I'm not 100% DIY - I use an agent for finding/referencing but self-manage. Most of my tools are also things I use for all of my personal affairs.

I use a personal electronic calendar (google) generally for life and I put reminders in there - usually 2 months and 1 month before due (Gas, EPC etc, also ECIR is every 5 years but I have an annual reminder just for myself)

I scan,pdf,OCR any important documents that are not already electronic - again this is general not just for BTL. So I can just search by year/keyword as needed.

I've recently started using ActualBudget (again, generally not just BTL) - but the openbanking sync and using custom categories make Tax returns a breeze compared to before, checking through statements and emails manually.

I do annual mid-term inspections, as some tenants might not highlight things that need timely attention. (some councils are enforcing this now).

Every now and then I check in on Landlord forums. (LandlordZone, OpenRent). I realized I needed to register as a Data Controller that way! I should probably join NRLA

So the biggest thing is a high-level - holistic approach to organizing my documents and finances, which then covers BTL, Pension , Mortgages, Work etc. - this is mainly via:

- Google Calendar (will degoogle at some point)

- ActualBudget - bank statement reporting with auto sync (game changer for me)

- Paperless Office - Electronic docs if not Scan/OCR to cloud. (see below) - allows rapid search of docs.

- Cloud - can use OneDrive, Google etc but be very mindful of security, 2FA etc. I'm using NextCloud as I'm degoogling

Comms with the tenant is via WhatsApp unless it's a contractual agreement, then it's email.

I try not to ever meet tenants personally. Though I might start to meet prospective candidates once before agreeing to let.

Once everything has settled down it's just about 5 annual tasks plus maybe 3/4 unplanned things per year to deal with for each property

[EDIT]

One useful tip - when organising tradesmen - get them to liaise directly with the tenant and step out of the logistics, you pay at the end. Avoids you ending up as a go-between. [Edit: I always ask my tenant's permission to share their details with the tradesman - even if they have given permission on prior occasions ]

Also with my current tenant we've agreed to let the AST lapse into a rolling monthly contract now - one less hassle each year.

It’s really not that much work.

Insurance you are reminded by letter.

Gas safety - my guy sends me an email reminder.

Repairs - have a good all rounder or the required trades as contacts.

A plastic sleeve for all receipts labelled Tax Year 24/25 etc.

You can set phone calendar reminders for anything

That’s about it.

• spreadsheets

• good tradespeople

• calendar reminders

• a bank account that allows you out to download the statement into excel

Between these you can automate a lot of it. If you have a nightmare tenant, then sure you will have problems, but there's no way around that.

Be prepared to use AL to sort things out (eg if you need to repaint, do DIY between tenants etc).

Be prepared to be taxed to high heaven, especially with how high interest rates are now. You will likely be running them at a net cash flow loss. Moving into an LTD to address that will be very costly, and with the rental reform act it's worth bearing in mind you may want to sell sooner rather than later.

for me its the constant want from my tenant. oh the floor boards are squeeky, oh the shower isnt working, oh the tap leaks its literalyl something every month. i understand ovb why but it does get annoying. then you have to factor in getting certs done and inspections etc. anyone who says its just passive income really isnt factually correct at all!!

The most simple method for anything of the sort would be a spreadsheet with a checklist. You can input dates for various frequencies.

You could also use something like 'Timetree' which is a calendar app. It lets you set recurring reminders, add documents, photos, checklists etc. You can get it on android or apple.

RemindMe! 1 week

The day-to-day stuff is absolutely trivial in my experience, provided you’ve selected decent tenants in the first place, and your property’s in good shape. I usually don’t hear from mine for months at a time… I check that the rent has come in, and that’s it.

If I haven’t been asked to come and look at some maintenance issue or other in, say, 12 months, then I’ll make an appointment for an inspection. But that’s only after I have come to trust them.

The paperwork at the outset is a different matter, but I don’t think that’s what you’re asking about.

