Published: 31/05/2018 By Penny
Becoming a new landlord can be quite a challenging experience and you may have heard the horror stories regarding rogue tenants and the consequences to a Landlord. Whilst some of these stories are true, most tenancies are drama free and becoming a Landlord can actually become a profitable and enjoyable experience. If you are planning to become a landlord for the first time, keep reading as we are going to share with you some of our top tips to being successful and being a first-time landlord.Research Makes It Easy
Many times, new landlords don’t do their research and end up finding out the hard way that using the wrong forms or not having the right certificates or permissions from your lender can get you in hot water, however, these are all quite simply attained once you’ve completed a checklist.
Is It A Business?
Another oversight some landlords make is being too personal with tenants and/or the property. This may have been your home at one stage or currently and with that comes a lot of emotion, especially if you’ve been there a long time and put your heart & soul into the property. This is only natural. Sometimes this works in your favor, but there is a fine line between a personal and business relationship with your tenants, and once crossed, tenants can potentially manipulate the relationship with empty promises and tardiness with rent etc. Keeping a trustworthy and fair relationship between yourself and your tenants is imperative and its what can often dictate whether you have a great tenancy or a terrible one, but treating the tenancy as a business is equally important for any potential profitability. You should visit them regularly and pay attention to what they report and respond promptly in all cases without any emotion. When properly researching how to become a property owner and renting your properties, it’s easy to reap the rewards and avoid many of the common pitfalls.
Set up a screening process:
Landlords often find that getting a new tenant is relatively easy, especially in large cities. However, it is much more difficult to find “quality” tenants who can take care of the property and pay their rent on time. It is essential to perform thorough background checks on their employment, credit history, residential history and of course the new legislation of Right to Rent checks. If you find tenants through an agent such as Chamberland Residential, we do all this for you and take away the hassle.
Treat it like a real business:
Renting a property is a real business. Like any business, you need to have proper processes and systems to get everything well organized. With a good system, you may manage marketing, accounting, customer supports and maintenance tasks quite efficiently. This can be quite tricky as a private landlord as you are often not allowed to market your property on the main portals that all applicants look to find a property on, therefore limiting your catchment significantly. By using Chamberland Residential as your Agent, you get maximum exposure and we take care of everything for you.
Use the proper forms:
It is imperative that you prepare and use all the necessary forms. These may include non-resident landlord tax forms or lender agreements giving permission to let.
Focus on security:
Security is a very important factor for tenants as they need to protect their family members and belongings. Rental properties must be properly secured against crime and it’s even better if they are located in safe areas, with a very low crime rate. Tenants are willing to pay extra for properties that are secure and in better areas for this purpose.
Make it easy:
Relationships will remain strong if landlords make things easy for their tenants. Conflicts often arise when a few things are not clear from the start and expectations are not managed. By making things easier for tenants, it will also be easier for landlords in the long run.
Prepare a financial reserve:
It’s advisable that Landlords should save for the “rainy day”. There will be unexpected costs due to vacancies, large repairs and unfortunately even rent arrears. Properties will deteriorate when not maintained properly and it will then be less likely to get good tenants and a good market value rent.
The best way that you can become a successful and effective new landlord is to use a professional letting and property management company that can guide you easily through the whole process whilst taking some of the liability and pressure off of you too.
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