The quick and easy way to work out how much rent you can realistically charge for your property is to take a look at what everyone else is asking.

Simply visit one of the major property portals, such as rightmove and prime location, and search for properties similar to your own. Be as wide in your search as possible. For example, if you have a 3 bedroom house, search in your postcode and up to ½ mile away, for 3 bedroom houses, with no minimum or maximum price. This will allow you to gauge not only the prices, but also the quality of house at each price. Try not to search too far from your postcode, as rental prices will be effected by proximity to, for example, schools, train stations, the town centre, although obviously if you can’t find any comparative properties in the near proximity, you may have to extend your search.

You must take an objective view of your property. If it is in perfect condition, it will be worth more per month, than an exact same house which needs a new kitchen and bathroom, and vice versa.

It may also be worth including a search of houses with one more or one less bedroom than your own. Take our 3 bedroom house as an example again. In this case, I may extend my search to other rental properties which have between 2 and 4 bedrooms. If your house is a particularly large or small example of a 3 bedroom house, it may fall into the price bracket of either the cheaper 4 beds or more expensive 2 beds

We would also recommend looking at properties which are let agreed. You can include these properties in your search on, for example, rightmove and prime location. This will show you which properties are actually being rented. Remember that just because your house is the same price as others in the area does not necessarily mean that they are the correct price!