Turn your ‘fly to let’ into a success rather than a liability with our handy tips.

Most people buying property in Fethiye plan to rent out the property for an additional income. This income can go towards some of the property's costs, and a well managed property will also incur less maintenance charges.

But renting out a property in Fethiye, or anywhere else for that matter -- is not easy. Many people imagine it is as simple as sticking the property up in the major portals, and while some succeed in this, most people come unstuck and end up regretting ever considering buying a ‘fly to let’ property in Turkey.

Running a successful Fethiye rental property is hard, but here are some tips you can employ to help make sure you succeed.

Do Your Homework

Like duh I hear you say; but the number of people who buy a property in Fethiye to rent out without spending any time researching their chosen area is alarming to say the least. This kind of on the ground research is necessary for any property purchase, but it becomes even more important for those planning on renting their property out.

Renting a property is a business, and so visiting the area is not only to conduct due diligence on the property purchase, but research on the strengths of the area, and even competitor analysis. If you can have a holiday in the area you plan to buy then you will know about all the wonderful facilities and amenities, you can enthuse about the local restaurants, and stay in the competing accommodation.

During the research phase is a good time to consider what size and type of property you should buy; bearing in mind that while smaller properties often earn the best rental yields, mid-large size properties have the largest rental pool.

Also think about nearness to the dolmus route as some renters can be put off if they have to rent a car to get about. Some people may lack the confidence to drive in a foreign country.

You should also look into liabilities insurance so you are safe if your guest should have any accidents.

Hire a Professional Photographer

Far too many people selling and renting out a property will take their own photos for use in the advertising. Unprofessional photography can make a property look smaller, dingy or worse.

Professional photos for a property advert will usually cost between £100 and £300, meaning they pay for themselves in one or two rentals. You should aim to get at least 10 images, a strong exterior shot as the main image and some good wide-angle shots of the interior and maybe some night time shots.

Friends and Family or Success?

This is a quandary. Your family will rub their hands together when you tell them your plans to buy a rental property, but 9 times out of 10 they will want to use the property in peak season, which is when the rental property makes the most money and gets the most repeat business.

So if they ask simply explain that the property must be available for paying customers at peak times in order to make it viable, most friends and family will understand.

In Rentals Everyone Hears You Scream

All the above will help you get bookings. The next thing is for you or your rental manager to tour the property and make sure the property lives up to the expectations it creates in the adverts. If it falls short in any way this will almost certainly be posted online, and this can be damaging. This should also be done between each party, if you are employing a property manager ensure this as a prerequisite.

Where are all the Guests?

Alternatively to the scenario laid out above, sometimes, no matter how well you have researched, and how great your photographer was, the rentals just aren't coming. The first thing to check is your price; too cheap or too expensive and this will be putting potential renters off. If the price is right go back to researching the competition, find out what they are doing right and mimic it -- this is not hard given the aforementioned review sites that are in abundance on the net.

If you've managed to get inquires but no one has become a guest, make sure you're responding to your potential renters in no more than a 24-hour period, and try not to be too aggressive or too quick to close the deal.