Managing a rental property can feel like a daunting task. Some landlords may choose to go down the route of outsourcing the management to a letting agent to help take away this extra work and potential stress. However, other landlords will want to manage the task themselves.
Managing your property yourself does come with numerous benefits, including cost savings. While self-managing takes time, practice, and trial and error, the benefits can often be worth it.
Here, we take a look at some tips that could make you a more efficient, productive, self-managing landlord.
Before you start seriously considering self-property management, there are a few considerations you must first account for.
In addition to your other daily responsibilities, managing your own rental property takes up a significant amount of your time. Remember, especially if you’re a portfolio landlord, you’ll often be pushed and pulled in numerous directions across your various properties at any one time. This means you’ll need to effectively balance your time between each property to leave your tenants as satisfied as possible.
Are you handy around the house? Managing your own property does require (ideally) some intermediate DIY skills. There’s no telling what issues you’ll need to solve, be it rising damp or broken floorboards.
Before considering self-management across your rented properties, consider your skill set and competency levels.
When it comes to property maintenance, there’s somewhat of a grey area in the eyes of the law. While landlords are required to make repairs in a reasonable time frame, the law does not dictate exactly what a reasonable time frame is.
In most cases, the time frame depends on the severity of the task i.e. everyday facilities that are crucial to life, such as washing or cooking areas, will need more immediate attention compared to entertainment facilities like televisions.
If your tenant doesn’t feel that you’ve addressed something quickly, they may be entitled to pursue legal action against you.
So, you’ve decided to take on the task of self-management. Good for you! Here’s a few ways to to get started:
Before renting out your property, it’s important to do as much due diligence as possible. This extends much further than arranging a legally valid rental contract; you should also endeavour to get your property in the best physical condition possible prior to letting it out.
Start by holding a quick walk-through of the property while it’s empty and making a snag list. Cracked paint? Peeling wallpaper? Stained carpets? Make sure you start your self-managed journey on the right foot by getting as much done as you can, partly for your tenant’s enjoyment, partly because fixing an empty property is much easier compared to one that’s lived in.
Communication is important while renting, that’s undeniable. However, its importance is heightened even further when you’re managing the property yourself.
Being notified of problems as soon as possible is a luxury for both you and your tenant. On one hand, you get the added benefit of being able to tend to any issues promptly, while on the other, your tenant gets the added peace of mind thatproblems will be fixed at some point. After all, rental agreements are exactly that – an agreement between two parties. Your tenant agrees to report issues, and you agree to fix them.
Houses come adorned with a variety of timely fixes and recurring responsibilities. Whether it’s an EPC refresh or a boiler service, it’s your job to remember when everything is due.
Managing this without any sort of reminders is one almighty task, especially spread across multiple properties. For this, a few calendar reminders or scheduled emails works an absolute treat.
Some of the common recurring maintenance tasks you’ll need to remember including:
Read more: What Are EPC Ratings? Everything You Need to Know
While all tenants are legally entitled to the quiet enjoyment of their properties, that doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to visit every now and again. Just make sure you give warning and don’t become a nuisance , so you’ll be able to occasionally check inas often as necessary.
One way of doing this is to set up maintenance visits throughout the year. During which, you can ask the tenant if there’s anything that requires attention, in addition to doing some recurring checks on things like pipework, outdoor areas, damp, and mould.
We’ve all heard of the dreaded “landlord special” when it comes to returns. Painting over damp spots, reusing older materials and parts for extensive repairs, and generally just reacting to repairs with glorified ‘bodge’ jobs. They never last, and they make your tenant lose trust in you.
After all, this is your property. It’s your investment, therefore, it’s in your best interest to ensure it lasts as long as possible to maximise your return, and of course keep your best tenants happy.
It’d be naïve to think that houses can be set and forgotten about. Emergencies happen, whether accidental or otherwise.
Anticipating these emergencies may make them much easier to deal with. By this, of course, we’re not expecting you to know exactly what’s going to go wrong and when. Rather, it’s more a case of being prepared to deal with such issues, as and when they happen.
For example, if a pipe bursts, do you have a reliable plumber you can talk to? What about the electricity, is there an electrician in your books? Keeping these key contacts on standby, and money aside to deal with issues, can help you tend to emergencies swiftly – freeing up your time to focus on the rest of your property portfolio.
Of course, self-managing a property isn’t just about the maintenance. Self-management even covers aspects such as advertising, listing, and promoting the property to fill any vacancy. For this, you’ll need to make sure your curb appeal (both inside and outside) is in tip top shape.
The best part is you don’t need any fancy drones or premium cameras to promote your property. With some clever staging, positioning, and camera angles, you can make a property seem enticing, cosy, and attractive.
Most smartphones these days will have two camera lenses: one for standard length shots, and another for wider angles. These wider lenses create a bit of a fish-eye lens effect, which makes rooms feel larger and more inviting.
The best images of your rooms are taken through the entryway, as this is exactly what your tenants will see, but you can also provide other shots in the upper corners of the room to give some more perspective to the property. Plus, while taking shots, make sure your house is tidy… at the very least.
When it comes to outdoors, take a few minutes to rake up any loose leaves, take out the bins, cut the grass, and water the plants (if you have any).
We’re empowering landlords to do more for their tenants. Do exactly that with the backing of a buy-to-let mortgage from Aldermore.
For more insights, tips, and help on being a better landlord, read through our landlord insights today.