If you’re a landlord, you might be considering maximising the value of your rental portfolio. A property portfolio is a collection of property investments which are owned by a company or individual. The main benefit of a property portfolio is that it gives you better access to equity and gives you multiple streams of income.

Becoming a property investor is hard work but can be very rewarding. It’s important to remember that if you’re looking for financial freedom, it certainly won’t happen overnight, and can take some time.

In this blog, we list some helpful advice to support you in maximising the value of your rental property portfolio.

What are your goals?

Property investments should take serious planning and consideration, without being rushed into. For this reason, you’ll need to spend some time thinking about your ultimate goal. If you’re looking at creating a property portfolio, you’ll need to define your long-term goals in advance. Think about why you are investing into properties and the reasons why you’re looking to maximise the value of your property portfolio. 

The main goal many people aim for is to eventually have financial freedom, although your goals will vary depending on your financial situation and the number of properties and level of independence you’re looking to take on.

Take one step at a time

The best advice we can give you in maximising your portfolio is to start small. Take one step at a time so you can stay up to date with all properties, which is especially important if you’re planning to manage the properties on your own.

Start off with a smaller investment, such as a one-bedroom apartment. Eventually, you can work up to bigger investments once you’re in a positive financial position. This reduces the risk of financial losses and gives you a better opportunity to build your property portfolio over time.

Define your demographic

An important step in becoming a property investor is to understand the needs of your demographic, which is even more important to establish for London properties as some areas are an extremely niche market. Identifying the demographics of the area a property is situated in will allow you to understand the requirements of your target market. For London properties, this would usually include rental budget, accessibility to nearby tube stations, the number of bedrooms within the property and sometimes the interior design. But we’ll go into this more later. 

Once you have identified and researched your demographics, you’ll then have an understanding on which areas might require renovation or minor work. For example, apartments in Central London tend to be a very popular choice for those living in London. For larger properties that are likely to be used as a house share, it could be a good idea to separate all rooms into studio rooms, so that all tenants have their own separate space.

Interior design

A great way of adding value to your portfolio is to increase the value of the property. The easiest way of doing this is through investing in interior design decisions. In an unfurnished property, it’s usually a good idea to invest in the kitchen or bathroom, as these are considered focal rooms by potential tenants or buyers. For furnished properties, interior design is even more important, so you might benefit from enlisting an interior designer.

Although a new kitchen or bathroom can be expensive, it adds instant appeal with those interested in the property. It’s also the perfect way to increase your overall income as you can increase the monthly rental costs of the property. Think of improving your property as an investment and not an expense. Before rushing to make interior design changes, it’s important to consider if the expensive changes will help you achieve your goal, otherwise, you’re at risk of making a loss.

Tracking your finances

For any property investor, whether you have one property or five, it can often be difficult to keep track of what’s coming and going out of your accounts. To run an efficient property portfolio, you’ll need to keep track of your finances.

There are many mobile and desktop apps out there that help with this and can make your life much simpler. Landlordy is a rental property manager application which helps you manage all expenses whilst keeping important documents and contracts all in one place.

If you struggle in keeping track of tenant payments, the handy app helps you create invoices, send payment receipts and payment history, whilst sending you reminders for any outstanding payments or expenses which are due.

You can also receive regular cash-flow reports, keeping you in the loop with how your property portfolio is progressing and how your finances are looking.

Managing your rentals

If your knowledge isn’t up to scratch, or you are looking to expand your existing portfolio, Johns&Co London Estate Agents are here to support. With years of experience and in-depth local market knowledge, our lettings and sales team are experts in matching people with their perfect property. JOHNS&CO landlords and tenants are well looked after and receive an unprecedented level of service. Our dedicated, concierge-style approach to our service includes:

As a landlord with JOHNS&CO, you will receive a tailored range of services from our experienced lettings team, allowing you to benefit from a dedicated property manager on-site at each development we represent, a tailored marketing campaign to advertise your property to rent and our vast links with corporate companies. You can also be sure of efficient handovers, professional advice for rental legalities and even furniture installation too.

We know how important it is to keep void periods minimum, and we do everything we can to minimise them. This commitment has seen us let property in new build developments up to six months ahead of completion. To discuss your requirements in more detail, please contact us.