• Self-Managing Landlords: Can You Really Cope?

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    Are you a landlord choosing to self-manage your rental properties to cut costs? On the face of it, it’s not difficult to see why this might seem like a good idea; with saving money being your goal. The reality is, however, that finding suitable tenants, keeping on top of arrears, managing the tenant relationship and dealing with regulatory burdens is far from easy. Impossible, others might say (not to mention statistically likely to actually lose you money). To put it quite simply: It’s just far more trouble than it’s worth.

     

    Lightening the regulatory burden

    There have been recent calls from prominent industry figures for the pressing need to lighten the regulatory burden for agents, (yet alone landlords), with Sally Lawson, founder of Agent Rainmaker and a former ARLA president saying:

    “The industry model we have dates back to the 1990s and before. Thirty years later we have around a hundred times as much compliance work to do. But there just aren’t enough hours in the day or pounds in the bank.

    “We need to reduce the workload on agents. That’s where PropTech comes in. There’s a lot of room for agencies to make more use of it.”

     

    Ensuring Compliance is a full-time job

    Estate agencies work around the clock to ensure compliance. They can also leverage technology, whereas self-managing landlords don’t have anywhere near the same resources.

    Time is often something that doesn’t get factored into consideration enough. Self-managing is incredibly time consuming. Presumably, as a landlord, your motivation is profit. Time, therefore, is the best recourse you have at your disposal to increase your portfolio (if this is what you want) or increase your income via other means. Having a team of experts taking care of your assets will free you up to do so. It will also afford you peace of mind.

     

    When the self-management route goes wrong

    It can be devastating when things go wrong. You are a very lucky self-managing landlord if you haven’t been found out for falling foul of regulations, experienced mental health issues due to managing the tenant relationship – or dealing with rental voids. Failing to comply (whether intentionally, or by accident) can land you in serious trouble.

    Emma Cooke, policy & information manager at the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agent Team made the following statement at a recent roundtable event:

    “You open yourself up to prosecution – not just from Trading Standards but under the Housing Act from Environmental Health, as well as licensing laws.

    “You could be fined or end up being banned from acting as a landlord. Once you’ve got that reputation as a bad landlord, nobody would want to actually rent from you and no letting agent would want to use you, because if you’re not adhering to the law, the letting agent is going to have to deal with that.”

     

    Dealing with a damaged reputation as a landlord

    “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently” ~ Warren Buffet

     

    Here to help you make the right Choices

    If you are a landlord looking to have your property or properties professionally managed, then you have arrived at the right place. Choices Estate Agency are one of the most trusted agencies in the U.K and will ensure you receive the best service, and your properties remain fully compliant. If your property is not currently compliant, then we offer a landlord rescue service at our discretion. You’ll get fully vetted tenants, an optional rent guarantee, and a year’s worth of rent upfront, at no extra cost, should you wish. You can get in touch here.

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