Common Mistakes of New Landlords

There are a few common mistakes that both new and experienced landlords make. Here is a list of a few of those mistakes and how to prevent yourself from making the same mistakes others have made. Learn from others mistakes.

1.Overestimating rent rates. A lot of new buyer have the idea that they will buy a property, fix it up and rent the property for a lot of money. Yes, with certain upgrades you can increase the rents, but most often rent isn’t going to be quite that high. We can give you a rental evaluation to get the most out of your rental, and give you a more realistic rental rate that you’ll be able to get for your property with the upgrades.

2.Not starting the eviction process early enough. Tenants that pay late need to be charged fees according to your lease. If tenants are late enough you need to post notice and start the eviction. The last thing you want is a tenant that constantly pays later and later. An important note here is: Do not accept partial payments. Otherwise you have to start the eviction process over again.

3.Underestimating maintenance expenses. Maintenance expenses can take a good property to a cash drain pretty quickly. Normal expense with minor repairs always happen, but the unexpected repairs are the ones that can get you. A tenant vacates and trashed the home, or ignored water leaks causes major damage. Be prepared for these. Do inspections, keeping up on minor repairs can save you money in the long run. Remember that tenants won’t take as good of care of the property as well as you think you do.

Owning rental properties can be great business. As with anything there is a learning curve.