Landlords’ day jobs revealed

The most common day jobs for landlords have been revealed by researchers
with office admin roles taking top spot.

While many landlords will not have their property investment as their main
source of income, the sheer range of jobs highlights that landlords come
from many different walks of life.

The findings from MakeUrMove, an online letting agent, also found that just
5% of landlords have five properties or more.

In addition, two in three landlords have a normal job and are renting out a
property to help boost their income.

The survey also reveals that 18% of landlords entered the profession
because they wanted to start a property business.

Also, 16% of landlords inherited a property and 22% say they became
landlords because of unplanned circumstances, including being unable to
sell the property or breaking up with a partner.

More than half of landlords own just one property

The research also highlights that more than half of landlords own just one
property, so very few are earning a big income from a property portfolio.

The managing director of the agency, Alexandra Morris, said: “The figures
show what British landlords look like and the reality is that
multi-property wealthy landlords are quite rare.

“Most landlords are working in regular jobs and they are ordinary people
who rent out a property to save for their retirement or supplement their
income.”

She added that landlords are working as taxi drivers, social workers,
electricians and hairdressers and want to maintain a stress-free and
healthy relationship with their tenants.

A separate survey has highlighted that 46% of property investors are women.

The research from estate agency Ludlow Thompson is based on government
figures to reveal there are 1.1 million women landlords in the country.

Stephen Ludlow said: “While men are attracted by getting rich quick
investments, women prefer more grounded and lower risk investments such as
property.”

Landlords should cater for tenant demand

Meanwhile, the comparison website GoCompare says landlords should
appreciate their tenant’s needs more in order to fill the gap between what
they want and what landlords offer.

Their survey highlights that just 14% of landlords are offering unfurnished
properties, while 60% of prospective tenants say they want an unfurnished
rental property.

There’s also a big difference when looking at the location of property with
23% of tenants wanting their home to be close to a school, with just 15% of
landlords stating this in their property description.