A landlord’s New Year’s Resolutions
by Ed Firmin
Posted on Monday, December 28th, 2015 at 10:00
A landlord’s New Year’s Resolutions
So we’re heading into 2016, which is looking like it might be challenging for landlords, with new rules and regulations being brought in to try and clamp down on the buy-to-let industry.
But, a new year means a new start, and also time for resolutions. You may have some personal ones such as going on a diet, or exercising more, but have you thought about making some New Year’s resolutions when it comes to your property and tenants?
Here are some resolutions you could put on your list for next year:
- Get your admin in order! How many times do you promise yourself that you won’t leave a mountain of paperwork to sort out, but you’ll file as you go? There are a lot of documents that you need to provide to tenants, so it’s worth keeping them to hand, such as a copy of the gas safety certificate, Deposit Protection Scheme information, etc. So turn over a new (paper) leaf and get organised!
- How about taking a look at your property and doing all those little jobs that you’ve been meaning to do for ages? Perhaps you need to repaint the walls, lay a new carpet, fix that wonky kitchen cupboard. If you have got tenants in there already, remember that you need to get their permission before entering the property
- Be timely! If you know you’re not the best when it comes to responding to tenants’ queries, then perhaps this is the time to get on top of that. Not having repairs done in a timely manner is a tenant’s biggest grudge, so if you can ensure you reply to their emails, give them a call back, and don’t leave them waiting for more than a day or two when they need something fixing, then you’re really making your tenants’ year
- Review your finances. With so many changes coming into force, then now might be time to work out what’s going to work for you. Will you need to review your rental payments; will you need to remortgage? Now’s a good time to take stock of your portfolio to ensure the sums still stack up
Well done if you manage to set yourself one or all of the above as goals for the new year. If you’d like some advice about outsourcing some of the property management, then I’m more than happy to have a chat and review your options with you.
And Happy New Year!
Tags: landlords, new years resolution, paperwork in order