For many people, being a landlord sounds amazing. And it absolutely can be! After all, when you’re a landlord, you just sit around earning money without having to do much, right?
While that may be true to an extent, it is also true that being a landlord can be difficult. Just because someone else is living on your property doesn’t mean you aren’t responsible for it. There are many challenges that landlords face, which is why we thought it would be a good idea to give you some tips on how to make this job easier for yourself.
Use a property management company
Most landlords use their rental properties as an extra source of income, not the main one. Which means that they still have normal jobs they need to do. Therefore, they can’t spend hours each day sorting out issues with their rental property or tenants.
Luckily, they don’t have to! There are businesses that specialize in this, which means that managing your rental company through them will take a big weight off your shoulders. Have a look at this landlord property management, Toronto, GTA to see how they can help you.
Get the right tenants
No one really knows whether a person will be a good tenant or not, but there are a few things you can do before you sign a lease agreement to determine whether you think the person would be a good fit.
Of course, this is easy if you have certain things you don’t want – such as a tenant who has pets, or one who smokes – as you can simply eliminate these candidates.
But you can also call their previous landlords to do a reference check, and you can ask them for their credit report so that you have a better idea of whether or not they are reliable.
Save some money for emergencies
While earning an extra income from your rental property is a big benefit, you shouldn’t necessarily use all of that money towards luxuries.
You should try to save at least a portion of the money for emergencies. As mentioned, you are the landlord, which means you are responsible for fixing most damages and issues that occur in the house, unless it was the tenant’s fault. Therefore, you may find it helpful to always have some funds available for this. If you need some help with saving extra money, this post is a good place to start.
Get the property ready beforehand
No one wants to spend time, energy, and money renovating a property that they won’t even be living in, but the truth is that it’s the smart thing to do.
Go through the rental property and make a list of any issues – big or small – so that you can fix them before you list the property on the rental market. This will lower your risk of any disputes with the renters once they move in.
You should also consider making some aesthetic changes like renovating the kitchen if you want to ask more for the property.
