Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Buy to Let Maintenance Issues – How to Plan for and Deal with Them
Well, it has been that kind of week - a week where I have spent a lot of time running about after tenants to get things fixed.
The facts are that November and December are usually the hardest months for landlords because of two factors.
Cold, Wind and Rain – the Enemies of Landlords
First, this is the time of year when it starts to get really cold, windy and when it rains a lot too.
Cold and rain have a habit of “finding out” old boilers and badly looked after roofs and gutters. Once the thermometer drops a bit and tenants put on their central heating a lot, it is then that boilers break down.
And heavy rain (when combined with cold and wind) will find its way through bad and blocked gutters and loose tiles.
So, I would say it is essential that a landlord simply must have a good plumber, heating engineer and roofer / gutter man on their books and ready to come out at “reasonable notice.”
Landlords should also have some emergency convector heaters to give to tenants in case the central heating cannot be fixed for a few days (perhaps because a part is not immediately available.)
I say “reasonable notice”, because whilst you have to deal with things reasonably quickly, you are not there at the tenants’ beck and call and cannot be expected to get a heating engineer there on the same day, especially if it is at the weekend.
You are not running a hotel, after all.
So even if you can reply the same day, I’d hold off replying for 24 hours unless it was an emergency.
To keep good roofers and heating engineers on your side and ready to come out to you first when the big freeze is on, pay them promptly and treat ‘em well.
Dead Time for Finding New Tenants
Second, this is the time of year when I dread getting notice from a tenant because it can be very hard work trying to find a new tenant in the run up to the Christmas and New Year Holidays as few people wish to move house now.
Thankfully none of my tenants are leaving but the weather has made it a busy week.
But if any did want to give notice now, I'd probably look to offer an incentive to stay for another month or two.
It is when I have weeks like this last one that I have to go to look at my healthy bank balance and convince myself that yes, being a landlord is really worth it.
I’m pleased to say it is - that the rents more than cover the costs and the hassles – and it beats wage slavery any day.
Crisis What Crisis?
It is sad to hear about all the people losing their jobs – unless they are Fred Goodwin and the like - but if I never read the news and had to go on my own experience then I would have to wonder if the newspapers are making this whole recession thing up.
Right now, here in rainy London, I have had to wait weeks to get work done because materials have all sold out and even my trusted contractors are all booked up.
I’m sure it may be different in other parts of the UK, but here I am forced to ask, crisis, what crisis?
Useful Article
You may also find this related article useful.
It looks at the things you can do to reduce the chances of tenants contacting you and how to plan preventative work to reduce the number of times you get call outs from tenants: Landlords Need to Plan Maintenance
CHECK OUT OUR SITE LETTINGFOCUS.COM:
THE HOME PAGE OF THIS BLOG click here: Blog
THE HOME PAGE OF OUR MAIN SITE click here: LettingFocus Home Page
ONE TO ONE PRIVATE CONSULTING click here: Property Mentoring
NEXT SEMINAR AND NETWORKING EVENT for Landlords and Property Investors:
Next Property Investing Seminar and Networking Event
We have GREAT OFFERS on a range of services and products for landlords too; click here including landlords insurance, tenant referencing, tenancy agreements and more: Services and Products for Landlords
For general info on our SEMINARS AND CONSULTING click here: Property Seminars, Networking Evenings and Consulting
TO READ PAST CLIENT TESTIMONIALS – both commercial and private click here: Testimonials
BUY “SUCCESSFUL PROPERTY LETTING” click here: Buy the Book at Amazon
To JOIN our Free QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER simply send an email to david@LettingFocus.com - Please note we WILL NOT send spam or sell our mailing list to advertisers!
IF YOU HAVE A SITE WHY NOT LINK TO THIS BLOG OR OUR WEBSITE?
ABOUT US
LettingFocus.com are experts on landlord issues.
Hello, I’m David Lawrenson. I have been a landlord and property investor myself for over 25 years and am author of “Successful Property Letting” – which has been the UK’s top selling property and buy to let book for the last 3 years.
We help landlords and property investors make money in property by coaching them in ways that work, which are ethical and which involve minimal risk.
At LettingFocus we pride ourselves on giving independent unbiased buy to let advice for property buyers and landlords both on a one to one mentoring and coaching basis as well as through occasional group seminars.
Property syndicates and property advice in the UK is still largely unregulated and what counts as “advice” is too often more about making the promoter money than giving useful information to the investor.
With no link to property firms, developers or bridging loan providers, at LettingFocus, we can advise on where and what type of property to buy for investment, when to buy and how to buy property at a low price. We also show you how to manage tenants properly and in ways that take up as little of your time as possible.
We also do consultancy and write for companies such as banks, local authorities, property websites and social housing providers – helping them with their landlord or buy to let product strategies.
SELLING STUFF TO LANDLORDS – YOU COULD BE A PARTNER ON OUR AFFILIATE PROGRAMME. PLEASE GET IN TOUCH!
Copyright of Blog: David Lawrenson 2009.
If you have a website & are thinking of reproducing material here, that’s fine but we DO require a link to the blog to be included, including also all the links in this section. (The full article including all links must be available to ALL VIEWERS of your site and not restricted.)
TO VIEW RELATED POSTS select a “Category” at the bottom of this page.
WANT TO ADD A COMMENT OR VIEW OLD COMMENTS?
To add a comment or view other people's comments on this post, simply click on “link to this post.”
