Retaking Control of Rental

[Caitlin DiBenedetto]

I own a single family home which is a long term rental. The home is mine outright, as it was inherited. Unfortunately, I live out of state making managing the property a bit more difficult. This is my only rental property, and I would like to learn how to take back control of the property and manage it properly, as I am certainly not doing that now.

The current tenants have been in the rental since 2003. They have taken decent care of the property over the years, however as they have aged, unfortunately, the property upkeep has started taking a hit. Therefore, it is now in need of a few fairly costly repairs.

Property Managers, this is where it gets a bit ugly and you may want to reach through the screen and slap me…please don’t…I just want to learn how to get myself out of the mess I’ve made: I have not raised the rent on the tenants who have been in the rental since 2003 (I should be charging roughly double what I’m currently charging). I know I know…FOR SHAME! Originally, the agreement was, we would keep the cost low, provided they took care of the property…I am now in need of raising the rent in order to take care of repairs.

Here’s where the rock meets the hard place: I am VERY reliant on the current rent as it is, I cannot emphasize this enough. Without this income, I WILL NOT be able to make ends meet.

In total: I need a new lease agreement with the tenants and need to raise the rent, but I literally cannot afford to lose the current tenants. I would also like to hire a property manager, but I'm not sure where that falls in the overall scheme of things. 

I need a game plan, I've been doing research online and there is sooo much out information out there, I’m not sure where to start and feel overwhelmed at this daunting task. I'm just looking for a starting place or a good guide to follow. Is there something like that out there?