If anyone tells you that being a landlord is easy, you can tell one of two things about them. One – they are wrong, or two – they’ve probably got an amazing property manager who makes things run like a dream so they never have anything to worry about! Despite popular opinion, being a landlord is frustrating, disheartening and time consuming, so it’s important to be aware of the common mistakes that make the job even more difficult! Here’s your guide on what to avoid, so that you can make the job a little bit more manageable!
Tenant selection
Lots of landlords sacrifice what they want in a tenant just to get someone to the property and limit vacancy! This is one of the biggest mistakes you can make as it can turn into a much bigger headache further down the line. A good tenant is always around the corner, patience is king.
Overpricing
If a property is vacant for a long while, it is because of one of two reasons. The first is that there is something wrong with the house that is be putting tenants off. The second is that it is overpriced. The first is usually overcome by taking heed of the second. Price your property in line with market values, but fairly. Don’t turn tenants off before they’ve even arrived!
Not being proactive with maintenance
Being pro-active with maintenance can seem like an optional for many landlords, but if you can spend $100 now that will save you $1000 later surely that makes a lot of sense? Create a rolling maintenance schedule so that nothing gets out of hand. Make sure you’re on top of the basics and aim to do one bigger job every year or so.
Keeping out of touch with the market
Landlords can catch themselves chasing their tails when they fail to keep in touch with the market. You’ll find that your rental property is drastically under priced and to increase the rent to align with market values could see you lose your really good tenant.
Not inspecting the property properly
Do you want to pay insurance premiums only to discover you’re not insured? Easy, just don’t do your property inspections! Most insurance policies will require you to inspect your property either every three, or every six months. You’ll need to keep a track record of your inspections and make sure that all maintenance reported in the inspections is attended to ahead of time. It may seem time consuming, but it’ll be a time and money saver later on in the piece.
Getting the right people to help
Being a landlord is an ever evolving job. It is definitely not the easiest job in the world and there are so many different aspects to look after that it can be easy to overlook something. Surround yourself by people who can help. Every landlord, even if they are looking after their home privately should have a property manager that they can call on for advice, a real estate agent, an accountant and a mortgage and insurance broker. The most important thing to remember is that when you’re a landlord you’re running a business, and just like any other business there are lots of moving parts. Having specialists that you can trust to help manage the process will reduce stress, save you time and in the long run, they might even make your business a little more profitable!
So now not only do you know the most common mistakes