Managing Your Own Rental Properties-The Pros and Cons

There are two camps of thought when it comes to using letting agents, as some investors think this is vital and some prefer to manage the properties themselves, but when it comes to whether you decide to use one or not, there are pros and cons to the argument that we take a quick look at below.
Advantages Of Managing Your Own Rental Properties -
Save Money – Probably the biggest advantage of all that we look at is the fact that you can save yourself money by managing your own property, as most agents will take around 12% – 15% of the monthly rental income to manage your property. This of course is the figure of saving, it does not take into account other factors that you could end up paying for, but for many landlords, saving themselves this amount of money can be worth the hassle of managing your own properties.
No Restrictions – Some landlords argue that they feel trapped or controlled by their letting agent, that they maybe lose the control of being able to do what they want, why they want and how they want. Others would say that a letting agent keeps everything in order, but you are also using their mailing list and powers to get tenants, so when you manage things on your own, you are in full control and can approach the letting as you wish to.
More Control – Because you are not relying on someone else to do things for you, you are going to be in control of your own schedule and workload, meaning that you decide when you do the checks, collect the rent and anything else that might be in the remit of a landlord.
Disadvantages Of Managing Your Own Rental Properties -
Location – Even if you have all of your properties in the same area, you have to ask yourself do you really have the time, money and organisational ability to service all of your properties and tenants to the best of your ability. If the answer is yes, then fair enough, but for most of us it will be no, especially if we live many miles away from the property and cannot physically get to each one when we need to. Remember, if something goes wrong, you need to sort it and if you are 100 miles away then this is not always going to be that easy.
Time – As the old saying goes, time is money and if you have a portfolio and a full time job, can you realistically do manage both to the best of your ability and be on hand to solve any issues that might crop up out of the blue? A lettings agent will undoubtedly save you time, because they take care of everything for you, from the initial checks through to handover should the tenant move out, so this is something you need to be aware of if you are planning to do it yourself.
Expertise – When it comes to renting properties out, there are many legal requirements and things that you simply have to make sure that your properties adhere to, from safety certificates through to energy reports. With laws and regulations changing every time and some councils requiring more than others, you really need to make sure that if you are going to manage your own that you know everything you need to know to avoid any issues.
Ian Spencer writes for the investment property portal Buy Property Online, which focuses on high quality investment properties from many agents around the UK and the world.
The website offers access to a range of properties, information and advice when it comes to property investment, both in the UK and abroad.