Suppose you are about to manage a property for the first time. You are likely overwhelmed by the daunting responsibility and may need the help of an expert. There are a variety of options available to manage a property, and each one has specific characteristics that may be suitable for you depending on your needs and circumstances. Just like selling a home, sellers are faced with the choice of whether to go with an online estate agent or traditional realtors; property managers also need to decide on the best way to manage a property.
Letting only property
With this type of management strategy, you will retain complete management while a letting agent is responsible for marketing the property and looking for tenants. Other responsibilities of a letting agent are to check references, come up with the tenancy agreements, provide advice on rent levels, and help the tenants move into the property. There is usually a one-time fee for this service and soon after the tenant moves in, the service is terminated.
Self-management
If you are quite confident about your management skills, you may also consider managing the property yourself, including all the aspects related to letting. You will save on the cost of hiring a letting agent, but there is a lot more you need to do. For example, you have to look for potential tenants and help them with every step involved with renting and moving into the property. You may also need to spend money and time to advertise your property. In addition to this, you will be responsible for managing other aspects of the property such as maintenance and repairs. Since there is a lot entailed with self-management, you can get support from landlord associations.
Letting and rent collection
This option for managing a property is somewhat similar to hiring a letting agent, with the added service of rent-collection. This saves the landlord the added hassle of collecting rent from the tenants. There are a number of online estate agent firms that also offer the option of letting and rent collection. The advantage of this option is that the landlord can focus on the management aspects of the property, such as repairs and maintenance. This service will usually entail a one-off fee as well as a monthly fee for the collection of rent which is usually a small percentage of the rental amount.
Full management from an agent
In contrast with a self-managing landlord, this option is where the complete management of the property is handled by the agent. Certainly, this option will cost more but considering the convenience of not having to worry about all the aspects of managing the property, it can be worth it. Nevertheless, it is up to the property owner to choose which management scheme is best. You need to weigh up the advantages and possible disadvantages of each option in order to make a wise decision that will be beneficial for you in the long run.
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