Many couples find that they have one property too many when they get start living together. While you can both sell up and buy a bigger place, it can also be a very sensible financial decision to keep one for your joint home and let the other one out.
How you go about managing the tenants can depend on what time you have available. If you live nearby you could decide to save the agency fee and deal with your tenants directly.
Handing the management over to an agency can be a lot less hassle, if you’re prepared to pay the fees. But by managing the property yourself, you will save an average of 12-15 per cent on agency fees.
You also have the chance to visit the property more regularly and keep a closer eye on it, although of course you must make sure you don’t overstep your boundaries and start bothering your tenants, otherwise they won’t want to stay long and you’ll have to start the whole process again.
Take a leaf out of the professional property developers’ books. In an interview with David Lichtenstein – a US real estate professional whose company Lightstone has a plethora of different rental properties – he states that Lightstone’s asset management team takes a hands-on approach in all aspects of asset management. This includes overseeing the day-to-day property management and leasing functions.
Now, in a company the size of Lightstone, it’s definitely not Mr Lichtenstein or any of his executive team who are going out to revamp the apartment buildings between lets, of course. But, in your case, why pay a decorator to go in and freshen up your rental property when all it takes is a weekend of your time to go through the place with a tub of Magnolia white paint and a few bottles of Cif to get it shiny clean for the new tenant? Pay the decorator and you’ll lose out on at least a month’s rent.