5 Tips and advice for a First time landlord in California

Ever thought to be turning into a landlord in California? If yes, then there are a lot of reasons you may go for that. Turning into a landowner can be a lucrative move, but it requires efforts to learn how to handle tenants or other things; it's easy to take a stumble and wind up in the red.

To avoid any kind of problem in the future, the following are the tips and advice that will save novice landowners to stay away from committing any mistake in future;

Make Rent the PRIORITY

Remember! Rent is your income. You might have seen many landlords who get aggressive when they receive late rents or charges. Therefore, it is a must to communicate your tenants. Once in a while if they are late in paying rent due to some reason, its fine.

But, if your tenants simply quit paying rent and disregarding your calls or messages, you have to start eviction proceedings. Else, you could be six months behind on rent before you know it, which makes this presumably the most important of all the landlord tips.

Team Up With The Right Investor

While picking business partners, you should look at two qualities - honesty and transparency. These two qualities are vital. For any reason, some new landlords are very much ready to partner with somebody they barely know just because a deal looks great. This is usually a mistake.

Therefore, go for a business who have the same objectives and qualities, which finally impact your decision to invest in properties with him.

Screen Tenants effectively

With a good tenant, you can sleep easy at night as a landlord knowing the rent will get paid and the property will remain relatively undamaged. And, with a bad tenant, you're left to wonder about the condition of your investment while handling calls from irate neighbors and so on.

To get assure that you’re getting the best renter, it’s important to screen every potential tenant. Screening a tenant isn’t too tricky or costly if you follow the right steps like, Request an Application, Run a Credit Check, Contact the Previous Landlords, etc.

Start updating your property

An updated and clean home won't just improve the chance of finding a good tenant, however, it will allow you to charge the top rental cost. Ensure all rooms are freshly painted.

Look at your electric and pipes, fix all the leakages, breakouts, and also replace the burned out light bulbs. Install smoke detectors, purchase a fire extinguisher for the kitchen and install a carbon monoxide indicator if the house does not already have one.

Don’t neglect the paperwork

Unavoidably, there will come a period when you and your tenant go separate ways and here, you will need records and documents to maintain as you might need them in future.

Starting with the inventory when your tenants move in, and proceeding with careful records of any contact you had during the rental time period, the load of printed material that you amass as a landlord may appear like a hassle. But, it will be a lifeline if you ever wind up in dispute. So, the paperwork is a must.

Conclusion

Thus, first time landlords face many problems. But by dealing smartly with them, and following the tips and advice, you can make your landlord experience smooth and without any trouble.