What property investors need to consider
With buy to let investment rapidly surpassing traditional stocks and shares in popularity, there are a number of clear advantages to securing capital in bricks and mortar. Despite the more attractive stability of property investment portfolios, there are still a number of aspects that should be taken into consideration before embarking on a transactional spree.
Property investment requires long-term commitment
Unlike stock market involvement, buy to let property investments cannot be liquidated overnight. A self-manager may wish to put a property up for sale, but without experience in the market and access to the prospective audience, it can be time – and cost – consuming to quickly and profitably pass a property on. Instead, it should be considered that established service providers are more able to provide the connections necessary, and the experience of dove-tailing any outstanding lease agreements, to maximise the investment.
Buy to let property management is a 24/7 commitment
Unless co-ordinating midnight maintenance call-outs is an attractive proposition, many property investors choose to out-source their emergency call-out services. Unfortunately, if it is not part of a full-service agreement, this can incur substantial costs – but no-one can afford to ignore a leaking roof in case it is indicative of something more structurally serious. Without an in-place contract determining hourly rates, out of hour’s charges and emergency repair budgets, the margins could be slashed with one visit.
Legally binding contracts are vital
Be it a lease, a maintenance agreement or annual financial services arrangements, it is imperative that all possible contractual documentation is legally binding, and in the investor’s favour. Although legal advice is the least visible aspect of buy to let property management, without the appropriate arrangements any disagreement could have a disastrous effect on the success of a portfolio. In short, budgetary accommodations should always be made for legal services in order to anticipate every eventuality.