Your tenants are happy. But is your portfolio actually working?
Happy tenants are worth their weight in gold. But a problem-free tenancy can sometimes hide a portfolio that's quietly falling behind. In this week's article, we explain why looking beyond on-time rent could help you increase returns, reduce risk and protect your investment for the long term.
Happy Tenants Are Brilliant. But They're Not the Whole Story.
One of the loveliest things a landlord can have is a long-term tenant who genuinely looks after the place.
No drama. Rent on time. A Christmas card every year.
And I am not going to tell you that is not valuable, because it genuinely is. A reliable long-term tenant is worth a lot.
But here is what I see quite often.
The happy tenant creates a kind of comfort zone. Because nothing is going wrong on the surface, the landlord stops looking underneath. Rents stop being reviewed. Certificates drift. The boiler gets older with no plan for replacing it. The portfolio carries on ticking along without anyone asking whether it is actually performing.
I had a landlord come to us a couple of years ago. Two long-term tenants, both brilliant, both paying on time, no issues whatsoever.
When we looked at the numbers properly, both rents were well below what similar properties in the same postcodes were achieving. One had not been reviewed in four years. Her electrical inspection was overdue. One of the boilers was twelve years old with no service in two years and no replacement budget anywhere.
Everything was fine. But it was not performing. There is a real difference between those two things.
The comfortable drift
It creeps up on you. The rent you set three years ago felt right at the time so you never questioned it. The compliance documents you sorted at the start of the tenancy have been sitting in a drawer since. The maintenance you have been meaning to address keeps getting pushed back because the tenant has not complained about it.
None of it is negligence. It is just what happens when there is no system in place to keep things moving properly.
What we did for this landlord
We took on both properties and did a proper portfolio review.
Within the first six months, both rents had been reviewed and increased to market rate. The electrical inspection was done. A boiler replacement was planned and costed ahead of time rather than as an emergency call-out in January.
The income went up. The risk went down. And she did not have to deal with any of it herself.
I thought everything was fine because nothing was going wrong, she told me. I did not realise that nothing going wrong and things actually going well were two different things.
Your action point this week
Look at your portfolio this week. Not just whether the rent is paid.
Are your rents at what the market is currently achieving? Are all your certificates current? Have you got a maintenance plan for anything ageing? Do you know what your properties are worth right now?
If any of those feel uncertain, come and have a chat with us.
If any of this sounds familiar, I would love to have a chat. We offer a free, no-obligation portfolio review to landlords across Bolton and Greater Manchester. No sales pitch, no pressure — just an honest conversation about what your portfolio could be doing better. Give us a call on 01204 659670, drop me an email at katie@harrisonsnet.co.uk or visit harrisonsnet.co.uk. We are right here on Newbrook Road and the kettle is always on.
Here's to your property success!
Katie
Harrisons Estate Agents
01204 659670 | katie@harrisonsnet.co.uk | harrisonsnet.co.uk