As a landlord you need to be organised so that you can keep on top of maintaining your properties and make sure that your business is running as smoothly as possible. The problem is that if you have a large property portfolio you will find that something is constantly going wrong in at least one of your properties, and if you don’t make a note of it you could soon become confused as to what property needs what maintenance! So here is a way to create a checklist that will keep you up to date and informed:
Decide how to create your Checklist
Before you can even start to organise all the information you have on each of your properties you need to think of a way to organise your information that you would find easy to do. For example, if you are prone to losing important pieces of paper then it’s probably a good idea to create your checklist on your computer. On the other hand, if you are a complete technophobe then a lever-arch file, some dividers and a big pad of paper may be better for you! Don’t forget that creating a checklist is supposed to help your business, so pick the way that suits you and don’t feel like there is only one way of doing it right!
Getting everything Organised
Your checklist will only be helpful if the information in it is actually important, otherwise it could become extremely long and difficult to read or keep up to date with. There are certain things on your checklist you should include for all your properties: the day mortgage payments are due, when you bought the landlord insurance to cover the property, when your tenants moved in and when the inspections have been arranged for each home. You can also add other important things to your list such as reminders to check the fire and carbon monoxide alarms in each property – just make sure you leave room for yourself to tick it off and celebrate your hard work!
Getting some Help
If your property portfolio has expanded rapidly in the past year, or you have been busy organising and overseeing the renovation of a property, you may find that you don’t have the time to create and update a checklist of your own. However, this doesn’t mean you have to leave things to just pile up as you can hire a letting agent that will help when it comes to organising your property portfolio and keeping everything up to date. You could even ask your letting agent to give you regular updates on all your properties or email you so that you will have all the information you need!
Creating a checklist is a great way to organise your business, and it ensures that you won’t be caught out by a late bill or an angry tenant! So why not sit down and create one today?