Due to time constraints, landlords are turning letting agents to help relieve the burden of property management. However, this is an expensive option. Some student accommodation owners need agencies, but evidence suggests some are using them when they don’t need to do so. The landlord isn’t using their time effectively. Here are some tips for better time management of your student properties.

Preparation

As with everything, being prepared is key to successful time management. The more properties you have, the more essential it becomes to have a plan. It’s still autumn and the end of term is around 3 weeks away for most students. While the property is vacant, carry out all the preventive maintenance issues that might go wrong in the winter. The last thing your students want to come back to is a burst pipe, no hot water, and a cracked window.

Calculate How Much Your Time Costs

Time is money. Property owners in the student rental and general population do not always consider their time cost. A job that takes a professional one hour may seem like an expense if you can do it yourself, but if that job takes you five hours, it may end up being a bit more expensive. Work with the rule of thumb that you can save either money or time, but never both. Your time is valuable and it costs when wasted.

Don’t Skimp on Professional Advice

This is slightly related to the above point. We all need it from time to time and rather than wasting time of trying to do something yourself, it’s worth asking for professional advice – and paying for it – so the issue doesn’t end up costing you more money. See professional advice as you would any other service such as boiler maintenance or plumbing. Alternatively, try professional communities on social media.

Think Electronic Comms First

Some property owners continue to do things the way they have always done them. If that means letters and meeting face to face, you could be wasting a lot of valuable time – yours and your student tenants. Sometimes the idea of the need to write a letter stems from the belief that emails don’t count as putting official communications in writing, when it does.

Be Willing to Pay for Time Saving

Similar to the last point, some other business choices are seen as cost saving – such as taking cash for rent payments. Yet when you come to understand that time is money, the time  taken to drive to the bank, pay to park, wait to queue up and then drive home, is an hour you won’t get back and has cost you money when you could have spent that time doing something more productive. A direct debit might cost, but a couple of pounds could be a cost saving.