The beginning

Kevin (a keen and very capable DIYer) purchased his first property in 2015. Quite a lot of work was needed to get it ready to rent.

75% of the walls needed re-plastering, and 2 walls needed damp treatment. Tradesmen were bought in to do these things.

Kevin tackled the decorating (with some help from family), building of a stud wall and cupboard door, a range of boxing in pipes and cables, tiling of the kitchen floor, replacement of some kitchen cupboard doors, the tiling of the bathroom walls and floor, the laying of the back lawn and laminate flooring.

The property was finished off with some blinds custom made for the property, plus some carpet laid by a friend who owned a flooring business.

The property was rented in January 2016.

Moving forward

Kevin purchased his second property in the Autumn of 2016. There was not much needed doing on this property, although some curtains, a Velux blind, cooker, cooker hood, modern lights and a new window were added.

Property 3 is in the process of being purchased.

Kevin does most of the development and maintenance for all of his properties.

The company

In discussion with other landlords, it often came up in conversation the comment "it's alright for you, you can do most of the stuff yourself".  Some landlords lived too far from their properties to be able to do it, others didn't want the responsibility, and others know no-one suitable and relied on the letting agent to make arrangements.

Whilst some letting agents are excellent and work really well for their clients, there were other horror stories of landlords being charged £120 for an emergency plumber to fix a dripping tap. Whilst the £120 was probably an exaggeration, some landlords have no-one else to turn to and have to use the agent appointed tradespeople. There are a few agents who take a fee off the tradesperson for giving them work - something which is likely to be added to the landlord's bill.

This got Kevin thinking. If he is carrying out maintenance on his own properties, maybe he could offer that service to other Landlords? Strand number one of the business!

Other conversations with people who are not landlords led to conversation (albeit very similar): "it's alright for you, I had to get someone in to do that". And it turns out friends of friends (particularly older people) are paying quite a lot of money (usually far more than they need to) for simple handy man / DIY jobs. Strand number two!

Kevin set up Property Services South Limited in November 2017.