Buy-to-let at distance

eddddy

sixpence. said:

Ideally I'd love a coach to mentor me through this but that kind of thing seems rare unless one is paying through the nose.

FWIW, I used to chat with somebody who went on lots of "courses", and worked with "mentors".

The courses cost thousands of pounds, and a lot of what they "learnt" was mostly pure nonsense.  Often one course was just a sales pitch explaining why you need to buy the next course.


I look at it like this...

• I think I could put together a really impressive sounding course on brain surgery

• If I presented the course to people who knew nothing about brains and brain surgery - they might think "Wow - what interesting facts about the brain and how to do brain surgery".

• But if I presented the course to some Brain Surgeons - they would think "This guy's facts are all wrong. He clearly knows nothing about brains and brain surgery."

_Penny_Dreadful

sixpence. said:

Ideally I'd love a coach to mentor me through this but that kind of thing seems rare unless one is paying through the nose.

You could join NRLA and do a few of their courses.

sixpence.

Thank you so much everyone for the responses. I can see that doing B2L at a distance is totally possible. It's really a question of getting clued up as much as possible, making the right decisions, and working with the right people at every step of the way.

Aside from this great resource: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5180214/tenancies-in-eng-wales-guides-for-landlords-and-tenants/p1 does anyone know of any essential learning materials that I should look at before I start this process?

I have an area in mind and I am going to start contacting estate agents to build relationships as I look for a property. That's the next practical step.

blackshirtuk

If you have an area in mind, why don't you share it? Many Landlords on here may be able to give feedback on agents local to the area you are looking at.

I have recently done something similar to your idea. The agent was very helpful with the refurb as they already had the contractors. However, I do not know if they were the cheapest!

The only problem i have is that you basically have to agree with whatever the agent/tenant request. Whilst they normally send pictures etc as you dont physically see the problem, you have to rely on what the agent tells you. For example I had a issue with a boiler, it was recommended to flush it and replace a sensor, i ok'ed the work then a couple of month later another issue came up and was recommended to change the boiler. If I had been around to see it initially I would probably changed the boiler immediately. The plumber was trying to save me money and fix the problem.

I have gone for the full management with income protection insurance, {the insurance will deal with the eviction process for non payment}The insurance has minimum vetting criteria so it keeps a check on the agents, but the agents make as much as me once the mortgage costs come off, if there are no issues.