What’s it like being a landlord in the North East? 🤔😥😁🤩

It’s all gravy being a landlord? Well, that’s what your friends and family may think. All you do is watch the money roll in....

It’s all gravy being a landlord?

Well, that’s what your friends and family may think. All you do is watch the money roll in.

Well, that depends on the property, the area, the tenants and quite frankly, if your boiler decides to break.

We all got into property because it can change your life. It can be the quickest way to earn large amounts of money when house prices increase like they are at the moment. A 10%+ uplift in prices, which we’ve seen in the past year, can mean you’re quickly tens of thousands of pounds better off without actually doing anything. It’s all great when the tide is with you, but it can also soon change…

It can be stressful (dealing with tenants, especially if there are rental arrears), expensive (replacing bathrooms, roofs, kitchens and boilers), or even lonely (since a lot of us might be the only landlord we know).

The best way to deal with any of these issues is to prevent them, which often starts with getting the right tenant. Vetting is essential; you should cherry-pick the best tenants who are the most likely to stay the longest. One of our top tips is performing a home visit to pick up documents, which fortunately allows us to see the tenant’s current property and, more importantly, its condition. There’s no better way to see future behaviour than looking at the present?

Whenever we’re faced with a problem with a tenant, we also use a technique called mirroring, which involves copying the tenant’s language, so they feel more at ease. Once a tenant feels like they can speak to you – it’s a lot easier to solve a problem! Nobody ever solved anything by shouting!?! By also being understanding of a tenant’s situation, you can often find a solution.

Chris, our senior portfolio manager, did a walk around an area where we manage properties. To show you / explain what we deal with daily 👇