Making time to check your balances.

At this time of year it is very easy to overlook the money that is coming into your account. For those of us who have investment properties this is no time to take your eye off the ball. What I mean is unless you have someone checking your rental income, like a book-keeper, then you need to check that it goes into your account when it is supposed to.

There’s nothing worse than waiting for the New Year to find out that rent has not been transferred. That’s why it’s important to make sure your pot is healthy and that the rental money is coming in when it is meant to.

The easiest way is to look at each property and confirm what date they transfer the rent to your account. Far better that it is in your account reducing debt than in the Real Estate agents! Just go back over the last few months and check the consistency and then you can work out the dates going forward as to when it should be in the account. I always do a check at this time of year before Christmas so that there are no surprises while I am off surfing and holidaying somewhere happy!

We often talk about budgets and cash flow and this is why it’s important to check your investment side. People often ask is it a good idea to send tenants a gift at Christmas. This is purely a personal choice and I look at it as if I have happy tenants that are looking after my properties, which I do, why wouldn’t I send them a gift to wish them a Merry Christmas and thank them. It is totally a personal choice.

It’s also a good time to check your lease agreements and make sure your property manager is doing their job. If you have a lease coming up soon they hopefully have already taken proactive action on this and organized for the existing tenants, assuming they are good ones, to extend.

So it’s really just a little bit of ongoing housekeeping that can make the world of difference at this time of year.

So for all of us who have investment properties take a little time out as soon as you can to check these details and just make sure everything is going according to plan. I am sure you will find it is, and the great thing is if it isn’t you can fix it and we are only too happy to help.

Happy Investing.

Lynn