Overheads of being a Landlord
Many people think of a landlord as a rich individual who has properties all over the place, and it is true that this does apply to some landlords, but by no means all. Most landlords have mortgages, and this means that they have mortgage interest to pay, so the rent that they get is by no means all pure profit.
In fact, landlords have quite a number of overheads, and in many cases, they are running their properties as a business, so they incur a number of different costs which would never occur to the person in the street.
One of the overheads of many landlords is that of letting agents’ management fees. There are differing views on this, with some landlords preferring to handle all the work themselves and save on the fees. These can vary of course, but on a property being rented for, say, £800 a month, a typical fee would be almost £1,500 a year, so is a fair old chunk. However, other landlords prefer to pay the fees on the basis that it saves them a lot of hassle. “You pays your money and you takes your choice” as the saying goes.
Some landlords require a licence while others don’t. It depends on your local council. Typically, this may be £1,100 a year for a standard HMO (House of Multiple Occupancy) and can go up to as much as £6,000 a year for a large HMO.
Then you need insurance for your property. It is not mandatory, but it would be ill advised not to have it. Costs can vary, but typically could be around £220 for a two-bedroom home. Then there is an EICR – Electrical Installation Condition Report. Since July last year it has been a requirement that landlords have one of these in order to show that the property meets national electrical safety standards. It has to be renewed every five years at a typical cost of £200. An Energy Performance Certificate is now also mandatory. This has to be obtained before any viewings are undertaken, and costs £65 every ten years.
If the property has gas, then a gas safety certificate is another requirement. A gas safety check must be carried out annually and undertaken by a Gas Safe engineer. Cost – typically around £45 a year, but can be as much as £150. There is also a need for smoke, carbon monoxide, and heat alarms. These don’t cost too much if battery operated, but it is best to have wired-in alarms.
Of course, there is the small matter of income tax. This can vary according to whether you are a basic rate taxpayer or pay at a higher rate. The higher rate is 40% of the profits that you make.
Then there are the inevitable periods when your property is empty. You have no income but running costs such as mortgage interest and insurance still have to be paid. If you are running your property yourself, there is also the cost of tenant acquisition. You may also need to pay for certain repairs or redecoration while the property is empty. There is also the cost of ongoing maintenance when things go wrong, such as new tap washers needed, or roofing tiles coming loose in a storm. If the property is furnished, the fridge or cooker may come to the end of its working life and need replacement.
There are also legislation driven checks to complete such as right to rent and for peace of mind you may want to do background checks on your prospective tenant.
On top of that, if you are a DIY landlord, you have the time that you spend carrying out things yourself. Finding tenants, and then showing them around your property. Carrying out an inventory report, and interim reports also take up quite a bit of time but are another necessity.
At Reports2Go, we can help you with the last one of these because we produce an app which can help save you a considerable amount of time when doing check-in, interim, and check-out reports. It takes the form of iOS/Android software which you can download to your mobile, and then you work through each room in the property. This is so much faster than writing everything down in a notebook. The software also prompts you as you go through each room, so that you don’t miss anything.
And yes, it is free software. When you have finished your inspection, you simply upload to your portal on our server, and then it will be ready to download in a few minutes.
Gary, 18 June 2021
Post Titles
- Career Spotlight: Be a Property Inventory Clerk
- What tenants can expect from a Mid-Tenancy Report
- What are Periodic Inspections and what do they entail?
- Landlords - What to Do at the End of Tenancy
- What is a Check-In report?
- How inventory clerk software can help your business
- Property Inventory App? What can I expect for my money?
- The advantages of using Voice Technology for Property Reports
- What goes into a Condition Report?
- Things to consider when compiling a Property Inventory
- Do I Need a Property Inventory?
- The Importance of Check-In and Check-Out Reports
- Our App makes creating a Schedule of Condition so much faster and more Accurate
- Our Dictation Software makes creating Inventory Reports so much faster
- Why you need to carry out Interim Inspections of your BTL
- Creating an Inventory is a critical task for a Managing Agent
- An Inventory Guide for Tenants
- Some tips for Landlords carrying out Property Inspections
- Creating an Inventory is one of the most Important Tasks for a Managing Agent
- What should you check for when Inspecting your Rental Property?
- How to Hire an Inventory Clerk
- Is an Inventory Report needed for Unfurnished Properties?
