To be a landlord is to be an entrepreneur, and to be an entrepreneur is to never really shut off.
But we all need a break sometimes, and if you’ve been juggling work, your rental property, and looking after a family, now is the moment to take a breather.
Christmas is the one time of year when the entire country shuts down, which makes it an ideal moment to step back and recharge for the new year from a business and personal perspective.
A good start would be sharing our Lettings Winter Prep checklist with your tenants to lay the ground for a trouble-free time.
Then, once you’ve done that, swap those thoughts of yields and rent for our tips on a Yuletide reset to spring back in January with a whole new lease of life.
STOP LANDLORDING
Being a landlord doesn’t end at 5pm each day, and property is an obsession for all of us, but being on 24/7 isn’t healthy, so try these tips for a lettings detox until the new year:
- Resist the temptation to look at Rightmove for current property prices or rental values.
- Avoid doom-mongering articles about the rental market, lettings law and landlord woes.
- Take a break from thinking about finances, mortgage payments and interest rates.
All of these things are essential elements to being a landlord, but you are allowed a few days off to think purely about yourself: the news will still be there when you get back to work.
LOOK AFTER YOURSELF
Taking care of your well-being isn’t just for yoga retreats in Ibiza and ashrams in India. Everyone – and that includes landlords – needs a balance between their personal and professional lives.
The festive season is a perfect time to create new healthy habits, and some of the easiest ways to get started include:
- Connecting with the outside world: whether beach, forest or park, it’s a wonderful way to clear your mind of landlordy things by immersing yourself in nature.
- Energetic exercise: when you’re digging deep in a spin class, on the squash court or pushing for twenty press-ups, changes in lettings legislation will be the furthest from your mind.
- Being quiet and still. Yes, physical exertion isn’t the only kind of exercise, and practising mindfulness, meditation, and even daydreaming can do wonders for your mental health.
Without nurturing your body and mind, stress can quickly become your new normal, which is not just bad for business, but also for the soul. So remember to put yourself first.
PUT YOUR FEET UP
Forget FOMO and embrace the zen of your couch. Staying in can be just as fulfilling as going out, so stock up on food, turn off the phone, and recline in comfort for some audio, visual or literary consumption.
- Get lost in a good book and grab a few hours of luxury to bury yourself in the pages of a rollicking sci-fi, romance or crime caper, or real-life tales from people and history.
- Catch up on the year’s movies or shows, pick a classic you’ve always wanted to see, or work your way through the Guardian’s list of 52 comfort films to watch again and again.
- If you prefer to multi-task, then audiobooks, music and the radio are your friends. And if you really can’t live without lettings over Christmas, stream a landlord podcast from the sofa.
As a bonus, staying at home is the perfect way to use up all your Christmas leftovers – and if you’re stuck for inspiration, Olive Magazine has some great recipes to cook up a storm and leave nothing to waste.
MAKE A GREAT ESCAPE
Getting out of your regular habitat is an excellent way to recharge your batteries, and you really don’t need two weeks in the Maldives. A couple of days or even a few hours can make all the difference.
- Visit a friend or relative who you hardly get to see because they live too far away for a coffee catch-up or pint at the pub.
- Head off on a city break or mountain retreat, from a boutique hotel to a hideaway cabin, perhaps with an incredible train journey thrown in.
- Go for a long drive at a quiet time of day – along the coast, through the countryside, or even a night-time cruise through the city among the lights and empty streets.
Changing your environment is a proven and effective method to switch off by replacing familiar surroundings with a whole new range of stimulating sights and experiences.
PLAN FOR PEACE OF MIND
Although this blog is about taking a break, we’ll hazard a guess that you’re going to think about lettings and landlording at some point over Christmas.
So why not use that brain space to get ahead of some tasks that often get left to the last minute, or to make your home life more comfortable for a clearer mind heading into the new year?
- File your tax return early – yes, you COULD do it on the day of the deadline and stay up till midnight as the HMRC website crashes on January 31st, but other options are available!
- Diarise important moments like renewals for insurance policies and safety certificates, share dividends, ISA and mortgage expiry dates, and even an improvement schedule for your rental.
- Look around your home and finish some outstanding jobs, from a minor declutter to a major clear-out, or any niggling repairs, maintenance and freshening up.
Imagine having one or more of these ticked off by the end of the year. What sort of difference would that make to your day-to-day routine in 2024 and beyond?
Will you be taking a festive break?
Whatever you get up to over the holiday season, we’d love to wish you a very merry Christmas and lots of success for 2024.
If you own a property to rent, call Richard Cook on 0790 909 3141 or email him at richard.cook@fifeproperties.co.uk for a friendly and expert chat.
