Why Landlords in Plymouth Are Choosing Fully Managed Letting
Being a landlord sounds straightforward until you actually become one.
The rental income is real. So is the paperwork, the phone calls, the maintenance requests, the legislation, and the occasional 10pm message about a boiler that has stopped working. If you have recently become a landlord, or you are thinking about entering the buy-to-let market in Plymouth, this is the article worth reading before you decide how to manage your investment.
The Reality of Letting a Property Yourself
There is nothing wrong with managing your own rental property if you have the time, the knowledge, and the stomach for it. But most landlords underestimate what is actually involved.
It starts before a tenant even moves in. You need the right tenancy agreements, a valid gas safety certificate, an electrical installation condition report, an energy performance certificate, and confirmation that your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms meet current requirements. You need to protect the deposit in a government-approved scheme within 30 days of receiving it and serve the prescribed information to your tenant. You need to carry out Right to Rent checks. Miss any of these, and you are not just looking at a fine. In some cases, you can lose the right to evict a tenant at all.
Then the tenancy begins, and the real work starts.
Why More Plymouth Landlords Are Going Fully Managed
At Smeaton Homes, we manage properties across Plymouth for all kinds of landlords. Some are experienced investors with several properties. Some are accidental landlords who inherited a flat or are renting out a home they could not sell. What most of them have in common is that they came to us after trying to manage things themselves and realising it was more than they bargained for.
Here is what a fully managed service actually means in practice.
Finding the right tenants, not just any tenants. The difference between a good tenancy and a difficult one often comes down to who you put in the property in the first place. We advertise your property on Rightmove and OnTheMarket, conduct thorough referencing checks, and take the time to match tenants who are right for your property. In Plymouth, where we know the local renting community well, that local knowledge genuinely helps.
Keeping you legally protected. Landlord legislation changes constantly, and it is genuinely hard to keep up with if letting is not your full-time job. Our team stays across all of it so you do not have to. From serving the right notices at the right time to making sure your property meets current safety standards, we handle the legal side properly so you are never accidentally on the wrong side of the law.
Shorter void periods. Every week your property sits empty costs you money. We plan ahead by advertising forthcoming vacancies early, so there is as little gap as possible between tenancies. Our knowledge of the Plymouth rental market means we can price your property correctly from the start, attracting good tenants quickly rather than sitting and waiting.
Regular inspections and maintenance. We carry out routine property inspections and report back to you with honest updates on how the property is being looked after. When something needs attention, we have trusted local contractors we work with regularly, people who do a proper job at a fair price. Small issues get dealt with before they become expensive ones.
Rent collection and chasing. Late rent is one of the most stressful parts of being a landlord. When you are managing it yourself, it can feel awkward and time-consuming. We handle it professionally, so your income arrives on time and, when it does not, there is a clear process in place to deal with it promptly.
You get your evenings back. This sounds like a small thing but it is not. Knowing that your tenants have a point of contact who is not your personal mobile number is genuinely liberating. We are the ones who pick up the call when something goes wrong at an inconvenient time.
Is Full Management Right for Every Landlord?
Not necessarily. If you live close to your property, have experience managing tenancies, and enjoy the hands-on side of letting, a rent collection or tenant find service might suit you better. We offer those too, and we will always be honest with you about what level of service makes sense for your situation.
But if you want to let your property in Plymouth and genuinely not worry about it, full management is the option that delivers that.
Talk to Us
We manage properties across Plymouth and we are proud of the relationships we have built with our landlords over the years. Whether you have one property or several, we will give you straightforward advice and a service that actually does what it says.
Get in touch today for a free, no-obligation conversation about your property. We will tell you what it could achieve on the rental market and what managing it properly actually involves.
