Being a landlord?

There is a commonly held belief that being a landlord is easy - you buy a property and then just watch the money roll in. Unfortuantely this is far from the truth.

You need to -
• invest in the right property or you will make a loss not a profit
• manage the lettings side of the business - attract tenant, ensure rent is collected
• maintain the property
• meet your legal obligations regarding things like deposits and gas safety
• keep abreast of new legislation as it is introduced
• keep detailed records of finances for tax purposes

It will take up some of your time. Don't assume this will be a few hours when you have the time available, it is just as likely to be a large chunk of time just when you are busy with other things.

If you intend managing a proeprty yourself then be prepared for phone calls in the middle of the night asking you to come and fix a broken toilet urgently.

At some point you will have to deal with problem tenants which requires very careful handling and can be exceptionally stressfull.

Theoretically you can hand many of these tasks over to a letting agent. However you still need to manage the letting agent. In many situations if your agent does not do what they should then you are legally liable as the landlord, and there is an inherent problem with lettign agents in that what is in your best interests may not be in their best interests and hence you need to stay aware of what they are doing.

Despite all these issues, provided you can keep organised, don't mind dealing with the types of people you are renting to, and have a genuine interest in being a landlord then there is no reason why you can't be good at it.