In recent years, increase in house prices has ushered in a new age of inexperienced landlords trying to cash in on the boom – if you’re reading this you may even be one yourself. It is worth considering your options, then, especially if you are inexperienced, and asking yourself the question, should I lease my property through an agency?
Going Solo
Being a professional landlord requires time, money, and most of all effort – and lots of it. Think about how often things go wrong in your own home, things you put off until eventually you have to make them right. Tenants don’t have that worry – knowing full well that someone has to come put them right as soon as they make a quick call. Therefore, expect your phone to ring frequently with little odd jobs requiring attention from either yourself (if you are trained) or from paid professionals relatively often.
It is also not easy to seek out and install a family in your new home when you go it alone. Even in this unhealthy economy when people can’t afford to buy houses, do not expect to see queues of people waiting to lay down routes in your swanky new home. Tenancy hunting can be stressful, and each viewing has to be handled professionally, and in a timely manner, so if you’re working full time as well this can be problematic. Also, setting up rental contracts; ensuring an accurate inventory is recorded before hand in the case of damage and handling all bond payments can be relatively arduous (and even dangerous if you don’t know what your doing).
Agency Rentals
The alternative to this scenario is renting through an agency – a body of professionals who do all the work for you. Should the tenants require a plumber at 3am, smash a window hosting a rowdy barbecue, or fail to pay the rent for several weeks, the agent will arrange everything to bring these matters to a close. For all intents and purposes an agency shall take care of everything, while you look for the next property to add to your empire. Many even offer conveyancing services on future properties, just to tie it all together nicely. There are number of agencies such as Office Space Bishopsga that provide this type of services. Since they work with number of clients who are looking for office space leasing and acquisition they can help you find clients easily and manage the entire process.
The downside here, however, is that there is always a fee. These vary by agency, so it’s worth shopping around, but some can occasionally be astronomical – leaving you with little money at the end of the month once you have paid off the mortgage, insurances and other taxes which (of course) the agency do not cover.
Think about which option best suits your lifestyle, and if you are familiar with the game and are happy to make being a landlord your full time job, go solo. However, if you work full-time alongside, and have no experience in the rental business it is certainly wise to rent through an agency, at least for the first several months while you accustom yourself with the business.
