Here are 5 pieces of landlord advice that will help you to weather any storms in the property and economic market. Many property investors fall into becoming a landlord but many of these same investors are here today but gone tomorrow. If you want to be able to survive long-term then you need to make sure you are doing certain things right.Many property investors fall into property investing by accident. Some have been left a property in a will, while others have had difficulty selling their property so decide to rent it out. These are just two of the many reasons why people suddenly find themselves in a position to become a landlord.The problem with just falling into being property investors is that many times this does not breed the right mindset. Very few amateur landlords run their portfolio as a business, which is why they remain being amateur and never reach the ranks of being classed as a professional.Until they make a mindset shift and start to see their properties – be it one property or nine properties – as a business, then they are destined to just be trickling along making a little bit of money and hoping there property will go right up in price to draw out some equity.There are many property investment companies and individuals out their willing to give you landlord advice. Some of this advice is well meaning and will really help you, but other bits of advice could led you into real problems. You have to always be aware of the middle man. If you are buying property with the help of a property investment company then you need to watch them closely and be sure they have your interests at heart. In property developing there is a thing called budget creep which is where the budget keeps creeping up little by little and before you know it has gone up by 50% and you don’t know how it happened.The same thing can happen to landlords. It could be ongoing repair costs or managing agent fees going up or even the cost of traveling back and forth from the property, all these things can add up.When you look at them individually many of these things might seem small but if you don’t keep at close eye on things, then before you know it you are in a situation where you are making a lose every money.One of the best pieces of landlord advice we can give is that you check the reputation and credibility of everyone you deal with in your property business. It doesn’t matter if that is property auctioneers, lettings agents, sourcing companies or solicitors, anyone who is going to have any say in your property business should be checked out thoroughly, especially if you are going to be handing out money to them.It should go without saying that you also need to credit check and reference your tenants properly. If you are using a letting agent they should do this for you. If you are managing your own properties or you want to check out tenants yourself, then you should use a reputable come like
to do the checking for you. Don’t take chances. Even if the tenant says all the right things and drives a flashy car, this does not mean that they are going to be good at paying rent.A piece of landlord advice that is often left out is that you need to plan ahead. You need to know what you would do in any eventuality. If interest rate rose, if your tenant didn’t pay the rent, if you letting agent put up there fees, if there was a fire in the property, you need to know what to do in any of these situations. You also need to try and be one step ahead of what is going on in the market so that you can adjust to market conditions quickly if the need arises. **Nothing on this website should be confused with financial or legal advice. If you need this, or any other type of advice, please seek the help of a competent professional. In addition, because real estate laws change all the time and differ from state to state, and even city to city in the same state, everything in these pages should be considered general marketing advice and ideas. Please see link to full Disclaimer at the bottom of this page.
