First of all, you may be wondering what exactly a ‘hands-free’ property investment strategy is.
Well, the simple answer is a means of making money via property, where you don’t have to invest large amounts of time as you would as a buy to let portfolio landlord, or as a busy owner of a HMO. In fact, you can still continue with your day job if you like. In this respect, it’s pretty much like a normal investment.
Examples of hands-free property strategies are lending money to a Peer 2 Peer Lending scheme or investing in a Crowdfunding scheme – both of which are property focused. Another could be providing the investment for a Joint Venture renovation project, where your partner does the actual renovation. The lease model is becoming increasingly popular too – especially with care homes. This is when a developer sells an asset to property investors, then leases it back, giving investors a regular monthly income. Even a buy to let can be hands-free – that is, if you are prepared to pay a letting agent to do the tenant finding, credit checks and deal with maintenance issues etc.
So, here are some of the main advantages of ‘hands-free’ property and we’ll discuss others in a second article:
No pressure or nasty chores
When you’re a ‘silent’ investment partner, someone else does all the hard work and worrying. This means no being called out in the middle of the night to fix a burst pipe, or chasing up missed rent payments. Neither will you spend days skimming walls or tiling.
No ongoing costs
Once you have made your capital investment, there won’t be any further bills to cough up for (unlike buy to let where property owners have to pay for repairs and maintenance, as well as the likes of quarterly property management fees).
You’ve more time to do what you want
Keep the day job, go part-time with your 9 to 5 or enjoy an early retirement, taking up hobbies or visiting countries you’ve fancied for years. Being a ‘hands-on’ property investor is like a full-time job if you’re completing a renovation project or running a HMO. Even if you do find the time to get away, you’ll always be ‘on call’ in case anything happens.
More opportunities to source properties
Perhaps property is a favourite past time, in that you love going out and looking for BMV deals. In which case, as a hands-off property investor you’ll be delighted to discover you’ll have more time to do this. Keep some of those properties for your own portfolio or pass on with a finder’s fee and your wallet will benefit too.
No ‘emotional’ involvement
When you’re ‘hands-off’ you aren’t dealing directly with tenants. As a result, your judgement doesn’t become clouded by emotional factors when you have to make a decision on what’s best for your finances.
Author
Chris Kirkwood
