Hey guys,

I always encourage my clients to use a professional lettings agent to fully manage their properties. The reason for this is simple: You are a property investor, you are not a property manager.

Whilst you may think that owning property is all about maintenance, collecting rent, signing tenancy agreements, dropping off keys, conducting viewings, I see investing in property as lifestyle, other professionals dealing with issues, structure, strategy. So if you are in doubt or definitely do not want the hassle or don't have the time to invest in chasing down tradesmen to fix a problem then be sure to choose the full management option on every one of your properties.

I do however believe that in certain circumstances it is OK to use the find only or find and collect service that agents offer and manage the tenancy yourself. Let me explain the details of this waiver.

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You have just purchased a brand new property which assuming its been build by a quality builder and you (or your sales agent or club) has undertaken a snagging inspection at completion the property should be problem free for at least the first 2 years.

In the event that you do have a problem most manufacturers will offer 12 months coverage on appliances and then the builder will offer a further 12 months. If you have a more serious structural problem then either the builder or the NHBC or Zurich cover will handle the problem.

This will cover you for maintenance for a full 2 years. After this you can take a view on the property and decide from there. Once again it is always about ROI (Return on Investment). Do you numbers and make a decision based on this.

Live with passion,

Brett Wood