First Rental Property Advice

[Crystal Sherman]

I am in the process of purchasing my first rental property and am looking for any advice on what to anticipate as a new Landlord. I have done some online research but am interested to hear firsthand what things I should be prepared for and probably expect as a new landlord. 

[Chris Kersey]

I would suggest making sure you are screening your tenants very carefully. It's crucial to get the right tenant in place, not just the first one that responds with the correct income. I use mysmartmove.com to run screening and it has worked well. 

The second thing is to find a great local handy man you trust for minor repairs. You can ask around to your local agents to see if they have any good people to recommend. This will take alot of stress off your plate when something pops up. 

Lastly, get a simple software that collects rent, late fees, updates maintenance requests and tracks payments. I use Hemlane.com for this because it is inexpensive and easy to use. 

Good luck and great job taking the first step!