Blue-blooded landlord reveals why her tenants are paying their rent on time during pandemic

admin    Uncategorized     agents

Castle-inhabiting entrepreneur and 300-property landlord Emma Manners, the Duchess of Rutland, gives away some of her portfolio management secrets.

While many landlords are relying on a
mortgage holiday to keep afloat as their tenants struggle financially, one of
the country’s high-profile property owners has told a national newspaper that
all of her 300 tenants have paid up on time during the crisis.

The Duchess of Rutland, Emma
Manners (pictured), runs her property empire from Belvoir Castle in
Leicestershire, renting out houses and cottages in towns and villages around
the estate, as well as in neighbouring Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire.

Her stately pile has
appeared in TV series including The Crown and its owner recently promoted her
own branded gin.

Manners has told The Daily Telegraph that her lack of money worries is due to extremely loyal tenants – some of whom have been renting from her family for 50 or 60 years.

While the noblewoman had worried that Covid-19 might impact their finances, she’s yet to experience a single late payment compared to a 10-20% rates in the wider market.

Vetting procedures

Her comprehensive vetting
procedure, conducting interviews herself rather than relying on others to
choose tenants on her behalf, is another positive says Manners.

“I interview all the
tenants and find out where they’re from and about their lives. We try to make a
community, such as inviting them to harvest festival and carol services every
year. We’re an extended family.”

Keeping existing tenants
happy has also helped her avoid costly void periods without a rental income. 

She says: “When you have a
portfolio of properties it’s always about the down time between tenants, so we
always look for people who want to be here for the long term and want to
settle. I don’t like the churn, that’s my key rule.”

That churn can be reduced
by continued investment in properties, and not raising prices to the point
stable tenants choose to look elsewhere, she helpfully advises.

©1999 – Present | Parkmatic Publications Ltd. All rights reserved | LandlordZONE® – Blue-blooded landlord reveals why her tenants are paying their rent on time during pandemic | LandlordZONE.

View Full Article: Blue-blooded landlord reveals why her tenants are paying their rent on time during pandemic

If you enjoyed this article please consider sharing it!