Safe as Houses: Why Becoming a Property Landlord Should Be Your Next Business Move
When it comes to business, investment and generally making money- property is a safe bet. It appreciates in value each year and is always in high demand, plus there are a few ways you can make money from it. As well as flipping houses (buying cheaply, renovating and selling for a profit) becoming a landlord can be very lucrative. If you build up your own little empire of properties, you have lots of tenants rent hitting your bank account each month with very little effort from you. In fact, if you pay an agency to manage your properties for you there’s not much you need to do at all. But what are the best ways to become a landlord?
Finding the Perfect Property
The best properties for landlords are often in busy towns and cities, where they’re always in high demand. If you can find somewhere with great transport links, near a particular workplace like a hospital or by a university, you will be able to charge even more since many people will be seeking accommodation near these places. If you have experience in property development, how about finding a plot of land and having a number of flats or houses built? That way all of your rental properties are in one place, and it could actually be cheaper than renovating. You do need to make sure you have the right permissions if you are thinking of submitting a planning application you need to read this. However many local councils are keen for developers to build and improve areas of wasteland so it shouldn’t be too much of an issue.
Finding The Right Tenants
If you get the right tenants in, your life as a landlord is so much easier. People who respect the property, don’t cause issue in the area (such as loud music, barking dogs or antisocial behaviour) and pay their rent on time will mean you don’t need to get involved at any point. You could use a third party tenant referencing agency, or you could conduct your own checks. You will need to make sure that the tenants are who they say they are, that they can afford the rent and ideally get a positive reference from a previous landlord.
Working With an Agency
If you have a number of properties or work another job and don’t have time for daily management, speak to an estate agent to manage your properties. These will deal with tenants queries and questions, conduct viewings, chase up rent and make sure the property is left clean and tidy at the end of the tenancy. It saves you having to chase up and run around sorting different things, and leaves you to earn your money passively.
Being a property landlord could allow you to earn easy money. Owning property is always a smart move, and you always have the option to sell homes on if you ever need to raise money quickly. Otherwise, once the rent from tenants has covered the cost of the property you’re making a significant amount of money each month without having to do a whole lot.
