Maintenance Matters - Don't ever forget its importance

A high level of ongoing maintenance is essential in order to protect a landlord’s investment... and inexpensive minor repairs can often prevent expensive extensive restoration and renovations later.To prevent costly repair bills and deterioration of a rental property, ongoing maintenance is vital.

Spending a penny to save a pound is an old saying that definitely applies in this context. In fact, simple preventative maintenance can prevent greater costs down the line. A well maintained property can also be beneficial for your tenant too...

Ongoing maintenance helps keep the property in a good state of repair. It also creates a good impression of you as a landlord and provides a better environment for your tenant to live in. This, in turn, may well encourage them to stay longer.

Signs and signals
There are many early warning signs that maintenance may be necessary...

Landlords should look out for any water damage, cracked or discoloration of plug sockets, blocked guttering, overgrown gardens, broken fencing and, importantly, signs of damp and mould.

Damp and condensation should be nipped in the bud quickly. A regular review of gutters is a good idea as this can be a main cause of damp if not cleared out, especially if trees are in close proximity.   And, with all the rain we get here in Oxford, this is more important than ever...
                
A good example in this rather wet summer would be to clear out gutters rather than have water pouring down the front of buildings, or even worse, over the back of gutters and down inside the fabric of the property.

When it’s raining it is a good time to look at the outside of your property to spot leaking gutters, joints and down pipes. If you have a floored attic it could be some time before you notice a roof leaking into the living accommodation, so make sure you look in the attic itself. Tide-marks and wet patches appearing on ceilings or around windows are important signs too.

Wooden windows cannot be left for long without needing maintenance and generally a 5-year programme of pre-painting repairs and repainting can expand their life span.

It’s also a good idea to spend a few pounds resealing baths and showers, as well as checking shower screens aren’t leaking and removing bath panels to check underneath. A long-standing leak in an upstairs bathroom could cause major work downstairs if the ceiling was to come down.

Maintenance monitoring
Maintenance awareness is key but some landlords say that they find it difficult to monitor maintenance issues as they are not living on site themselves. The answer lies in a combination of tenant feedback and regular inspections...

Tenants have a duty to inform the landlord or agent of any obvious maintenance issues, but often they might not. Regular inspections on a room-by-room basis should also be conducted.

The best person to ask is the tenant who is living and using the property day to day. However, inspections are the real key as they allow you to look at each room yourself and also allow a little time for the tenant to think about any issues they are aware of while you are inspecting.

I know there to be 2 there are two types of maintenance: planned and responsive. Unfortunately, tenants often aren’t as diligent as you would be in checking the fabric of your property so regular inspections could lead to identifying preventative maintenance rather than waiting for a big problem to arise at a more inconvenient time.

Minimum disruption
But how can you ensure disruption is kept to a minimum for your tenant during maintenance?

I always work around the tenant and ask them when they would rather have the work done and usually, if the problem requires immediate attention most tenants are happy to accommodate this. For some maintenance, however, such as decorating and major refurbishment, I would wait for the property to become empty.

If we lived in a perfect world tenants wouldn’t encounter disruption due to maintenance issues but often speed is of the essence in order to prevent matters getting worse and taking even longer to deal with. If an emergency issue arises good communication with tenants is essential. However, planned or routine maintenance, such as external or internal paintwork, are better left for empty periods.

During your tenants’ annual holiday or during the working day are also good times to carry out maintenance.

Holidays are a great time to do major repairs as long as the tenant has appropriate notice and you have their permission to access the property. Also while the tenant is at work could be a good time if they are happy to let the contractor gain access.

A helping hand
One of the best ways to ensure your maintenance is kept up-to-date is to employ the services of a good property management agent.

Properties are like the Forth Bridge and ideally need tinkering with constantly... but inevitably, with a rental property, maintenance is much more intermittent. A good letting agent, can help by inspecting the property on an agreed frequency, plus instructing and managing repairs with their reliable local contractors.

A good agent will have a good basic knowledge of maintenance issues and can often instruct the tenant on what to do regarding the issue or attend ourselves to solve the problem – although this of course does not relate to more specialist areas, such as gas and electrical works.

As many agents offer an emergency out-of-hours service, having their helps also means that issues will be dealt with swiftly – whenever they may arise...

Most agents will deal with reported problems 24/7 and the landlord can be confident that maintenance will be organised within an acceptable timescale to eliminate unnecessary disruption to the tenant.

Maintenance signs to look out for...
Blocked drains
Leaking or blocked guttering
Leaking windows
Mould
Condensation
Water damage
Broken fencing
Signs of damp
Cracked electrical sockets
Leaking taps
Cracked chimney stacks
Dislodged or broken roof tiles
Erosion of shower and bath seals
Crumbling brick or stonework
Deteriorating pointing
Wood beetle infestations
Peeling paintwork

This all seems obvious right? In my experience, NO! Things going wrong often boil down to one of 2 reasons. One is not really understanding what to do or what to look out for in which case I trust this post does wonders for you! The other reason is that, like them or loathe them, you need a quality, organised letting agent in your life, so you can go about enjoying yours. I can help with this as well.

