Some landlords go into the business believing that the only cost they really need to worry about is their mortgage. They soon learn the truth: that the mortgage is just one of many costs they will have to meet as a landlord.
If you have been in the business for any length of time, you have probably been hit with big repair bills a few times. Every landlord dreads that early morning phone call telling them they need to get an emergency plumber out. Unexpected emergencies have to be dealt with quickly, and that often makes them costly. If other unexpected costs, such as tenant arrears and void periods happen to come along at the same time, you could start to struggle. The solution is to take steps to avoid big repair bills by paying attention to the small things, such as:
Make sure you keep up with regular maintenance
This means dealing with the little jobs before they become big ones. Encourage your tenants to report problems and carry out regular inspections to check for those they don’t report. That little patch of mould behind the wardrobe might just be there because the tenants haven’t been opening the windows, but it could be indicative of a much bigger, more expensive problem.
Choose your tenants carefully
Good tenants help you out by co-operating with you over maintenance issues. Bad tenants can cause problems or make them worse by throwing big parties and failing to respect bans on smoking or pets.
Choose your property carefully
Older properties often look attractive, but they are not always the best choice. There are often big bills lurking behind those attractive bay windows and high ceilings, particularly if the property has not been well maintained. That said, new properties are not always well-built, with paper-thin walls and doors that are easily damaged. Get a qualified builder to look over a property before you buy any property.
You won’t avoid every repair bill by doing these things, but you should avoid the nastiest of surprises. For those things that you just can’t avoid, such as weather damage, see if you can take out landlords insurance to help you cover the costs.