If you are a landlord, it is understandable that you want to generate as much income as you can. It isn’t always possible to continually increase prices and rental fees, so a savvy landlord will look to minimise their expenditure whenever they can. The less money you spend in providing a service, the more profit you can make but you must be wary of reducing the standard of service you offer, because this can negatively impact on your reputation and ability to make money. At Williams of Petersfield, we support local landlords and we want Petersfield landlords to know that self-management may cost you money.

It is easy to see why some landlords like the sound of self-management. When you care for the property and tenant by yourself, you don’t pay fees and you can claim all the income that you generate. This is an outcome that appeals to most landlords, but the reality of the situation is often not as straightforward as you would like.

Landlords face many issues and problems day to day

There are some major problems associated with self-managing rental property, including:

• You will have to devote a considerable amount of time to the role
• There are many regulations and administrative aspects of the role you need to contend with
• There are many tax issues that landlords need to contend with
• Are you comfortable with vetting tenants, carrying out credit or reference checks and asking for money?
• Are you comfortable managing conflict?
• Are you prepared for emergency calls at all hours of the day or night?
• Can you carry out repair work, both emergency and necessary?

These are all serious matters for Petersfield landlords to deal with and if you cannot deal with these issues, it is unlikely that you will provide tenants with the service they expect. If you don’t please your tenants, you will develop a poor reputation and it is likely that they will move out of the property as soon as they can.

If this unfolds, it is more likely that you will have void periods when you generate no income at all and when you do have tenants in the home, they won’t be paying as much rent as you would like, and they may not meet the expectations of a tenant that you initially hoped for.

Inexperienced Petersfield landlords often struggle to provide tenants with the service tenants require

If you are inexperienced or incapable of acting as a reliable and dependable landlord, you will struggle in the role and this can create a chain of events which sees you making less money than you would have liked or even losing money.

It is natural that many Petersfield landlords would prefer to not hire the services of a professional management company because this is an outlay. However, in the long-term, using the services of a professional helps you to save money and even make more money.

A professional caring for your property and tenant will provide you with more free time while ensuring that your tenant receives a better standard of service. This protects your reputation, it increases the likelihood that a tenant will want to stay with you and it may even allow you to justifiably charge a higher rental fee. These outcomes justify using a professional property management service provider to care for your property and tenant, allowing you to generate more income in the long-term.

If you are a Petersfield landlord, or you know of Petersfield landlords, and you need assistance in caring for tenants or you need guidance on running your business, contact Williams of Petersfield. We are more than happy to provide you with help and advice on being a landlord, and we look forward to helping you soon.