One of the best things about going on holiday is that once you’ve packed your bags and locked the front door, you can breathe a sigh of relief.
After months of hard work and stress, you can finally relax, unwind, and recharge – unless, of course, you’re a landlord.
If you manage a rental property, you’re always on call.
You can’t switch on your out-of-office and mute your WhatsApp for a fortnight and hope for the best. If there’s an urgent problem at your property, you have a legal responsibility to act promptly.
Sometimes you’re just unlucky
The best landlords are organised. They stay on top of routine maintenance and make sure that gas and electrical checks (that are required by law) are performed on time.
But no matter how diligent you are, the unexpected can still happen.
While emergencies are rare, they do occur – and often at the worst possible time (when you’re en route to an exotic location or living it up with friends at a wedding or birthday celebration).
Why not just risk it?
You may be tempted to cross your fingers and hope for the best.
Unfortunately, we’ve seen many landlords take this approach – and get caught out.
The exasperating thing about managing a property is that when something goes wrong, it can go very wrong.
And you can’t sweep an urgent issue – a gas leak, burst pipe, break-in, or fire – under the carpet and continue clubbing in Ibiza for a week.
If you do, you could be putting your tenant’s life at risk (cue costly legal action) or your property on the line (think of all the water damage that burst pipe will cause if you don’t fix it ASAP).
There is a solution
Get a professional to manage your property for you. That way, when you go on holiday, you can truly switch off and leave it to someone else to deal with any issues that occur.
You can be anywhere in the world, and someone will be keeping an eye on your property – and your tenants. It’s the best way to protect your investment.
To learn more about why many Chelmsford landlords use our property management services, get in touch with us here at Martin & Co.
