For individuals who are gearing up on their careers as real estate agents, realtors or brokers, landlord duties are sometimes inevitable. This applies to those who are self managing their business and building their real estate portfolio out of individual perseverance.
Property management is a demanding task. So how difficult is the job, really? Well, it's one to focus on a singular task alone and another if you wear so many different hats with just one title. Yes, welcome to the world of never ending multitasking.
The business is rewarding and can be very profitable. If you're a smart real estate professional who sees vast opportunities and pursues them with unrelenting passion, then you will survive where others have failed.
However, the truth remains that being your own landlord can give you highs and lows, sometimes with the excess of the latter. To be successful, you need to better preparation, perseverance and resilience amidst changing market trends.
Here's a simple guide to gaining a better foothold of your tenancy process.
On tenants
- Screen your tenants carefully and cross check important information
- Don't solely base your analysis of tenants on romantic proclamations about “home”
- Take the time to screen as many tenants until the right one comes along
- Understand that there's always risk involved with every stranger that you sign up
- Customize your rental contract down to the last detail so that tenants will know their initial responsibilities even from the start
On managerial know-how
- Use proper timing when renting out your properties
- Aim for peak seasons like summer if you want little to no rental vacancies at all
- Learn to be flexible because you have many roles to fulfill such as being a debt collector, mediator, agent, contractor and therapist, among others
- Keep the paper trail alive because documentation is proof
- Know that you also have limits, and if you aren't fit for the job, hire a property manager instead before it's too late
On maintenance
- Keep your properties well conditioned all year round
- Establish good relations with contractors of repairs and installations for easy contact every time a problem arises
- Do not delay repairs or installations
- Make sure that you educate your tenants about property care
- Maintain your properties regularly so you don't have to spend for bigger costs in repairs or replacements
On payments
- If you are quick to jump in on the digital age, you can automate your monthly payments
- Make sure that the contract fully states the dates of the rental payment
- Post notifications so that tenants are aware of the coming payments
- Make sure to make fair computations of additional charges
- Collect on time
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