Landlords – three New Year’s resolutions you might want to consider for 2022

It’s nearing that time of the year again, where people make pledges to improve or change their life. This often revolves around giving something up – smoking, drinking, chocolate, meat, coffee, etc – or bolder pledges such as learning a language, taking up a musical instrument or training for a marathon.

But, as a landlord, you can also benefit from making certain resolutions next year to ensure your portfolio thrives and you get the most out of renting property.

Here, in this end of year blog, we outline three things that landlords may wish to bear in mind come January.

Growing your portfolio

You may have put this off for a while because of all the uncertainty that has been swirling around, but 2022 could be the year for you to put your growth plans into action. You may also want to consider placing your portfolio in a limited company structure for the tax benefits this provides, although there are pros and cons to incorporation.

While the Omicron variant is currently causing uncertainty once again, and leading to talk of possible further restrictions including lockdowns and circuit breakers, there is also hope that the vaccine booster programme and the better weather that starts to appear from mid-spring will allow life to remain as normal as possible.
Even if new restrictions are needed, it seems very likely that the housing market will continue to operate as normal – as it has done since mid-May 2020 – which will mean tenants will still be able to move home as they please.

Covid continues to make long-term planning more difficult, but the current market conditions and fundamentals of the PRS could make expanding a portfolio a wise choice in 2022.

Make more use of tech

PropTech has really come into its own during the pandemic – in fact, the UK PropTech sector recorded record growth in 2021 – as digital and AI solutions continue to play an increasingly important role in the property industry.

Virtual viewings became a necessity during the early days of lockdown and have continued to be used to a greater degree than pre-pandemic, while drone photography and videography have grown in importance, too. Much more of the lettings process is now automated or tech-driven, and you may want to embrace this more in 2022 to streamline communications and processes more than ever next year.

Taking the plunge

You may not yet be a landlord, but it’s something you have been considering for some time, investing in and letting out a property. Various things may have put you off – most recently Brexit and Covid, for example. Equally, you may be a former landlord who – for one reason or another – left the sector but is now keen to return.

Well, January 2022 could be the month for you to take the plunge. It’s typically a good time to list property as home-moving plans are often put into action in January, as tenants act on their own New Year’s resolutions and move jobs or locations and require a new house to go along with this. Their resolution may even, in fact, be moving to a new rental home because they have outgrown their previous one or just fancy a change.

As well as high demand – recent research from ARLA Propertymark found that demand is currently at its highest in the North West – now could be the perfect time to lock in favourable mortgage deals (if you’re investing with a mortgage) before interest rates rise further. Yields have proved resilient against the uncertainty of the pandemic and the prospect of a good long-term return on investment is strong thanks to robust house price growth.

Becoming a landlord for the first time is no small thing – and you need to make sure you are fully prepared for it and understand all the potential upsides and downsides. If you do decide to enter the market (and the potential rewards remain significant), you will want to consider partnering with an experienced local letting agent, one which knows the local market well and who can help you to get the most from your rental property over time.

Here at Farrell Heyworth, we can help to maximise your lettings investment whatever your New Year’s resolution happens to be.

To discover more, please contact us at one of our many branches across the North West. If you’d like an estimate of how much you could be charging in rent, you can request a free valuation.