Best

Richard

Northway, Headington

Hello Oxford!

I hope you are all very well.

I spotted this one on Zoopla recently and thought I'd get it out there ASAP as it will go super quickly.

2 good sized bedrooms and 2 bathrooms and it looks to be in pretty good condition so out lay should hopefully be minimal. If I am being slightly picky the annual maintenance charge is slightly on the high side at £1500 but the general upkeep of this development is good and the cous de gras is that the yield on offer is 5.7% with the rent expected at around £1200 per calendar month.

All things considered its worth every penny. Thus to prove my theory I will have a little sportsman bet that it is sold within 10 days.

Watch this space folks. Or buy it!

Richard

My Oxford Buy To Let Checklist

Popularly hailed as an alternative to badly performing pension funds, buying to let was slowed down by a recession that squeezed mortgage deals and discouraged housing investment. But a reviving market is now generating more attractive mortgages, stimulating property prices and generally raising rent levels again.                         Advice for new Buy-To-Let investors can still be contradictory and confusing. Like most things if you’re Buying-To-Let, you need to do it right and when a considerable amount of your own money is involved it becomes absolutely critical. That’s why I have prepared a definitive checklist for anyone wanting to make a success of an investment in residential rental property. It offers a selection of do’s and don’ts. The checklist is only guidance – I prefer to sit down with a new potential investor in person, and offer more solid professional advice. Everyone’s circumstances and expectations are very different.                         BUY-TO - LET CHECKLIST Research your market – the area, the people you want to rent to, the available property, the benefits and the risks – and keep up with letting industry news (or my blog!) Choose your preferred tenant type. Students? Young professionals? Families? Find the right property that will appeal to them – houses, flats, older properties, newer builds? Students may not need anything particularly stylish but a young professional might. Then pick the right area where they want to live – parents may want to be close to schools and shops; wage earners need to commute to work; students have to be near to their college or university. Look outside your own area if necessary. If local crime statistics are available, take a look and bear them in mind. Study the condition of any property you are interested in – from roof, guttering and windows on the outside to condensation, leaks and electrical wiring on the inside. Be conscious of fire risks. Check whether extensions or conversions have met planning permission or building regulations. Don’t accept the first mortgage offer you get. Shop around. Gather information. Compare. Get the maths right – your investment might give a better return in some other way. How much is the right property going to cost? Is the rent you expect to get enough to cover the mortgage and give a profitable return? Does the potential capital growth add up to a good investment? Talk to an independent lettings agent before you buy. Most mistakes involve either wrong location or wrong price paid for a property. Don't be greedy – Buying-To-Let should be approached as a long-term investment, not a quick fix. Be prepared for costs that can upset your calculations – ongoing maintenance, small and major repairs, advertising, future rate rises, mortgage costs, agents fees, tax, falling house values, periods when you can’t find tenants and the property is empty. Get the right insurance cover – and that can include insuring yourself against tenants who fail to pay rent. If you’re going to manage the let yourself, be prepared to sacrifice your evenings and weekends! If this is likely to be more of a drain than you are prepared for, seek out a professional, fully accredited lettings agent who, for a fee, will look after your property, your interests and your tenants on your behalf. As well as being completely up to date on legal, legislative and property industry issues, a local agent such as Martin and Co, Oxford will have expert knowledge of the best rates from local electricians, plumbers and so on, which in itself, can be worth a weight in gold. I do not make any charge for pre-purchase advice, property visits or rental valuations. Before you do anything, get professional advice is my advice. As the legendary oil well fire-fighter, ‘Red’ Adair, once said: “If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait till you hire an amateur.”                         Best regards Richard

Where should you be buying in Oxford?

Last week, I spoke with  two of my landlords who asked me if the number of bedrooms in a property had any relationship to the return they could get. I did some research and followed up their query – I was actually quite surprised with the results...
   
Currently in Oxford, the average rent for a one bed property is around £925 per month with an average value of £195,000. This means an approximate return/yield of 5.6% per year. The average rent for a two bed property is £1250 per month with the average value being £279,948, which gives a return/yield of 5.3% per year. When I looked at the three bed properties, the yield/return changed quite drastically. The average rent being asked for is £1447 per month but the average value is £345,000 which would give a potential return/yield of only 4.3% per year. Four bed properties achieve a poor return/yield of only 4.1% per year, as average rents are £1893 per month but the average value is £550,000.

There is merit in both housing types. The averages suggest that 1 and 2 bed investments make the best returns overall and I would go along with this, but there is also alot to be said of larger homes especially family homes, which can offer longer term stability and lower maintenance cost for the property. Two of the many factors to consider before buying for investment.
   

If you would like any advice on choosing properties, come and see me at my office on Woodin's Way, Paradise Street. Alternatively and for the most up to date property and investment advice please visit my property blog at:

http://theoxfordpropertyblog.blogspot.co.uk/



Best regards

Richard