LandLord Survival TIPS

daithiK1

Avid reader of this forum, Landlord for circa 10 years and got some good advise here, have seen a really good return on investment, however that does come with some worries especially at the outset.

Id like to share some tips:
Mine as a starting point, vet to the very best of your capabilities respective tenants.

Fol20

Don’t over leverage yourself,
Hope for the best. Prepare for the worst
Don’t get emotional attached or become friends with them. Treat as a business and only that.
Minimize expenses as much as possible

VonBeanie

Landlording is a business (in spite of what some people think). Before you start, plan the numbers in detail. Tax, insurance, PRTB registration, repairs and maintenance etc.. Do you have time to manage the business or do you need to pay for an agent to do it for you? Do you have the financial capacity to deal with a problem tenant if you get one? Consider a potential investment in terms of yield (Rent/Cost) and not potential capital gain. Consider if there is a better/easier way to make a return on your capital (maybe short term rentals through AirBnB etc., or just making AVCs to a pension scheme may give better returns for less risk).

handlemaster

whenlooking for new tenant dont get dragged into the pity stories . Been there been burnt for 1000'S.If it doesnt feel right no matter the persons story move on.

Luckysasha

I tried to manage the letting and management side of things for the first couple of years. Total nightmare. So I employ a letting agent to manage the property. They charge 8% of the monthly rent and the rest gets deposited in to my bank account on the 23rd of each month. I have no connection to the tenant and better still the tenant has no connection with me. Everything is handled through the agent. You can even claim tax relief on the management fees. Oh and a good accountant helps as well

hawkelady

Only deal with county councils as a very last resort !! That was my biggest ever regret.

windmilllane

- don't get friendly with tenants, keep it business like
- inspect the property at regular intervals
- for me done deal is brilliant at getting replacement furniture
- get someone with future plans i.e. Looking to buy / build in next few years. With the current laws the scary thing is you can't get rid of nightmare tenants so at least if they are hard work you know they are going to go at some stage in the not too distant future

davo10

Treat this as a business transaction, tenant is renting an asset from you, you receive payment for that. Avoid HAP if possible and always, always ask for the equivalent of three months rent up front (first month, last month, deposit).

Gumbo

Treat it as a business.
Have a separate bank account that rent goes in and costs go out. Never dip into this account for personal use even if you are in the profit zone.

I’ve been a landlord since 2015 and luckily enough all is going well so far. I have the same tenants and went HAP in 2017 getting full market rate for the property.

I treat it as a business, don’t get emotional about the property.
Let the tenants live there. Don’t get hung up on if they have stuff in different positions, not as clean as you would have it etc as long as they are keeping the property in good order live and let live.

Keep all paperwork. Keep every receipt (goes without saying).
Make sure you do your sums to get an indication of possible tax returns etc