Many property investors believe that the only way to earn high returns and deal in a risk-free property investment is to manage their property themselves. However, in reality, in order to earn a higher income, it is strongly advised to have an agent manage your property for you. There are several reasons why this is the case, among which, time saving is a key factor. However, there are also a few others that should be considered and the first of these is maximising your returns. In most cases, the best returns gained in the buy-to-let market do not exist on your doorstep, and therefore any investor restricting their search for yield to say, a 20 mile radius from their home, is automatically placing restrictions on their business. So the first question you should be asking is the location in which you can achieve the best returns. More often than not, this will typically see you look elsewhere in the country, making the use of a management agent key.

As an example, let us say locally you are able to achieve 4-5% returns. That’s if you are lucky, and you manage the property yourself, so beyond the personal cost to yourself of time, effort and void periods, the costs are zero. Now let us look at a property in Liverpool where you can achieve 9% returns. Typically, management companies charge around 8% of the rental figure to provide a service (this equates to a drop of roughly 1% on your rate of return). This means you are not involved in the day to day running, yet still receive payments monthly and are covered for void periods through the insurance that they offer. By shifting your focus to Liverpool, you have increased your total return on your money by some 3%-4% per annum, and at the same time alleviated the burden of maintaining and dealing with all the issues associated with renting properties out.

In order to build a portfolio you need to use a trusted management agent, allowing you to concentrate on the key elements of buy-to-let, and that is finding the highest rate or return for your money. From this, it is fair to say that managing your own property is simply not efficient, and as these companies have become more proactive the ability to run multiple properties is made easier by entrusting it’s running to a reputable management company, often with a Nationwide reach.

If after this, you still insist on managing your development yourself, we can help. Call us today and speak to one of our expert consultants for a few pointers to make this arrangement a more simple one, whilst finding a development that is tailored purely to you and your needs as an investor.