My Blog reading friends and existing clients will know that at some point over the Christmas break I get fed up of all the eating, drinking and partying.  “Bah! Humbug!” I hear you say…but in reality I think it’s simply that as a busy business owner, my mind and body can’t take the change in pace from mad and hectic to practically a vegetative like state.

So it’s usually around this time of the year, when I hit that point and I need to re-engage my brain, this is what I plan to do…

1 Take Stock

And by take stock I mean take stock of your property.

> Review your portfolio

Look at what’s working best against what’s not doing so well.  Which properties are high yielding and which less so.  Which property or properties are liabilities and which ones are assets.  By that I mean which properties are taking money out of your pocket as opposed to those putting money into your pocket.  Which tenancies pretty much look after themselves and which are thorns in your side?  Looking at the properties individually, where is there scope to increase rents?  Maybe there is immediate room to increase the rent or maybe you need to make some improvements first.

2 Check which properties if any currently have an EPC rating worse than E?

> These properties will need to be brought up to meet the minimum standard of an E rating for the energy performance by April 2018.  It will become illegal to let a property in Walsall with an F or G rating from this date onwards.  What upgrades will likely be required and what is this likely to cost?  Plan and take action now otherwise you may find yourself with an unwanted long-term void and an illegal property you can’t let out!!

3 Plan – Where are you now and where do you want to be?

So have you actually thought about your journey in property?  Whatever your situation now, however many properties you currently own, do you still want to be in exactly the same position this time next year?  If you’re looking to grow your portfolio then by how much are you looking to grow?  If you’re looking to contract it then which properties are you thinking of selling?  Whatever you’re thinking of doing property wise in 2018 how are you going to get there?  What knowledge or skills are you missing?  Finally, who are you going to collaborate or align yourself with in 2018 to get things done?

Given that you’ve read to the bottom of this article then you must be fairly serious about making a success of Walsall property in 2017.  And as a parting farewell ahead of the blog taking what I believe is a well earned break over Christmas and New Year, I’d like to make you this offer…

I’m planning on running a small number of one to one reviews with existing landlords in January 2018.  The intention is to carry out a full review of your property situation similar to what I have outlined above.  People who took me up on this offer last year on average, I saved them £5,250 annually and increased their portfolio revenue by 5-7%.  These sessions will be very detailed and should provide you with an actionable plan for the year ahead.  Planned for January 2018, I have two final spaces which I’d like to give away (usually charged at £199) to the two most deserving people.  So if this interests you then please email me back with just one sentence which describes why you think you would benefit from a portfolio review.   You don’t have to be a client of mine to benefit from this offer so hurry and book your place.  I will come back to the lucky individuals to confirm times and dates.

Have a great break and amongst your property planning please make time for some R&R.  Eat a goodly amount of Christmas Cake, Turkey and enjoy spending time with friends and family!

Email: salekm@ashmorelettings.co.uk

Phone: 01922 311016