Becoming a Professional Landlord – Statistics show that the majority – over 90% – of the UK’s landlords own only one property. Many of them are accidental landlords, who let their property because they cannot sell it rather than because they want to be a landlord. A growing number are retirees looking to make a little extra money to supplement their pension. The majority of the UK’s landlords are small-time, rather than professional. But some will want to make the move from small-time to full-time. How easy is this to do?
Investment planning
If you already own one or two properties, then you have a good idea of what is involved in being a landlord. However, being a professional landlord means relying on your rental income for your whole livelihood, and is therefore a very different proposition in the long-term. You need to be able to predict the rental market well and make sound investment decisions if you are to succeed. This really comes down to how willing you are to spend time doing research and looking at market trends. Getting advice from professionals is often helpful, but will cost money. However solid your research is, you do need to be willing to take a risk if you want to make your sole income from property. If you do succeed, six-figure incomes are possible, but you will need plenty of hard work and a little luck to get there.
Ongoing work
Once you have a few properties on your books and are ready to go full-time, you need to think about how to do it. Professional landlords can often find that it makes sense for them to manage their properties themselves, perhaps setting up their own property management company to do so. That saves on letting agents fees – they can then be used just to advertise the property with. The more work you can do yourself, the more money you can make.
Being a professional landlord can be rewarding, but much of the work can be routine. Things like remembering to renew your landlords insurance or dealing with your tax return are not exciting jobs. There is plenty of daily grind, just as there is with most jobs. However, if you can grow your own little property empire, then both financial and other rewards should follow.