Owning rental property and acting as a landlord will be time-consuming but it needn’t be a full-time job. If you have the right systems in place and you have only one or two rental properties, it shouldn’t take more than five to 10 hours a month.
Pay for a home inspection before you buy a property. Know what you’re buying and how it fits into your plans. If you expect to keep the property for less than five years, don’t buy a house that will need a new roof, a heating system, or work on the foundation. Those can be very expensive.
Get ready for renters. If you purchase a place as a “fixer-upper,” have it fixed up all at once, even if you have to take out a loan. Don’t try to rent out a property that still needs a great deal of work.
Visit prospective tenants. Before signing a lease, find a reason to see where the renters you’re considering are living now. You might stop by to pick up a security deposit. Look for any damages because the condition of the tenants’ current quarters will be a preview of how they’ll treat your place.
Talk to your tenants. Let them know they’re getting some responsibilities as well as a place to live. Explain what you expect from them and what they can expect from you.
They might expect you to come by every month or two, in order to see if the property is being kept up. In turn, you can tell tenants they’re expected to tell you about little problems, such as faulty electrical sockets or leaky faucets, before they can turn into bigger problems.
Put some conditions in writing. When you offer leases to tenants, have them initial another sheet as well. They should sign off that they’ll be responsible for maintaining the yard, for example, and that their cars will be kept in running condition, among other provisions. This can let tenants know they’re not to litter the property with old vehicles that are being “worked on.”
Put your own safety first. Require your tenants to buy their own stove. If a child burns a hand on a stove you bought, you could be liable. When they leave, they will take the stove with them so the new tenants can provide a replacement stove. Even if they provide their own stove, insist that tenants keep it food-free, to avoid pest control problems.
