Landlords are you ready for winter?

Landlords are being encouraged to make crucial preparations to their buy-to-let properties as the winter fast approaches, after a new survey revealed that almost half of private landlords fail to carry out essential, pre-winter checks.

To avoid expensive repair bills, it is important to take preventative action. A few simple checks on your property prior to the cold really settling in will help keep your tenants happy over the winter and hopefully help ensure that you remain stress free.

With profit margins so tight these days it is essential to ensure let properties are in good repair as neglect can very expensive.

Those who don’t act in plenty of time, run the risk of any issues escalating and therefore, costing more to rectify. This is not only a drain on the landlord’s finances, but can also lead to unhappy tenants who may choose to look for alternative accommodation if the disruption becomes too much to live with.

Among those landlords who do commit to routine inspections, over 70% ensure checks and necessary maintenance are carried out on the heating boiler, yet only 55% extend this to all aspects of the heating systems including pipework and radiators. Boiler repairs and one of the biggest drains on profits so keeping the heating system well maintained is essential.

Ensuring that things like your boiler, heating system, and external pipes are in good order will not just show your tenants you're on the ball as a landlord. It will reduce the likelihood of maintenance calls through the winters months and potentially identify smaller issues that can be fixed now before they become very expensive.