Key Highlights

Having a rental property or multiple properties offers a fantastic and reliable stream of income for investors, helping them to achieve their financial goals or even retire early. However, with any good investment, properties still require work. Taking care of your investments is important to make sure you keep getting the most money from your properties.

How a property is managed and maintained is important to ensure that it stays profitable, does not lose out on any income, and continues to accrue capital as time goes by. Landlords should be diligent when it comes to looking after their properties, ensuring they get the most out of their investments.

Investing in property can make you money, but managing a rental property can be time-consuming, challenging, and expensive. Property management is still work at the end of the day and can be time-consuming. New investors must understand the requirements and be ready to work hard to see their investment pay off.

Keep Track Of Finances

Property investment is a business, and with any good business, you need meticulous attention to the financial details.

All finances, income, and outcomes, need to be carefully logged and tracked. This is to ensure that money is coming in consistently, for tax reasons, and to ensure that there are no outstanding payments or losses.

Part of this is ensuring that tenants are paying their rent consistently and on time. Investors should also carefully manage their books and make sure their financial commitments are paid. Investors have to pay for property upkeep, taxes on rental income, land fees, and other expenses related to their investment.

Collect Rent

A critical part of financial planning is collecting the monthly rent and ensuring the lease is adhered to and there aren’t any missed payments. Of course, things happen and sometimes tenants need an extension on rent – it pays to be accommodating as things do just go wrong sometimes. However, if this becomes a recurring problem then late fees can be applied though this should be outlined in the lease.

Landlords can use online rent payment systems to simplify collecting rent. Paying online is easy and often a preferred method by tenants.

Prepare For Emergencies

Stuff happens. Like with an investment, things occasionally go wrong. Properties can have water leaks, broken boilers, faulty appliances, and so on and so forth. Emergencies like tenants losing their keys and needing a locksmith or quick replacement are also something that happens frequently.

Preparing for emergencies, particularly financially, can help the management of these issues when they arise easier to deal with. It is also important to know who to call and where to go in emergencies when time can be of the essence.

Know The Law

Owning a property to let – for both the long and short term – comes with different laws and regulations than purchasing a property for own use. Landlords should be aware of the different rules, regulations, and requirements to stay within the law.

Landlords should ensure the property is safe and habitable. It should be free of health hazards (such as faulty wiring or mould). All appliances and equipment should be correctly and safely installed and frequently checked. Energy performance certificates also need to be produced for each individual property you own.

Certain rules apply to a tenant’s deposit – how it should be stored and what to do with the deposit when the tenant causes damage or breaks the lease. Landlords should also be aware of tenants’ rights and what they can do when something goes wrong, such as when and how to evict bad tenants.

Find The Right Tenants

Part of good management of your portfolio is making sure that the people occupying it will be the right tenants. Finding the right, quality tenants can mean fewer problems, reduced or no damage to property, and a consistent rental income. Ensuring consistent, good tenants also means that there will be no “void periods” where the property will be unoccupied, which is costly for landlords.

Finding the right tenants can be tricky. It involves:

• Advertising: Landlords need to advertise their property, making sure it hits the right target audience. Be mindful of where you post your listing.
• Viewings: Once applications have been reviewed, landlords can choose a few to be invited to viewings. 
• Background Checks: Performing a background check on your prospective tenants is a crucial step to ensure that they are the right fit for your rental property. This can be done via referencing, where the landlord requests certain information in order to vet a potential tenant. This includes requesting proof of income, references, an affordability check, a soft credit check, and even requesting a rental guarantor (though this is often only requested if renting to students).
• Right To Rent Checks: Through immigration law, tenants must have a right to rent a property. Landlords can use a property manager to check if a tenant’s residential status is correct. 

Tenancy Agreement And Inventory

The tenancy agreement is the contract that stipulates requirements and rules for both the tenants and the landlord. It is a legal contract, ensuring that the landlord is meant to meet certain requirements and that the tenants look after the property and pay their rent.

An inventory is the list of all furniture, amenities, and everything else included in the property. It will list any prior damage, such as superficial damage like scratches to the floor and wooden furnishings. The inventory will also act as a list of everything that comes with the apartment, so if anything is missing or stolen the landlord will know.

Inventories should be logged prior to the tenants moving and at the end of the tenancy, so the state of the property can be compared. Landlords can deduct money from the deposit to repair items that are broken or damaged and were not previously reported.

Stay On Top Of Maintenance

Anyone who owns a property knows that maintenance and repairs are a common occurrence. While annoying and costly, they are a part of home ownership and need to be addressed as and when these issues arise. 

Landlords and investors should respond to their tenant’s requests for maintenance and repairs as soon as possible. This is not only to ensure that the tenants are comfortable within their homes but also because immediate remediation is better than letting a problem develop into something worse. 

For example, a leaking pipe might be a nuisance to fix, but it can cause other issues further down the line such as rot. Cleaning, repairing, and maintaining ensures that your property will stay in good shape for years to come. This includes fixing and replacing windows, clearing gutters, replacing carpets, and so on.

Creating an expenditure plan and budgeting for maintenance can be beneficial in ensuring that landlords aren’t caught out financially when something expensive breaks. Costs can be dedicated to the rental income.

Maintenance for the property is also done by scheduling visits to the property to see if there is anything that the tenants have not reported and that they’re treating the property well. Ideally, visits should be scheduled one month after the tenants move in and then every six months thereafter. This should be pre-arranged with the tenants with at least 24 hours’ notice and never unannounced.

Keeping Tenants Happy

It might seem like a small thing, but ensuring that your tenants are comfortable and happy in the property is an important part of good management. You want tenants to be happy with where they are, stay for as long as possible, and respect the property.

Keeping tenants happy includes responding promptly to requests and problems and furnishing the property to a good standard. The property should be cleaned to a high standard for when the tenants first move in. Landlords can also benefit from refurbishing and decorating to a high and attractive standard, this not only keeps tenants happy but attracts the right kind of tenants as well.

If the tenant makes requests or changes to the property, such as re-decorating, try to be accommodating within reason. Accepting requests can help tenants feel more secure and at home – and more likely to be long-term tenants. Stick to a clear line of communication and respond promptly. Always communicate professionally.

Choose A Property Management Firm

Landlords and investors can hand over responsibility and management to property management organisations that can handle all of these aspects and more for a fee. 

Property investment firms can be extremely beneficial in helping you get the most out of your investment. 

They specialise in locating the best deals and properties, using a wealth of knowledge and experience to find them. They can help you build your real estate investment portfolio, manage lettings, find tenants, conduct property management, organise repairs and maintenance, and help you to diversify your real estate investments.

Summary

Here at North Property Group, our experienced team can help you find the best investment opportunities and help you manage them after purchase. We strive to offer the best investments possible, managing the entirety of its lifecycle and giving you peace of mind.

We have a deep and rich understanding of the UK’s property market and can offer expert guidance so you can make the most out of your investment. Call us today to unlock the investment potential in the UK.