How to manage a property yourself

Last week we talked about letting a property yourself – and having done that, you’ll need to manage it effectively too. In this episode, we share the management insights we’ve gained from two years of running a letting agency.

Like last week, we’ve broken the process down into 10 steps:

1. Listen back to last week’s episode! If you put in the right tenant and set it up correctly, everything that follows becomes dramatically easier
2. Provide a welcome pack that tells the tenant what they need to know (and saves you answering lots of questions!)
3. Diarise key dates like the expiry of the gas safety certificate, and the end of the fixed term
4. Make sure the rent is paid on time – follow up immediately if it’s not, and report it to your Rent Guarantee Insurance provider in line with their T&Cs if appropriate
5. Set up a procedure for maintenance reporting
6. Respond appropriately to maintenance requests
7. Find a great tradesperson (if you can!)
8. Conduct regular inspections
9. Decide what to do at the end of the fixed term, and take appropriate action
10. Keep yourself up-to-date with ever-changing legal requirements – ignorance is no excuse!

There are lots of nuggets of information in this episode about small changes to your procedure that can yield big results, so take a listen and prepare to up your management game!

Big thanks to Simon Allen who recommended Clearscore.

It’s a free and user-friendly way of accessing your Equifax credit report – meaning you can see the information that lenders look at, and make sure there’s nothing on there that could jeopardise your chances of getting a loan.

Make a note to check it every month!