Rental property is a great investment. Whether you want to rent out a home that you weren’t able to sell before you had to move or you purchased a multi-family building for the purpose of earning rental income, there are a few things you need to know before you can start making money as a landlord. Unfortunately, there is a lot more to Real Estate Management than collecting rent every month.
First, you will need to find a suitable tenant for each of your units. This will require advertising your rental property in some way. You may choose to post an ad on a community bulletin board or run a print ad in your local newspaper. Getting your message out to as many people as possible is important because every day your unit is vacant, you lose money.
After prospective tenants contact you, you will have to screen them to make sure they are suitable. You’ll have to understand the laws related to property management so you don’t illegally discriminate against anyone. In general, though, you can deny a rental unit to someone with a poor credit history. If you are going to try to manage your own property, it can be helpful to consult with an attorney before you enter into a rental agreement.
Once your property is occupied, you’ll have to maintain it. This can be a problem if you don’t live near your rental unit. While you may do everything you can to make your house or apartment ready to move in, something is bound to go wrong that needs your attention. Because the law requires you, as the landlord, to keep your property maintained, you will have to fix anything that needs repairs. The cost of some repairs may be passed on to your tenant if you were clear about maintenance issues in your lease.
Instead of dealing with all the stress of Real Estate Management, you can simply hire a professional property management company such as RPM Rincon to handle the day-to-day business of being a landlord while you retain the right to make major decisions regarding your property. A professional management company can screen tenants, take care of maintenance issues and collect rent on your behalf.
