Cormac Sheehy, Md, RE/MAX Professional Partners
Of all the landlords in Ireland over 30 percent are ‘accidental landlords’ - an individual who bought their house with the intention of living in it, but through various different scenarios ended up moving out and letting it.
Obviously, emerging from the most recent ‘crash’, individuals were in negative equity and unable to sell, but the rent covered the mortgage so were left with being a landlord as the only option.
We all live lives that are hectic and ever evolving with daily school runs and weekend activities a regular occurrence.
The last thing you need is the call about a leak or blocked toilet and that where a the use of a letting agent greatly benefits. As a professional letting agent they are the point of contact for all queries and problems from the tenants. In general, the tenants won’t even have your number so it should be peace and quiet on that front at least.
Good practice is to establish a figure where your letting agent can sign off on incidental repairs and fixes and then anything above that is the only time that you should have to be consulted. It makes for an easier life and generally the majority of repairs and call outs are for small jobs and the letting agent will always have a handyman on call who can do the fix in short time. This leaves your only interaction being the checking of your account to see if the rent has been lodged.
Also, a very important but seldom talked about aspect is the legal side of lettings, ensuring a compliant and registered lease, due diligence being followed on the checking of references and the establishment of a letting agreement.
Unfortunately, these are often overlooked and only arise when there is an issue and when you have no contract the tenant is in a very strong position, leaving you helpless.
If you have a property that you wish us to let or manage or indeed sell do not hesitate to get in contact.
