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5 Tips for Landlords

5 Tips for Landlords

Whether you’re a first time landlord or own a large rental portfolio, you have to have a good understanding of how to effectively and efficiently manage a rental property.  If you’re dealing directly with tenants or working with a property manager, you have to know how to keep your property well maintained and tenanted with the right tenants.  In this blog post, we’ll look at five tips you can use as a landlord to successfully manage a rental property and provide a good experience for both you and your tenants.

1) Be Upfront and Transparent

One of the best things you can do as a landlord is be upfront and transparent with your tenants.  Set the expectations for them at the onset to ensure they have a good understanding of what you’re looking for from them.  If you expect them to cut the grass and maintain the property on their own, it should be clearly stated.  On the flip side, if you have a property manager, their responsibilities should also be laid out so that the tenant will know what maintenance they will be responsible for.  Be sure that rent payment dates are explicit and clearly stated on the lease agreement to avoid any misunderstandings when it’s time to collect rent.

2) Screen Your Tenants

Your rental properties are your investments and you need to ensure that you only rent them out to the right tenants.  To find the right tenants you need to have a screening process for every application that you receive.  Look for things like credit score and employment history to use as a reference for the applicants ability to make timely payments.  You can also ask for references from past landlords to verify their past experiences with the applicant.

3) Know Tenant-Landlord Laws

Having a good understanding of the tenant landlord laws is important for any landlord.  You need to know your rights and the rights of your tenants should any issues arise that may require legal action.  It’s important to protect yourself and your investments when faced with any legal problems that could occur, to protect yourself personal it is best practice to vest your properties with a LLC.  Either through your own research or through an attorney stay up to date on the law and be aware of any changes that may affect you as a landlord.

4) Understand Your Market

It’s also important that you have a strong understanding of your market.  You need to be able to rent your home at a fair price but at a price that is consistent with what properties in your area are being rented at.  If you notice significant increases in property values, you can subsequently raise your rents to match the market.

5) Keep Your Properties Well Maintained

To attract the best tenants you’ll need to keep your property in good shape.  Whether that’s doing paint touch-ups or landscaping, it’s important that your property is desirable for any potential tenants.  Hiring a property manager is great way to keep your property maintained and rent ready.  A property manager will help you with minor issues such as keeping the grass cut as well as major problems such as plumbing issues.

Owning cash-flowing rental properties is one of the best ways to earn a passive income and create wealth.  With a market that continues to shift from buying to renting, now is as good a time as ever to own rental properties.  By implementing these five tips into how you manage your property, you can set yourself up for success and eliminate a lot of the headaches that can arise from being a landlord.

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