Many entrepreneurs make money through renting out properties. In fact, many of us have considered building a property portfolio as an alternative to a pension or savings plan, as the investment opportunities can be lucrative. But being a landlord isn’t just about property itself. It’s also about good management of your buildings and tenants. So, what makes you a good landlord? Here’s a few essential tips to guide you.
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Build a relationship with your tenants
Once you’ve picked your preferred tenants and checked their references, you might be thinking everything is fine. But you want to make sure it stays that way. So, it’s important to ensure you build a good relationship with your tenants. That’s not to say you need to become friends, but you do need trust on both sides.
Building trust has its financial benefits. It encourages tenants to report issues quickly, so problems can be nipped in the bud before they become costly. And a happy tenant is more likely to care for your property too, giving you a hassle-free rental.
So, make sure your tenants know how to contact you or your management team and try to come across as approachable. Also, keep your promises and carry out maintenance swiftly when you say you’re going to.
Make safety your priority
A good landlord also means meeting your legal responsibilities. So, ensuring you keep on top of safety certificates is a must. Not only does it keep your business above board and prevents legal problems, but it gives your tenants peace of mind and reduces any tension.
Make sure you’ve got a good maintenance team or contractors that can help you stay up-to-date with the servicing of boilers, electrical checks and so on. But also make sure you have a good system for keeping track of necessary documents such as your landlord gas safety certificate.
Keep up-to-date with your responsibilities
Something else you should be aware of is that landlord responsibilities and legal requirements can change over time. Laws can be tightened and local or state governments can make changes that only apply to that specific area, so it’s easy to miss important announcements and requirements. But ignorance isn’t a legal defense, so you need to keep abreast of industry developments.
How can you do this? Well, there are several good ways to make it easy on yourself. The first is to use a property management service, so they can take on this responsibility for you, or similarly, you could employ a legal representative. But if you want to keep control of your costs and have a more hands-on approach, then join a national landlords’ association.
Draw up good agreements
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, draw up a proper agreement between you and your tenant. This is the best way to protect yourself and your property should you encounter any problems. It also makes it clear what is your responsibility and what is your tenants, eliminating ambiguity.
As well as responsibilities, it’s important to outline rental dates and prices, so it’s clear and fair to both parties. And remember, you can’t put anything you fancy in an agreement as there are laws to protect renter’s rights. So, even if you don’t have a legal team to help you, you should get it checked over by a representative. And whatever you do, don’t simply download an agreement template from the internet without reading and understanding what it means.
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