While it can be very rewarding, property investment also has its challenges. As such, learning how to reduce stress as a landlord is crucial to your long-term success. Not only will this make your experience much more enjoyable, it will make the investment process much easier to navigate.
Here we share 6 simple ways you can take to reduce stress as a landlord. As part of this, we will outline the practical steps we recommend you take and the benefits each provides.
Engage a professional Property Manager
Let’s start with the most obvious strategy – outsourcing the ongoing management of your property.
Working with a professional property manager helps reduce stress as a landlord in several important ways. Most significantly, it means you do not have to handle all aspects of the property’s upkeep yourself. This means you can spend less time and energy looking after your investment.
If you are just starting your property investment journey, a professional property manager can also provide important insights and guidance. For example, they will be able to advise on changes to regulatory requirements and ensure you meet your legal obligations. They should also support you to achieve your investment goals, whether that be stable returns or portfolio growth.
All that being said, who you choose to manage your property will have a major impact on your investment experience. It’s important to engage a professional property expert with extensive experience in your local rental market. You should also look for a Property Manager you have a rapport with and feel like you can trust.
Practice effective communication
Good communication is crucial to reducing stress as a landlord.
There should be mutual respect and open interaction between you, your Property Manager, and your tenants. Each party should feel like they can raise their concerns, and that they will be heard when they do. There should also be a shared commitment to finding workable solutions and an understanding that immediate resolutions aren’t always possible.
For example, say your tenant identifies several repairs they feel are required just after moving in. These must be acknowledged promptly, and each request responded to directly. We would even recommend meeting with the tenant at the property, to discuss their concerns and agree a way forward.
Prioritise proactive maintenance
Unplanned maintenance works are a major source of stress for many property investors. However, you can generally avoid these issues by ensuring your property is kept in good condition.
As part of this, you should ensure that you make any reasonable repairs requested by your tenants during their tenancy. Periodic inspections are also important for monitoring the state of the property and identifying proactive maintenance requirements. And the downtime between tenants should be used to complete significant improvements, like repainting, polishing floors, and replacing carpets.
In addition to helping reduce stress as a landlord, proactive maintenance will also make your property more appealing to renters. This should make it easier to find quality tenants and help reduce vacancy periods.
Choose tenants carefully
In our experience, thorough application screening is one of the most reliable ways to reduce stress as a landlord.
Serious tenancy issues, like repeated late payments and property damage, is likely the direct result of poor tenant selection. In most instances, you will be able to spot signs of the potential for issues with a tenant in their application. As such, undertaking detailed application reviews and maintaining strict approval standards should help minimise the risk of future problems.
An experienced Property Manager will understand how to find a good tenant, including what to look for in an application. Think of them like a matchmaker, pairing you and your property with the right tenant.
They will also understand the importance of adjusting your ideal tenant profile based on the current market conditions. For example, during periods of rising unemployment, affordability should become more of a consideration. Tenants working in more stable industries, like healthcare and education, could also provide greater security.
Maintain an emergency fund
No matter how well you plan, unexpected events are an almost unavoidable part of property investment. Situations beyond your control, like your tenant losing their job or your hot water system bursting, can happen suddenly. While you may not be able to prevent these events, you can still prepare for them.
Having money set aside in case of an emergency is a great way to reduce stress as a landlord. At a minimum, we recommend having enough set aside to cover your expenses for at least 1-2 month. You should also ensure you are sufficiently insured, to help mitigate the financial impact if something unforeseen does happen.
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Establish a single point of contact
Limiting the number of people you need to engage with should also help reduce stress as a landlord.
Having one contact for everything related to your property will streamline communication and reduce the risk of mistakes and confusion. It will also reduce the time and energy you need to invest in maintaining relationships with various service providers.
A good Property Manager will take on this responsibility for you. They will coordinate everything related to the property, from finding new tenants to collecting rent and arranging repairs.
Want to discuss this further?
If you would like more information on how to reduce stress as a landlord, contact Local Agency Co. As property management experts, we pride ourselves on providing a seamless – and painless – experience for all of our landlords. We can also work with you to make the management of your portfolio as efficient and stress-free as possible.
CLICK HERE TO SPEAK WITH AN EXPERIENCED LOCAL PROPERTY MANAGER