How to keep costs down on your rental property
Emily Roberts has supplied and shared an article giving her insight into how to keep costs down on your rental property.
It seems as though the price of everything is going up at the moment. While being a landlord may have been quite lucrative in the past, you will probably have found your profits have been squeezed considerably in recent times. However, you can reduce the costs if you know what to do.
Read on for some tips:
1. Remortgage
Shopping around for a better deal on your mortgage can save you money and increase your profit. Interest rates may be going up but if you haven’t reviewed your mortgage for a while, you can still find a good deal, especially if you visit a buy to let mortgage comparison website that can show you the best deals available.
2. Self-manage
Many landlords use rental agencies to find tenants and manage their properties. However, they usually charge a hefty fee for this, and you could save money by managing the property yourself. If you live locally to your property and don’t mind the odd phone call from your tenant if things go wrong, then this can be an effective way to keep your costs down.
3. DIY
If you are willing to get stuck into some DIY at your rental property, you can save yourself the cost of hiring a contractor. It is best to stick to smaller jobs if you are not used to doing DIY, but you could try redecorating or fitting a new carpet. However, you should avoid larger or more complex jobs such as plumbing or electrical work because getting these things wrong can cost you a lot more money than hiring a tradesperson would.
4. Charge a fair rent
It is tempting to negate rising costs by increasing the rent you charge. However, this can be counterproductive. Tenants are feeling the effects of price rises in other areas too and increasing the rent too much could lead to them finding a new rental property. This can leave you with an expensive void period and may mean that your property remains empty for a while. Charging a competitive rent means you are more likely to keep the property occupied and the rent coming in.
5. Build rapport with your tenants
Building rapport with your tenants means that they are more likely to want to stay in the property and you will be less likely to suffer void periods and a high turnover of tenants. Make sure that you fulfil your legal obligations and be as accommodating as you can be with them. If they don’t want to move, it reduces your costs over the year and saves you a lot of headaches.
6. Check your tax allowances
Make sure that you are claiming all the tax allowances that you are legally entitled to as this can reduce your tax bill. Keep a record of anything you spend on the property as well as a copy of your receipts as these are allowable expenses. An accountant can give you tax advice and they may be able to save you more money than they cost you.
Being a landlord may cost you more than it used to but if you follow these tips, you can reduce your expenditure and increase your profit.
This is a non-sponsored article supplied by Emily Roberts
Main article photo courtesy of Pixabay
