Becoming A Landlord
Becoming a landlord seems like a great way to make some extra income on the side, and it is, but it is also a tough job as well. As a landlord, you have much more responsibilities than just owning your home and collecting rent every month. In actuality, you become a landlord, handy (wo)man, a plumber and everything else you imagined that didn’t come with being a homeowner. If you’ve been thinking about getting a rental property as an investment there are some things that you should know before making that decision. These are 6 things every landlord should know.
1. You are open 24/7
As a landlord, you need to be available to your tenants at all times. You need to be readily available at 4am when you’re sound asleep and receive a phone call about a leak that flooded the whole washroom. Hopefully, it never happens of course, but if it does you need to be ready to tend to the needs of your tenant.
2. Make upkeep easier
Even though you are not going to be living on the property you will be renting out, it might be a good idea to outfit the home with some basic necessities to help with the upkeep of the property. Consider having brooms, garbage cans, mops, disinfecting wipes and such. It’s good to have these things in the house to take the burden off of your tenants and they can help keep your property clean.
3. Stand by your rules
They say rules are meant to be broken, but not yours! You don’t need to have 1000 rules, but if you are going to have a few rules make sure you stand by them. If you don’t want any pets in the house, don’t allow any pets in the house, even if it is something as small as a family of hamsters. Stand firm by your rules, but of course always use your best reasoning and judgement in all circumstances.
4. Do your homework
Filling your property with great tenants is always tough, you want someone who is going to take great care of your property as well as pay you in a timely manner. It’s important to do your homework on the people who will be living in your rental property. As much as a nice smile and friendly personality are great to have around, you should do credit checks on potential tenants and find out their rental history to make your job less of a headache.
5. Be ready for the lows
Being available to your tenant at 3am in the morning is definitely a low point, but not having a tenant for three months at a time is an even deeper low. Like previously stated, finding a great tenant is tough which means you might go months at a time without having anyone living in your rental home, therefore money will be coming out of your pocket to keep the place afloat. You also need to have money saved up for repairs that need to be taken care of around the house.
Let us know if you need help moving things in and out of your rental property, we’re always ready!
