Inflation and rocketing interest rates have put serious pressure on many of us, especially those of us who live in expensive parts of the UK like Somerset.
Somerset is a phenomenal part of the world to visit, but it can be expensive to live in full time. Towns like Frome have already priced out locals due to rising rents as a result of tourism, and others will be soon to follow suit.
Landlords across Somerset still need tenants, and it can be less time-consuming over the long run to manage a permanent rental than a short-term holiday let.
If you’re a landlord in Somerset or the West Country in general, and you’re eager to keep rents as low as possible, while not absorbing the long-term costs yourself, then keep reading for some handy tips.
Make A List Of Your Fixed Costs
Every business has costs that it has to pay, which will be fixed for a certain amount of time, or are charges that you cannot avoid. For a landlord, these will include mortgage rates, which might be fixed at a certain rate, but may rise in the future. There are also fees such as property management charges, if you’re not running the property yourself, taxes and charges for vital safety checks, like your EICR. Your landlord electrical safety certificate has to be provided by trusted professionals like the team at Hexo Electrical Testing to ensure the safety of your tenants. As such, these costs will be set by them, and aren’t negotiable. By having a list of the fixed costs you’ll have to pay, you can make sure that you’ll be able to see what the minimum rate you can charge is.
Be Proactive About Maintenance
Prevention is better than the cure when it comes to household maintenance. As the landlord, you’re responsible for the upkeep of the property and its vital systems, like the heating and lighting. If you invest in proactive maintenance, you could potentially prevent the need for costly repairs in the future. Nothing is guaranteed, but regular checks and repairs on even seemingly minor issues can make a big difference to the overall life of your appliances and household utility systems. This proactive approach can not only extend the life of your appliances, but it can also reduce the need for expensive emergency fixes, meaning you won’t have to pass these costs on to your tenants.
Make The Most Of Technology
It’s easy to think that tasks that only involve your time don’t cost you money, but when you consider that your labour is valuable, then you’ll begin to realise that even small time-saving techniques can make a world of difference to both your rental income and overall quality of life. Thankfully, there are plenty of digital tools out there that can help landlords like you to save time and effort. You can implement property management software to automate tasks like rent collection, maintenance requests, and lease renewals. Making the most of these digital tools can reduce your administrative costs and improve efficiency. Many of these solutions are free or come at a relatively low cost, especially when you compare the price of the software to hiring someone to do the admin tasks for you. So, you can save time on tedious admin tasks related to your rental properties and spend more time delivering the customer service and tenant support that they expect.
Seek Profesional Support
Every landlord and rental property is unique, so the specific strategies you can employ will depend on your property type, personal situation and the tenants you’re looking to attract. It’s also crucial to strike a balance between reducing costs and maintaining a well-maintained, attractive rental property to ensure you remain competitive in the market. Consulting with a real estate professional or property management expert in your area can provide valuable insights tailored to your situation. They can help you to achieve your business goals and make the most of your property assets.
Plan For Any Eventuality
As recent economic turbulence has proved, the UK’s financial outlook is uncertain, even as we move towards 2024. While we may have barely avoided a recession, there’s still a long way to go before the economy is stable again, and so you need to prepare for what’s to come. To do this, you need to create a financial plan that accounts for potential vacancies, ongoing maintenance, and other expenses. Once you know roughly what costs you can expect, and how much extra cash you’d need in case of an unexpected vacancy, you can build a reserve fund that can help you absorb unexpected costs without immediately passing them onto your tenants. You’ll then be better prepared for whatever happens over the coming months.
