The stresses of being a landlord and managing property

When I became a property manager, nearly 30 years ago now, I did so because I was interested in property but I gradually began to realise that it actually doesn’t have an awful lot to do with property and it has everything to do with people.

Despite being people based, most of the comment and dialogue from the industry is about how to make cold hard cash and the simple bricks and mortar; with very little psychological awareness of our clientele.  In times when we’re talking about good mental health, no-one is talking about just how stressful it is to be a landlord nowadays and how a property manager may be able to ease that burden.

My client relationships are carefully nurtured and I will do everything I can to meet your needs but typically go above and beyond those needs.  I listen with compassion; your worries will not be belittled; I won’t shame or bully you; nor will you find me to be arrogant.  You can voice your concerns and I can give you straightforward, jargon-free, practical and commercial advice.

How many times have you been rushing about in your busy day, needed to ring a large organisation, being greeted by an automated service where you have to press 1 for this and 2 for that and by the time you get to option 5, you’ve completely forgotten what option 1 was.  Maybe you get passed about from one person to another, listening to a load of muzak along the way, repeating the same dialogue over and over again, only to go full circle and be told you have to speak to the first department you spoke to 20 minutes ago.  All you want to do is scream and hang up the phone!  By this time your blood pressure has hit the roof, your cortisol is up and now you’re snapping at everybody and eating all the office doughnuts.

If you want to get hold of me, you can just ring my mobile, or send me a quick text.  Maybe you can’t talk very easily in your office, so we can have a quick Whatsapp exchange.  Doing your tax return on a Sunday afternoon and have a quick question?  I can answer there and then, so you can get on with it.  You want to text me on a Saturday night, like one of my landlords did the other week?  No problem!  I can get back to you quickly.

Of course, if you’d rather not know the finer details, most clients are actually happiest in the knowledge that everything will be taken care of without any interaction on their behalf.  I am your advocate in dealing with regulators, fulfilling obligations in good faith; liaising with tenants, providing anonymity; dealing with contractors – everything that you don’t want to do.  Just so that you don’t have any stress in your life (regarding property).

Whichever way you wish to play it, I take your wellbeing seriously.  According to the Mental Health Foundation, 30% of GP appointments are related to mental health and wellbeing issues and 1 in 6 people will experience a mental health problem each week.  Just as you take care of your body at the gym, I can help to address your mental wellbeing by addressing whatever your individual needs are.

Another area where good mental health is important, is actually understanding the needs of your tenants.  Whereas you may think this isn’t your concern, it affects your financial stresses, which is often key to your worries.  Longevity of tenants and keeping them happy, greatly affects your return.  Receiving 12/12 months rent, year-on-year, really boosts your yield, compared to maybe 12 months followed by 1 month void and many turnaround expenses on top of that.  Easily gaining access to the property for a mortgage surveyor, for example, makes life simpler for you.  The wisest thing to do is always to keep your tenants onside and happy and I am expert at doing that.

Be free to spend the time that you want in the gym, or luxuriating in the way that you feel you deserve, while I take care of all this for you.

Original article The Stresses of being a Landlord – Oct 2019