Take it Seriously
Perhaps the most important key to being a good landlord is to take it seriously. Perhaps you already do this, but there are lots of landlords who simply don’t. Many see being a landlord as a side activity or a hobby.
In reality, it’s a business, and it needs to be treated as such. It’s not something you can just do on the side with minimal effort and care. If you want to be successful, you need to put in the effort of choosing the right tenants, investing in the best units, responding to renter feedback, and being able to take on many tasks at once.
Be Welcoming to Tenants
Another good tip for landlords who want to be successful is to treat their tenants with care. As we saw in the previous point, being a landlord is like running your own business, and your tenants are your most important customers.
A lot of landlords see tenants as disposable, knowing that another will come along if the current one decides to leave. However, it’s much better to treat tenants well and value their presence. When treated kindly, tenants will be more likely to stick around for the long haul, reducing the amount of downtime your properties have.
When welcoming tenants to the property, offer advice or guidance on the local area, consider writing a welcome letter, or even stock up the home with a few essentials.
Be Business-like About Being a Landlord
Continuing the business theme, it’s also important to really have a business-like, professional, analytical approach to running your rental properties. The people who succeed the most at landlording are those who put in the requisite time and effort to earn that success.
This means, for example, that you should always look for ways to make your properties as valuable as they can be, keep your rates competitive, carry out research on similar properties and trends to ensure you aren’t losing money, make use of software and tools to help you save time, and so on.
Comply with All Rules and Regulations
Another essential piece of advice for any landlord is to make sure you keep up to date with all the necessary laws at local, state, and federal levels, and remain compliant with all the relevant rules and regulations.
A lot of landlords don’t realize that they could face serious criminal charges and punishments for certain acts in relation to their properties, and the legal system is always evolving, so you have to do research and stay aware of new rules.
Be careful with your advertising language when marketing your property, keep records of your interactions with tenants, and don’t discriminate against people based on race, gender, orientation, and so on.
Make Yourself Available
There will come times when your tenants might need to get in touch with you to ask about certain things, make requests, or get help with issues that might arise at the property, and it’s important you’re able to respond to those requests when they come.
Make yourself available by issuing a phone number or email address, at the very least, to tenants and letting them know how and when they can contact you. If any disasters strike at the property, you’ll be thankful for the fact that the tenant was able to call you right away.
Final Word
These are just some of the many tips and techniques that can play a part in being a great landlord. Carry out additional research and make the changes to enjoy more success with your rental properties today.
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