The facts are that November and December are usually the hardest months for landlords because of two factors.
Cold, Wind and Rain – the Enemies of Landlords
First, this is the time of year when it starts to get really cold, windy and when it rains a lot too.
Cold and rain have a habit of “finding out” old boilers and badly looked after roofs and gutters. Once the thermometer drops a bit and tenants put on their central heating a lot, it is then that boilers break down.
And heavy rain (when combined with cold and wind) will find its way through bad and blocked gutters and loose tiles.
So, I would say it is essential that a landlord simply must have a good plumber, heating engineer and roofer / gutter man on their books and ready to come out at “reasonable notice.”
Landlords should also have some emergency convector heaters to give to tenants in case the central heating cannot be fixed for a few days (perhaps because a part is not immediately available.)
I say “reasonable notice”, because whilst you have to deal with things reasonably quickly, you are not there at the tenants’ beck and call and cannot be expected to get a heating engineer there on the same day, especially if it is at the weekend.
You are not running a hotel, after all.
So even if you can reply the same day, I’d hold off replying for 24 hours unless it was an emergency.
To keep good roofers and heating engineers on your side and ready to come out to you first when the big freeze is on, pay them promptly and treat ‘em well.
Dead Time for Finding New Tenants
Second, this is the time of year when I dread getting notice from a tenant because it can be very hard work trying to find a new tenant in the run up to the Christmas and New Year Holidays as few people wish to move house now.
Thankfully none of my tenants are leaving but the weather has made it a busy week.
But if any did want to give notice now, I'd probably look to offer an incentive to stay for another month or two.
It is when I have weeks like this last one that I have to go to look at my healthy bank balance and convince myself that yes, being a landlord is really worth it.
I’m pleased to say it is - that the rents more than cover the costs and the hassles – and it beats wage slavery any day.
Crisis What Crisis?
It is sad to hear about all the people losing their jobs – unless they are Fred Goodwin and the like - but if I never read the news and had to go on my own experience then I would have to wonder if the newspapers are making this whole recession thing up.
Right now, here in rainy London, I have had to wait weeks to get work done because materials have all sold out and even my trusted contractors are all booked up.
I’m sure it may be different in other parts of the UK, but here I am forced to ask, crisis, what crisis?
Useful Article
You may also find this related article useful.
It looks at the things you can do to reduce the chances of tenants contacting you and how to plan preventative work to reduce the number of times you get call outs from tenants: Landlords Need to Plan Maintenance
CHECK OUT OUR SITE LETTINGFOCUS.COM:
THE HOME PAGE OF THIS BLOG click here: Blog
THE HOME PAGE OF OUR MAIN SITE click here: LettingFocus Home Page
ONE TO ONE PRIVATE CONSULTING click here: Property Mentoring
NEXT SEMINAR AND NETWORKING EVENT for Landlords and Property Investors:
Next Property Investing Seminar and Networking Event
We have GREAT OFFERS on a range of services and products for landlords too; click here including landlords insurance, tenant referencing, tenancy agreements and more: Services and Products for Landlords
For general info on our SEMINARS AND CONSULTING click here: Property Seminars, Networking Evenings and Consulting
TO READ PAST CLIENT TESTIMONIALS – both commercial and private click here: Testimonials
BUY “SUCCESSFUL PROPERTY LETTING” click here: Buy the Book at Amazon
To JOIN our Free QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER simply send an email to david@LettingFocus.com - Please note we WILL NOT send spam or sell our mailing list to advertisers!
IF YOU HAVE A SITE WHY NOT LINK TO THIS BLOG OR OUR WEBSITE?
ABOUT US
LettingFocus.com are experts on landlord issues.
Hello, I’m David Lawrenson. I have been a landlord and property investor myself for over 25 years and am author of “Successful Property Letting” – which has been the UK’s top selling property and buy to let book for the last 3 years.
We help landlords and property investors make money in property by coaching them in ways that work, which are ethical and which involve minimal risk.
At LettingFocus we pride ourselves on giving independent unbiased buy to let advice for property buyers and landlords both on a one to one mentoring and coaching basis as well as through occasional group seminars.
Property syndicates and property advice in the UK is still largely unregulated and what counts as “advice” is too often more about making the promoter money than giving useful information to the investor.
With no link to property firms, developers or bridging loan providers, at LettingFocus, we can advise on where and what type of property to buy for investment, when to buy and how to buy property at a low price. We also show you how to manage tenants properly and in ways that take up as little of your time as possible.
We also do consultancy and write for companies such as banks, local authorities, property websites and social housing providers – helping them with their landlord or buy to let product strategies.
SELLING STUFF TO LANDLORDS – YOU COULD BE A PARTNER ON OUR AFFILIATE PROGRAMME. PLEASE GET IN TOUCH!
Copyright of Blog: David Lawrenson 2009.
If you have a website & are thinking of reproducing material here, that’s fine but we DO require a link to the blog to be included, including also all the links in this section. (The full article including all links must be available to ALL VIEWERS of your site and not restricted.)
TO VIEW RELATED POSTS select a “Category” at the bottom of this page.
WANT TO ADD A COMMENT OR VIEW OLD COMMENTS?
To add a comment or view other people's comments on this post, simply click on “link to this post.”
Labels: maintenance issues, management of tenants, property investing, property management, tenant management
lettingfocus | | link to this post | 
recent comments