Use some software. Landlord vision is one there are many more. You need to play with them on demos but they cover most things.

The bit that's overwhelming is when the tenants don't move out at the end of their tenancy. This can happen even with "good" tenants. They suddenly find that there's no-where else available locally. Then as landlord you have a lot of heartache, trouble and expense. This is definitely more hassle than it ought to be: the court system is not on your side and the court backlog means any dispute takes months to come to a decision. Lawyers are expensive.

There's also an issue when the tenants find they can't pay the rent, due to illness, unemployment, pandemics, etc etc. You can come to an agreement and lower the rent - and then it's really hard to get it up again. Or you can insist on maintaining the rent and then you are in a dispute and a difficult situation. Even thinking about this is a a real issue and impinges on the rest of your life.

Another issue is when your expenses go up suddenly: e.g. due to increased service charges on a flat, sudden increase in mortgage rate, or something else. Or if you fall on hard times and need to sell the place.

Q: "what you wish you’d done earlier when starting out"? - A: sold the place and invested the money.

RemindMe! 1 week

It’s no big deal most of the time honestly. I have two places, one thing that helps is that they’re very nearby.

In fact there is an issue with a tap in one of them which I am going to check on tomorrow. After that I’ll find a plumber and get it sorted.

The main thing actually is having competent and reliable tradespeople to hand. I think I’ve used my appliance repair guy three times in the past year, and it was really valuable to have someone I could trust who could get there quickly.

The rest is mainly concentrated around tenant switchover time, which yeah does kinda suck for about a week cos I do a full clean and repaint myself, plus all the viewings and organisation, but I use open rent which makes it easier.

For tax returns I have an app (Emma) where I just ‘tag’ each expense, throw the receipt in a box and forget about it til around December time when I spend a few hours looking through a year’s worth of bank statements to find all the mortgage payments and service charges etc. you could also just use a separate bank card (eg Revolut) for anything related to the property. I keep meaning to do that but often forget!

I also have a busy full time job, a house renovation and a dog, I’m busy but I like that!

Phishing for free market research again for the software you’re building then selling to the same people who gave you free market research? 

It depends a lot on the tenants. I had excellent tenants in one house, who were happy to organise repairs and facilitate for gas safety certificate etc and just deduct the payment from rent. All I had to do is make sure I was complying with the legal requirement, okays them to organise someone to fix issues and then just total their 12 rent payments in a year when filing taxes.

The other house (which is managed by an agent) has tenants who are quite complaining and most months they want something that needs looked at or replaced and they are completely unable to resolve any issues themselves. I'm happy to have the agents in between so they can act as bad guys when I say no to the tenants requests.

RemindMe! 1 week

I only have one property. I use google calendar for annual gas cert. I have insurance/ground rent etc on direct debit. I added the 5 year ECIR to google for this coming November. I take photos/screenshots of anything important and keep in a photo file for my rental property, and have a box file of paper stuff. Anything I agree with my tenant i then send by email "to confirm" which is handy as i have a record of e.g. when we last bought a washing maching. For tax I use the fixed deduction, which has always been bigger than my expenses.

I mostly use physical folders but slowly transitioning to a software solution like RentPost. The hardest part? Maintenance. Tenants never mention issues until it’s an emergency. If I could go back, I’d prioritize setting up a clear process for reporting and scheduling repairs sooner. Makes a big difference.

I just use Google calendar reminders about gas safety certificates etc. Upload all documents on Google drive including tenancy agreements, certificates, expense receipts.

I keep my rental bank account separate from my day to day current account.

I have a spreadsheet where I log expenses as they arise. And a spreadsheet with formulas I copy over each year to work out tax due.

One section where I enter all the rent and mortgage etc each month. And another section that is identical to the self assessment tax return with all the same calculations that are on the tax return.

So I've already done next year's tax return on my spreadsheet although I can't fully complete it until I get my P60 from my job.