rent payment date accordingly. If their rent goes out of their account immediately after they are paid, in my experience, cases of late payment are dramatically reduced. You may have to work out a part-payment at the beginning or end of the tenancy to compensate for moving the date.

A note about one bedroom flat buy-to-let investments.

In London, one bedroom flats are the easiest type of property to let. There are fewer one bedroom flats around and everyone wants them. Consequently empty periods are rare. However, the rental return is often low. Over the last few years whilst the rental market has been tough and house prices high, the vast majority of landlords I have dealt with who have purchased a one bedroom flat to let have not made any profit on their rental income in the first year and even struggled to break even. It's the long term investment that is the prime financial consideration in this category.