Cost effective maintenance

Maintenance of rented property is a large part of our business and it is a part that can often go badly wrong usually through poor communication and missed messages.  Here at Martin and Co we have a dedicated maintenance manager whose job it is to take calls from tenants,  decide on the severity of the issue, check with the landlord and instruct a contractor to fix the problem .

Kelly is very capable on all these fronts as those who have had dealings with her will know but we are always looking for innovative new ideas to save us time in the office and make our service more reliable.  We are currently trialling a new web based maintenance system that should do all of the above and more.  When a tenant has a maintenance issue to report, instead of getting on the phone to us they can access a web page and report the issue online.  Kelly will receive an email with all the details and be able to discuss the issue with the landlord and get a contractor to visit.  The system has a series of question and answer routines which try to get the tenant to solve their own problem saving them time and the landlord money on an abortive callout charge.

Such things as boiler pressure low and trip switches going off will no longer need contractors visits and the website system has been proved to reduce callouts by 18% or nearly 1 in 5.

This is just one of many ways that Martin and Co go the extra mile to maximise the return a landlord can make on her property.   Please call us if you have a property to manage.  Cashback available.

Ps Martin and Co DO NOT mark up contractors invoices on any jobs.

A buy- to- let with your pension?

A buy- to- let with your pension?

A number of people have come into the office recently enquiring about investing their pension money in a buy to let property.   The new rules regarding the cashing in of  your pension pot can hardly have escaped anybody in that thoughtful position recently.  Should I take it out and invest?

The answer varies wildly of course depending on your attitude to risk etc. but I have worked a small example below.  We are always happy to discuss individual cases so if this is of interest please come into the office for a chat

If your pension is worth £200,000.00 then you can release £50,000.00 tax free

Purchase 2 bed property in Weymouth area for £160k – with a mortgage of £11000.00.  The cost of the mortgage would be £210 per month at 2.29% (currently available on interest only).  After you have taken into account agent’s fees for full management you would generate a yield on the cash invested of £413.00 per month or 9.9% per annum- quite a lot better than most savings accounts!!

If your pension pot is smaller than this then there may be tax implications and the return could be less but still worth thinking about!