Handling property for the first time can be exciting and fearsome at the same time. As a property owner, you may find yourself worrying about various details, causing information overload on your end. While it’s not entirely wrong to be mindful about the specifics, worrying too much can make you feel confounded. In the long run, it can leave you restless and anxious about your real estate business.
As much as possible, you want to avoid this from happening to you. You only need to focus on a few aspects at a time, rather than being too hard on yourself about not hitting all the targets right away.
In that article, we will share with you four tips to help you in starting your journey as a landlord:
1. Follow the laws
As a landlord, you have the freedom of choosing to whom you want to rent your property out. Nevertheless, there are also laws that need to be complied with when it comes to renting out, so you need to be aware of them to stay away from unexpected trouble in the long run.
Typically, there are three main laws you’d want to review: State Landlord-Tenant Laws, Federal Fair Housing Laws, and Building and Safety Codes.
These things can get a little complicated, so you might want to allocate an ample amount of your time. If that’s too much effort, you can always seek the help of a property manager to help you grasp the idea behind all these laws.
2. Always screen your tenants before renting out your property
By screening your tenants beforehand, you’re increasing your chances of determining whether or not a person is qualified in terms of credit, income, and criminal records, among others. You’d want to ensure that a tenant will follow the terms of the lease and won’t incur any damage to your property.
3. Preparing for eviction will take time
Sure, the tenant is responsible for damages or mishaps on the property, but evicting them is not exactly an easy process. Whether a tenant breaks the terms of the lease or just stops paying rent on time or indefinitely, there will be a procedure to follow before you can finally evict them, and it takes time.
The laws require the landlord to give a tenant some time to sort out their issues and correct their irresponsible behavior. At best, the immediate action you can take upon a misbehaving tenant is to give them a “Notice to Quit.”
This is why you’ll want to do a thorough background check to whom you’ll be renting your property out.
4. Hire property managers
As a landlord who has the right to his property, you’re still not ironclad. You don’t want to put all your focus towards your rental property business. If you do, however, you’ll most likely tire over time from doing everything by yourself. As a landlord without any support, you’re also responsible for everything that concerns your property relative to all the requirements of the laws.
Having too many roles will also leave you befuddled and exhausted, which is why you should hire a property manager. A reputable property manager can supervise many aspects of your rental property business, including but not limited to the collection of rent and preparation of tax information.
Conclusion
Being a landlord entails putting a great amount of dedication to your business to succeed. However, sweating about all the details will only make you feel less enthusiastic about the rental property process. Take a step back and only focus on the important aspects of your property, such as the ones mentioned above.
Don’t handle everything by yourself and hire a property manager! We are a professional property management company in New York. Get in touch with us today to see how we can help.