Common Mistakes When Self-Managing Your Rental Property
Self-managing your rental property in Lancaster can be a challenging task for landlords. After all, you don’t know what you don’t know, often until it’s too late.
While it might seem simple at first glance, self-managing your rental property can quickly become overwhelming, sometimes leading to costly errors.
In this article, we explore some of the most common mistakes landlords make when self-managing rental properties; and we’ll explain how to avoid them.
By learning from these mistakes, you can decide whether self managing is the right approach for you, or if you’d be more comfortable employing a professional property management company in Lancaster.
1. Failing to Screen Tenants Properly
One of the biggest mistakes landlords can make is rushing the tenant selection process. It’s tempting to want to let a property quickly but skipping thorough background checks and not asking the right questions can lead to serious issues later. A poor screening process can result in a whole host of unintended consequences.
How to Avoid This:
Always conduct a comprehensive background check, which includes credit history, employment verification, and references from previous landlords where applicable.
If the process feels too time-consuming or you’re not sure what to do or where to start, our Tenant Find services (through Louise Sadoune, eXp Letting Agent)are available to take care of this for you, ensuring you have the best tenants available.
2. Underestimating Maintenance Costs
It’s always prudent to have adequate funds set aside for property maintenance and repairs. Whilst for the majority of the time more minor repair costs can be covered from monthly rental payments, sometimes a repair bill can be larger than expected. Without a reserve fund, many landlords can find themselves scrambling last minute to cover such costs.
How to Avoid This:
If you’re buying a property specifically as a Buy To Let, make sure the numbers work, whilst also allowing room for ad-hoc expenses. Set aside a maintenance fund to cover routine or unexpected repairs.
3. Not Knowing the Laws and Regulations
You don’t know what you don’t know. Housing laws, landlord & tenant laws, regulations & legislation are forever changing the landscape of the private rented sector. If you're unfamiliar with these, and your obligations as a Landlord, you could unknowingly break the law, which could lead to penalties, disputes or legal action being taken against you. “I didn’t know” is not a strong enough ground for defence.
How to Avoid This:
Learn, learn & learn some more. And then apply your learning. Invest your time to know everything there is to know about being legally compliant as a landlord. And then abide by it. Using a professional property management company can help make sure you’re staying on the right side of the Law, and are complying with your legal obligations. If you do choose to use a property management company, such as ourselves, plenty of industry experience and professional qualifications will go a long way in keeping you safe.
4. Neglecting Regular Property Inspections
Skipping routine property inspections is a common oversight that can result in long-term damage. Some landlords only inspect the property when tenants move out, under the premise of “not wanting to disturb the tenants”, assuming that if there’s anything wrong they’ll tell you. This leaves room for issues going unnoticed or unreported that can worsen over time, making the eventual repair a much bigger job than it needed to be.
How to Avoid This:
Schedule regular inspections. Write it on your calendar, set a reminder in your phone. Whichever way is best for you to remember that you’re due a visit, do that. As the tenancy progresses you’ll know how well, or not, the tenants are looking after the property and you’ll find your own balance of regular timing.
5. Communication with Tenants
Not maintaining clear communication and establishing boundaries with tenants can lead to frustration all round. Most people want an easy life; you as the landlord and the tenants in their home. Failure to communicate effectively with your tenants and address their concerns is easily avoided.
How to Avoid This:
Establish open lines of communication from the start. Provide tenants with clear guidelines for contacting you, including what to do in an emergency, and ensure that you respond to their concerns promptly.
If managing the relationship becomes too difficult, you can appoint a property management company who will act as your eyes & ears and be the point of contact between you and your tenants, making communication smoother and professional.
6. Mismanaging the Eviction Process
Evicting a tenant can be one of the most difficult tasks a landlord can face and mishandling it can result in long legal battles and financial losses. Many landlords aren't aware of the legal steps required to evict a tenant, along with the correct processes before serving notice, which can cause delays and additional costs, not to mention it being a stressful experience.
How to Avoid This:
Make sure you follow the proper legal process, giving the correct notices and documents at the correct time.
If you’re currently self managing and looking to serve notice, seek help from a legal professional to help manage the process efficiently and compliantly.
Don’t serve notice and hope for the best.
Is It Time to Hire a Property Management Company in Lancaster?
If you're finding it difficult or it seems overwhelming, hiring a professional property management company in Lancaster could be the perfect solution.
You don’t have to go it alone. For advice on how professional property management services can simplify your life as a landlord, don’t hesitate to get in touch. We handle all aspects of lettings & property management so you can focus on what matters most.