- The Reasons why you should carry out a Mid-Tenancy Inspection
- The Perfect Inventory App for Landlords
- Check-In and Check-Out reports: What you need to know as a Tenant
- Carrying out Mid-Tenancy checks: What you Need to Know
- You’re not still living in the 20th Century, are you?
- What to check for when doing an Inventory Report
- Use Speech Recognition tools to reduce time doing Reports
- Our Dictation App saves you a Huge Amount of Time
- Mid-Tenancy Reports are Critical when Letting a Property
- There may be Errors in the Inventory Report
- Reports2Go: the 21st Century way of creating Property Reports
- How to do a Condition Report for your BTL
- The work of an Inventory Clerk can be exceedingly varied
- What should you check for when inspecting your Lettings Property?
- Some things you need to know about Mid-term inspections as a Landlord
- The Reports2Go App makes Property Reports simple
- Why you should carry out Interim Inspections as a Landlord
- Why Check-In and Check-Out Reports are important for Tenants
- Some things to consider if you are thinking of buying a BTL
- The clever way for Letting Agents to create Property Reports
- Our FREE app makes Inventory Reports so much easier
- What to do if your Tenant has Damaged your Property?
- Inventory Reports and Check-Ins – are both really necessary?
- Who should pay for Property Cleaning - Tenants or Landlords?
- Is a Check-in Report Really Necessary?
- New plans and improved resolution for images
- Overheads of being a Landlord
- It is Critical that Inventory Reports are Accurate
- Mid-term Inspections of your BTL are Essential
- Minimising risks with proper tenant checks
- Making a Claim on a Tenant’s Deposit: What you need to consider
- The Importance of an Inventory for Tenants
- Things to note when conducting Check-In/Check-Out reports
- Our App saves a huge amount of time carrying out Inventories
- 5 Handy Screening Topics for New Tenants
- Busting Property Management Myths
- Six Money-Saving Tips for Landlords
- Rules for Tenants and Pets in 2021 - What are the Changes?
- As a Landlord you need to carry out Interim inspections
- Giving your Feedback on an Inventory as a Tenant
- Inventories made easy with Reports2Go
- New to Letting? What you should know about Property Reports
- Three Pillars of Good Property Management
- How can PropTech reduce your Property Inventory burden?
- Choosing the right Rental Management Strategy
- Some Tips for Promoting your Letting Agency Business
- The Importance of an Inventory to you as a Tenant
- Some Ideas to Consider in Order to Reduce your Overheads
- Legislation Concerning Landlords and Tenants is Constantly Changing
- What’s your Property Management approach?
- How to maintain a Positive Relationship with your Tenant
- How important is a Condition Report?
- Tools for New Landlords and Property Managers
- The Check-in Process in the Reports Cycle
- Doing an Inventory: Part 5 - Enhancing the Report
- Doing an Inventory: Part 4 - Finishing Up
- Doing an Inventory: Part 3 - Describing Items
- Doing an Inventory: Part 2 - At the Property
- How to do an Inventory: Part 1 - Preparation
- All you need to know about Property Reports as a Tenant
- Use the FREE Reports2Go App to Speed-up Inventories
- Using on-board Dictation Software for Reports
- A guide to Inventory, Check-In, and Check-Out reports
- Reasons for Landlords to carry out Mid-term Inspections
- How to Carry out an Inventory Quickly, Accurately, and Easily
- What does an Inventory Clerk do, and should I hire one?
- Inventory – A Guide for Tenants
- Things to keep in mind when conducting a Check-in Report
- Free Schedule of Condition - Why You Need it
- End-of-Tenancy clean? All you need to know
- Reports During Covid - 19 Restrictions
- Mid-term inspections as a Landlord
- How to avoid Deposit Angst with the Reports2Go app
- The Importance of the Reports2Go App for Inventories
- All about the Reports2Go App
- The Importance of an Inventory for a Tenant
- Dictation makes for a much faster and more Accurate Inventory
- How the Reports2Go app works
- Free Property App
- Completely Free App
- Tenant Fees Act and Inventories
- When you have a lot of Inventories, Reports2Go will save you time
- Periodic Inspections and why they are good idea
- Inventory meets the 21st century with Reports2Go
- Our App saves you a lot of time on Mid-Term inspections
- What is an inventory and why have one?
- Text Mode
- Audio Mode
- Our Inventory App
- Inventory Associations
- The life cycle of a Report