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Many assume that landlords have it pretty easy. But this can be pretty complex and stressing stuff. Here’s what you should do to relieve the stress of being a landlord.

Get tenants faster

Sometimes, just leaving it to a real estate agent just isn’t enough. One of the best ways to alleviate landlord stress is to actually have tenants! Otherwise, you’re left with the stress of not having that income. So make sure the property is being properly marketing. Use social media, professional photography, anything to look more modern and professional.

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Streamline the payment process

You know what’s really stressful? Not getting paid. This is pretty stressful for everyone. But for a landlord, it’s damaging to your investment and your reputation. You can try reporting tenant to credit bureau to reduce stress and make sure you get paid on time. As a bonus, it allows you to reward your good tenants by helping their credit, so this will definitely help them look favorably to you. To lessen the chances of unpaid rent, you should also make sure the payment process is as streamlined as possible. A direct debit is probably the easiest thing to set up.  Ensuring that you accept a good variety of payment methods is also vital. These things make it a lot less likely that you’ll experience payment delays. You could also look into online rent collection.

Get someone else to do it

What’s the ultimate way of relieving landlord stress? Some smart alecs would probably argue that the best way to do that is to stop being a landlord. Har har, nice one. But what if you could ease some of those responsibilities while still retaining ownership of the property? Is that even possible? You can get expert help with your property rentals. This type of service doesn’t completely relieve you of all landlord duties while still allowing you to reap the rewards. But it can take a massive weight off your shoulders.

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Maintain a repair fund

Repairs are inevitable. If you’ve ever had a tenancy that never saw any property problems arise, then you’re the envy of many. Of course, if a repair does need doing, then it’s your obligation to do something about it as soon as possible. This is especially true if the problem was something inherent in the property. My advice is to maintain a fund that’s saved solely for potential repairs. You’ll have the required funds ready for that rainy day.

Work with a 7-day agency

A lot of contact between you and the tenant may be mediated via a real estate agency. This is especially true when you got the tenant using that agency. So you should ensure that you’re working with a real estate agency that isn’t just working Monday to Friday. Find an agency that works seven days a week. This makes them - and, by extension, you - as accessible as possible. After all, not everyone has the time to deal with drama on the weekday.

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The pre-vacate process

When a tenancy ends, the process is rarely an easy one. We often underestimate this task. But it can definitely result in a lot of stress. What you want to do is minimize the amount of time between the outgoing tenant and the new tenant. That means you should encourage them to clean up and fix all problems by the end of their vacancy. You could supply them with contacts for gardeners, cleaners, utility companies, etc. If any mess is left over, let them know the cleaning costs will come out of their security deposit.