Many people see the job of a landlord as desirable, easy even. This is not necessarily the case. Sure, there’s a benefit to owning and maintaining property, but the work and risks that go into letting property as a landlord can be numerous, and take time to accomplish. This only expands the more properties and tenants you have.

Statistically, perhaps sooner rather than later, the pitfalls and risks you take when becoming a landlord are apparent. Problem tenants that need to go through the eviction process, property damage, or simply not reporting issues that then become major problems, all of this can cause errors and issues as time goes on.

Limiting potential setbacks as a first-time landlord, then, means developing strong relationships with your tenants but also being realistic about where certain choices can lead. In this post, we hope to help you feel informed as to these issues, and potentially work out forthcoming solutions so that when the sting happens, it can be overcome relatively quickly and seamlessly.

With that in mind, please consider:

Vetting Tenants Appropriately

It’s important to vet tenants properly. The truth is, you can do everything right, but if a tenant trashes your property, if they don’t pay rent, if they need to be evicted, or if they just don’t keep up with the essential contractual obligations, this can be a real problem. For this reason, proper tenant vetting is appropriate. Credit checks, and sometimes past references can be helpful. More than that, sitting down and meeting with the tenant in advance can help you get a feel for who they are. And of course, with residential property management services, you’re more likely to outsource all of those tasks more reliably.

Maintenance Checks

It’s important to take a healthy interest in the maintenance of a property over time. This way, you can ensure that in the long run, small issues are unlikely to get out of hand. Scheduling an inspection or maintenance check every few months and giving your tenant notice in advance will help you see if damp is developing, or if the plumbing needs work, or to make sure that the carbon monoxide and smoke alarm detectors are working as they should. This can also help you plan for certain checks like those the housing authority will schedule for houses of multiple occupancy.

Reasonable Quotes

Of course, you’re running a business, and this doesn’t mean you should lower your prices just because. But it can sometimes be worth making sure a reasonable and careful pricing plan that helps you keep tenants you can trust is much better than earning a little more but constantly dealing with tenant turnover and enhancing your exposure to risk over and over again. In the long run, limiting potential setbacks as a first-time landlord will be something you price in to your business planning, and the best way to do that is to offer reasonable quotes - keeping account of reasonable cost of living and energy rates rising.

With this advice, we believe you’ll be able to limit potential setbacks as a first time landlord more capably.