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Top 10 Most Common Landlord Mistakes

Landlord Advice

Being a property owner and landlord has a lot of benefits. You can make money relatively easily and, if you do it right, there’s not a huge amount of work that needs to be done in order to be successful. There are 10 mistakes that relatively new landlords can make that can spoil this moneymaking arrangement. If you’re interested in avoiding these top 10 mistakes, then this is the article for you. By the time you’re finished reading this article, you’ll know exactly what you need in order to be a successful landlord.

One of the main mistakes landlords make, when first buying property, is buying cheap property simply because of the low price. While it is definitely appealing to pick up a property for cheap and make a lot of profit, there is definitely a reason why the property is at such a low price. If you don’t do the investigation beforehand and have no idea why the property costs a little, you might be buying more trouble than it’s worth. Whether because the houses is in bad condition or in bad neighborhood, you need to be sure before you invest your money into it.

Another mistake landlords make is focusing on their profits rather than people. It is completely understandable that you need to get your property rented as soon as possible. But not every tenant is created equal. You need to get a complete understanding of who you are renting to both financially and personally before they sign the papers. This way you can avoid having your property damage and/or receiving late payments.

One of the biggest mistakes a landlord can make is not getting insurance on their property. By cutting costs in this area especially is going to cost you long-term. If the worst happens, you’ll have to pay any damage to property right out of your own pocket. So get the proper insurance to protect you against earthquake, fires and even property damage.

A very common mistake that landlords make is not consulting with a lawyer on legal matters pertaining to their property and rental agreements. The laws regarding tenants and property rights change often, so if you’re not in the loop you could definitely get you something trouble.. This is why you need to consult with someone familiar with property tenant laws.

Another big mistake landlords sometimes me is not accurately verifying attendance information before renting. It’s very important that the information it gives you is completely true. If you are unsure of whether or not the tenant is who they claim to be, you shouldn’t be renting to them anyway. Always make sure to get copies of your tenants drivers license and or passports in case there were any issues. This will also help you in your record-keeping efforts.

Another mistake landlord’s make is not making sure that their tenants signed the right forms. While this might not always be true, in the apartment house renting business a verbal agreement only go so far. you must have a residential tenancy agreement and/or a bond lodgement form sign in order to keep both parities safe.

A huge potential mistake a landlord can make is not running for potential unforeseen costs. There will always be additional costs that he did not account for. You need to make sure to budget and extra money so that these expenses to add up and you come up short.

Another mistake that landlords make is not the tenant. The industry average is a property tends to be vacant for two months out of the year. It’s your responsibility to make sure that you have the money saved in order to cover this average vacancy.

Another common mistake is not starting the eviction process on a tenant after two weeks have passed without receiving rent. It’s easy to try to be compassionate toward your tenants and give them as much time as possible to pay their rent, but if you don’t start the process of the law will be on your side and you may have difficulty actually getting the tenant off of your property.

Finally, a common mistake landlords make is becoming a landlord yourself without accounting for the learning curve. It was definitely more for profitable if you go into the landlords/property owner by yourself, but your lack of experience can cost your long-term. He should either get great advice from experienced landlords or do a partnership with a landlord has experience.

Being a landlord doesn’t have to be very difficult and long as you keep these templates in mind you should be very successful in your property ownership and landlord efforts.