As the tax year came to a close last week, annual account statements were sent out to all of my landlords who employ me on a full management basis.
It’s not something I publicise I do (free of charge) as part of my lettings service, but I think it will make my landlords (or their accountants!) lives easier come self-assessment time.
The statement breaks down the total rent they have received in the tax year for each property, along with any deductions that were made (my management fees and any property maintenance costs). It’s similar to what I send each month when the rent comes in, but this time for the whole tax year.
Not only is this a nice overview for the landlord, whilst again demonstrating my complete transparency in regards to fees, but it also ensures all costs are accounted for so that they can claim the maximum tax relief. This is increasingly important at a time when mortgage interest relief for landlords is reducing.
It also gives me some great figures to analyse, which I wanted to share with you.
The average rent my landlords are achieving is £1,155pcm, which is 22% higher than the current average rent in Chichester of £949pcm. Plus, they have received all of the rent due to them i.e. there were no non-paying tenants all year - phew!
What’s more is that my unique fixed-fee structure is proving to be excellent value for my landlords; demonstrated by my average landlord being charged just 8.1% in total for a full tenant find and ongoing management service. One landlord is paying just 4.7% as their property achieves a particularly high rent, meaning my fixed fee proves to be even cheaper for them.
What was also interesting to see is that my landlords are spending just £357 a year on average on property maintenance, which is just 3% of the total rent they receive.
Common lettings advice is to set aside 10% of your annual rent to account for property maintenance, but my landlords are doing far better than this. I suspect this is partly because I focus on more modern properties, which should inherently have fewer issues, and because I tend to endorse the attitude of ‘prevention rather than cure’ - spending a little in the short-term to save a lot in the long-term.
I hope it’s also in part down to the carefully selected maintenance contractors I use, who offer good value for money, plus the fact I don’t add a mark-up to maintenance costs or charge additional commission. I also often check issues for myself to see if they can be rectified by me, free of charge, before getting in the paid help.
If you’d like to discuss the ins and outs of how I can make the management of your rental property a little bit easier and perhaps more cost-effective, please get in touch.
For more tips about buying, selling, letting and renting in Chichester, please visit www.chipropertynews.co.uk
(This article was featured in the Chichester Observer's property section on 12th April 2018)
Clive Janes, CRJ Lettings.
If you are looking for an agent that is well established, professional and communicative in Chichester, then contact us to find out how we can get the best out of your investment property.
E-mail me on clive@crjlettings.co.uk or call 01243 624 599.
Don't forget to visit the links below to view my previous buy-to-let deals and Chichester Property News articles:
c/o CRJ Lettings, 30B Southgate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 1DP
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