Where and how to buy, and who to let to
Where and how to buy, and who to let to A while ago, we published an article that examined the five tenant types every landlord should avoid. These ranged from ‘Roger with all the rights’ – the tenant who believes the world, including you, owes him a living – to ‘Del Boy’, the fly-by-night who will use your property as a warehouse from which to sell a variety of stolen goods.
Having warned you about the tenants you should avoid, this article details the tenants who are likely to be the most reliable, according to a recent NLA survey.
What don’t you want as a buy-to-let landlord?
You don’t want to spend time chasing rental payments. You don’t want to be running around for the tenant, constantly back and forward to make minor repairs. Tenant queries, property maintenance requests, and associated general business administration waste time and are expensive – whether you use an investment property manager like Ezytrac to look after your property, or do so yourself.
What do you want as a buy-to-let landlord?
As a landlord, you want as little hassle from tenants as possible. You want to know that your property will be looked after and that your tenants will pay their rent on time. If you get tenants that give you this, your job as a landlord becomes easier, and your costs will fall. You’ll sleep easier at night, and your bank balance will benefit, too.
What tenants should you avoid?
In our previous article, we discussed broad tenant types. The NLA asked landlords to estimate the amount of time they spent on being a property manager and got very specific about tenants. They found that the worst tenants (those who gave landlords most aggravation and cost them most time and effort) were migrants and those on benefits.
On average, landlords spend six hours a week more on managing their properties when their tenants are among these two groupings.
What tenants should you target?
The NLA research found that letting to a family or young couple is far less arduous than letting to a migrant or benefit claimant. Even so, you will be spending around eight hours per week on average on property management. But, when compared to 12 hours per week when you let to a benefit claimant or migrant, it seems like a piece of cake!
So, make your work easier and your property management bills cheaper, by avoiding migrants and benefit recipients and targeting families and young couples.
Where should you buy property for an easy life as a buy-to-let landlord?
The NLA research went even further, by comparing locational factors that give landlords a tough time. They found that if you own buy-to-let properties in the North West and Yorkshire, you are likely to spend the most time on managing them. Landlords in the East of England and West Midlands spend the least time managing their properties.
Own outright to cut your property management time
If you own your property outright, you are likely to spend three and a half hours less per week on property management than if you have a mortgage. With a mortgage, your weekly property management time will probably average eight and a half hours, according to the NLA.
Energy-efficient properties are also time-efficient properties
If you own a buy-to-let with an EPC rating of D or above, you should find yourself spending two fewer hours per week on managing your property.
Putting it all together…
If you want an easy life as a DIY landlord, according to the NLA research it’s clear that you should:
* Own property outright without a mortgage, in the West Midlands or East of England
* Rent to families or young couples who are neither migrants nor on benefits
* Ensure the property is highly energy-efficient
Accomplish all this, and you should spend only around five hours per week (or 20 hours per month) on managing a buy-to-let property, and receive the least aggravation. Or you could simply call Ezytrac and benefit from effortless property management while enjoying a lot of extra spare time – no matter where you have bought, who you let to, and how you have financed your investment.
Live with passion,
Brett Alegre-Wood