It’s no secret that becoming a landlord is an excellent way to generate passive income. With that said, it would be wrong to say that everything to do with renting out a property is a walk in the park. It isn’t — if it were, then everyone would do it. Simply getting your hands on a rental property can be challenging, while renting it out can bring its own set of difficulties.
Taking a proactive approach to stress management is, therefore, essential. If you’ve recently acquired a property you’re thinking of renting out, then take the following tips on board — put all together, they should have a demonstrably positive influence on your stress levels.
Invest in the Property
There are some situations when your newly-acquired property may already be ready for the rental market, but in all likelihood, it’ll need a little bit of work to bring it up to standard.
Even if the property is in a passable state, it’s best to invest some time, effort, and money to improve the property. Doing so can offer a number of benefits, including making it easier to find tenants, maximising the value of the rental, and reducing the risk of the property having maintenance issues that will be difficult/expensive to resolve later down the line.
You may be eager to begin renting the property, but it really is worthwhile taking the time to get it into shape first. After all, you’ll never have a better opportunity to get things right than before you put it on the rental market.
Choose the Right Tenants
Your life as a landlord will be much, much more straightforward if you have the right tenants. Just think of how much easier it would be to have people who are respectful, always pay on time, and treat the property as if it were their own, compared with having tenants who were, well, the opposite.
There’s no way to guarantee that you get the right tenants. Even friends and family members can let you down. If you’re new to the world of property renting, then it’s best to take the approach that more experienced landlords do, and simply hand the task over to a professional. A good letting agent will find the right tenants, as well as provide a whole range of other services that can make your life significantly easier. It’s a tried, tested, and effective way to get the full benefits of being a landlord without having to handle the more complicated tasks yourself.
Buy Landlord Insurance
Landlord insurance isn’t a legal requirement, but it is recommended, since it’s the best way to protect your investment. Landlord insurance offers financial protection against any number of costly issues, such as water damage, storm damage, subsidence, and even loss of rent.
It’s good to have protection against those things anyway, but it’s especially important when you factor in the fact that you might not learn about an issue until the problem has become more pronounced. While you’d want to know immediately if your house was showing signs of subsidence, you’d only know if your tenants took the proactive step of telling you. Landlord insurance gives you peace of mind that your investment is protected even if you can’t be there to perform weekly checks.
Create a Maintenance Fund
Even the most cared-for properties have issues from time to time. When they do, it may be your responsibility to conduct the repairs. The problem is, you never know exactly when those repair jobs will arrive. One effective way for minimising the amount of stress this thought can invoke is to put together a maintenance fund. This will ensure that you have the cash on hand to take care of the repair tasks that are the landlord’s responsibility — for example, replacing the boiler or fixing issues with the electrical wiring.
Your maintenance fund will do more than fix problems, too. It’ll also give you the cash you need to invest in proactive maintenance, which can help protect your investment. As a general rule, it’s best to have around 10% of the overall annual rent in a maintenance fund (though this figure should be higher if it’s an old house that frequently has issues).
Build Relationships
No landlord wants to learn that their property requires repairs, but it’s even more difficult to hear when you’re not sure what to do. Building relationships with people in the trades can give you peace of mind that, should something go wrong, there’ll be someone you can call. Building relationships also helps you to keep a handle on costs (you’ll be less likely to pay over the odds) and know that the work will be completed to acceptable standards.
Here are some trade contacts it’s recommended to have:
- Gas fitter
- Electrician
- Plumber
- Roofer
- Plasterer
- Joiner
If you don’t already have those contacts, ask around — someone will know someone.
Look for Signs of Burnout
Finally, perhaps the most important advice we can offer landlords on how to keep their stress levels under control is to be aware of the signs that stress levels are beginning to rise. It’s not uncommon for new landlords or those who are renting multiple properties to teeter towards burnout; by identifying signs that you may be struggling, you can take proactive steps to get your stress levels down to a manageable and sustainable level.
Some stress-related signs that you may need some help managing your rental properties include:
- Feeling overly tired
- Becoming frustrated/irritated
- Thinking of selling your properties because you can’t cope
- Thinking about your rental properties all the time.
Becoming a landlord can be financially rewarded, but there are stressful elements that it’s important to be aware of. By taking the tips we’ve mentioned above, you can help make being a landlord much easier to manage — and once you’ve got a firm grip on things, you’ll be more likely to have the capacity to invest in more rental properties and grow your portfolio.