Whilst the idea of renting out a property is something that sounds appealing to most people, not everyone is always prepared for the responsibilities that come alongside being a landlord. Before deciding to become a landlord, it’s important to evaluate how suited you will be to the role and how you want to approach the responsibilities.
Some people who become landlords opt to work with an experienced letting agent, who help with the entire process of finding tenants and the other management responsibilities. It usually depends on the individual landlord but depending on how you want to manage the property in question, it may be more beneficial to use a letting agent.
In this blog post, we’ll cover what some of the key considerations are when it comes to deciding whether to become a landlord and how suited you are to being one.
Marketing and managing the property
A major part of renting out a property is the marketing and management. Firstly, you’ll need to find a tenant for your property, so you’ll want to make it look appealing and find a way to get the property in front of as many people as possible. This is an area where landlords often choose to use letting agents as they often have access to a wider audience and are in a better position to market the property.
Managing all the ongoings with the property is also an aspect of being a landlord that needs serious considerations. In terms of management, you’ll need to consider the business side as well as the practical side. For example, inventory and property portfolio are business management considerations you’ll need to be able to handle on your own, or again, you can opt to use a letting agent. For practical management, if you’re not well versed in DIY, you’ll need to be able to contact tradesmen that are able to repair any issues and to keep up maintenance work.
The day-to-day management of a property can be difficult. If you’ve never had experience running a business before, it can be an almighty challenge to handle tasks such as bookkeeping and maintenance. Some people are happy to take on this extra responsibility, whereas other landlords prefer to use an established letting agent which offers property management services that can help with the extra workload.
Dealing with people & Communication
Relationship management and general communication skills can be essential for landlords. Although some landlords have a reputation for having minimal contact, if you’re handling everything, you’ll need to be able to build strong relationships and communicate efficiently and effectively.
Not only will you need to build relationships with your tenants, but also extra contacts you might need such as tradesmen and other services. Being an effective communicator is an appealing trait for tenants, as they know they will be able to rely on a landlord who is quick to respond to any queries or problems they are having with the property.
Can you handle the finances?
There are several considerations you’ll need to take in account when it comes to money. You’ll need to be sure that you are in a strong enough financial position to be able to cover any mortgage repayments even if you are not able to get a tenant into the property for longer than you are anticipating. You’ll also need to have the funds to cover any maintenance work that needs doing, as things can break at the most unexpected and inconvenient times.
There’s also the management of finances, are you in a position where you’re happy to manage the bookkeeping and running of a business? It’s often the case that landlords don’t want the hassle of chasing down payments from tenants, and don’t want to manage everything relating to money themselves, so they choose to use a lettings company to act as a middle party.
Becoming a landlord is a big decision, and it is a sizeable investment both in terms of time and money, so it’s important that you take absolutely everything into consideration when deciding how to approach the task of renting out a property.
Everything will likely depend on your individual situation, but it’s a good idea to consider whether you are capable of handling all aspects of being a landlord alone, or whether you would benefit from using a professional letting agency to assist you with some of the more daunting responsibilities.
For more information on becoming a landlord and how the team at Pat Robson & Co. can help, get in touch today.
