Nowadays, more people are turning to DIY or “Do it Yourself” to save on costs. When it comes to real estate, you also have an option to self-manage your property.
Of course, like all businesses, you have to go through a steep learning curve and property management is no different. Brace yourself, though. The learning curve in real estate can be pretty steep.
DIY property management means you have to learn about real property laws and taxes, marketing, finance and accounting, and even social communication. There could be a good side to that – you’ll be forced to study and widen your knowledge and, yes, save on costs.
But on the bad side, while you give yourself time to learn, your property will sit there idle and vacant as bills pile up.
Your other option is to hire a letting agent. You might say it could be too costly for you to pay monthly professional fees. Still, you have to think about the actual cost of letting your property stay unused and incur losses. Indeed, the benefits far outweigh the costs of having a letting agent.
A letting agent will use his or her specialised skills in property management to make sure your property is well maintained, is ready for listing and never sits idle or vacant. Specifically, the letting agent will:
- Find you a suitable tenant quickly and professionally
- Personally oversee all work at the property, and ensuring all certificates and property insurance are complete
- Deal with paperwork, especially the tenancy agreement and other formalities including lodging the deposit.
To further help you decide on whether it’s better for you to self-manage or hire a letting agent, here is a list of pros and cons for each option.
Self-managing your property:
PROS
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CONS
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Landlords and tenants can mutually agree to end a fixed-term contract early, but these special conditions must be attached and put into writing, and of course, signed by both parties. The key is mutual consent. If one side doesn’t agree, they can always take it to Tenancy Tribunal to get things sorted.
If the landlord incurs fees, such as advertising for new tenants, due to the fixed term contract ending early, the landlord can bill the tenant. All fees should be reasonable and should state the actual cost of the service.
Hiring a letting agent:
PROS
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CONS
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In the end, it will be up to you to decide whether you’d prefer to self-manage than hire professionals to help you. But, as they say, when you’re in real estate, it better to err on the side of caution.
