Thinking of nvesting in prop[erty but hoprless at DIY - please advice

geek84

Good Morning Folks

I am thinking of investing in property. However, I am absolutely hopeless at DIY. Taking this big disadvantage into consideration, do you think I should forget about this idea or go ahead with it and get a management agency to look after the property (repairs/maintenance)?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

sandsni

Do you have any friends or joiners/plumbers/electricians etc. you know you can trust to give you a fair quote for jobs (rather than just creating work for themselves or inflating the cost because they know you won't know any better)? Agencies sometimes have cosy little relationships with contractors so you would want to be sure you were getting value for money for whatever repairs or replacements were "required" before giving them free rein with your money.
My DIY skills are limited. There are things I would do in my own house, but couldn't "stand over" if I did them in a rental property (apart from maybe changing a light bulb lol), but thankfully we have tradesmen we can trust.

whalster

The best thing to do is find a good handfullnof of different trades DIY is not the way forward every man to his job .i have a trade myself but would not dream of fixing electrics or hanging doors plumbing etc.
This all said I would not use an agent either ,you are throwing our profit away , maximise it by learning as much as you can ,join a landlord association and be in it for the long term

BitterAndTwisted

Investing in property and becoming a landlord is a business, and repairs and maintenance are legitimate business expenses which you can offset against the rental-income for tax purposes.

If you appoint an agent to co-ordinate any repairs or maintenance you are almost guaranteed to be charged top-dollar for them, and there's no reason to assume that they would be done to the highest standard either.

Everything depends on having a sensible long-term business-plan. Being a landlord is not a money-spinning venture for the short-term, which is why property is known as a "fixed-asset" in accounting terms. i.e. it cannot be converted into cash quickly or readily if required.

Also, it's true that when considering investments, it's very foolish to put all of your assets into the same class. Diversify to spread the risk.

mrsbmartin

Surely it is a cash issue? If you get a property at a bargain price you can afford to pay tradesmen to do it up...pay market value and you won't be able to. If you buy a turn key btl then you (fingers crossed) shouldn't have too many problems anyway and if you are going to start any kind of business you will need a contingency fund to cover unforseen costs.

geek84

Hi Folks

Many thanks for your replies. so far.

tim123456789

geek84 wrote: »

Good Morning Folks

I am thinking of investing in property. However, I am absolutely hopeless at DIY. Taking this big disadvantage into consideration, do you think I should forget about this idea or go ahead with it and get a management agency to look after the property (repairs/maintenance)?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Do you mean investing to rent or investing to sell on.

For rent - no problem. Loads of people do this without ever changing as much as a light bulb for themselves.

For sale - unless you are into a complete redeveplopment project, paying tradesmen to do absolutely everything on a refub will wipe out the profit

geek84

Hi Folks

Many thanks for your replies.

Is the below quotation REALLY true -

For rent - no problem. Loads of people do this without ever changing as much as a light bulb for themselves.

If so, then I can become a landlord without too much worry !!

The only factor putting me off becoming a landlord are all the repairs & maintenance that go with it.

G_M

Agents can be used for different things. Up to you to decide how much you want to pay them, how much you want to delegate to them:

* find tenants
* inventories/contracts
* rent collection
* repairs/maintenance
* quasi legal work (don't ask - a major discussion will ensue!)
etc

You can employ the agent to do any/all of these. It's pick & mix

Same with repairs. You can

* DIY it all
* get agent to manage it all
* employ your own contractors

again - pick and mix

Have you read thispost yet:

New Landlords (information for new or prospective landlords)