5 Mistakes Landlords Make

edralyn
March 16, 2013

Whether you haven’t been able to unload your house or you’re just looking for a good investment, you may be considering becoming a landlord. While controlling other people’s housing can be a good investment choice for some, it can be disastrous for others. Do things differently by learning from these five common mistakes:

1.Background Checks

Before any person, couple or family moves into your home, make sure that you run an in-depth background check on every adult. Not checking on your potential tenants’ pasts is one of the biggest mistakes that new landlords make. Never assume that someone is as honest as they seem. You should take the time to run a credit check, run a criminal background check and speak with current and former landlords.

Examiner.com suggests you check for criminal convictions, past evictions, liens and adjustments, and residential history as high priorities. This will assure your tenant is within legal rights to rent, is a US resident, and will not be harmful to your home, neighbors, and financial future.

2.Depending on Consistent Rental

Depending on your property as a source of income is a huge mistake. You can’t predict the future and you can’t assume that your property will always be rented. If you have mortgaged your property, you’ve got to have the means to make your payments while your property sits empty. Before you decide to rent out your property, have a plan in place that will allow you to make payments if the property sits empty.

3.Failure to Use a Lease

A lease is meant to protect landlords just as it’s meant to protect tenants. Don’t ever rent out your property without having a lease agreement in place. You can find sample agreements online or in your local library. You may want to consider hiring an attorney to help you construct a lease agreement that will be legally binding. A lease will help to protect you should you find it necessary to remove your tenants from your property.

4.Care of Tenants

Do you know when you’re permitted to enter your own property? If you don’t, you better learn about privacy laws. While the property may be yours, once you rent it out to someone you give away some of your rights.

If your tenants alert you to a problem, be sure to remedy it as soon as possible. If you give your tenants a grace period when it comes to paying the rent, stick to it. If you take care of your tenants properly, they’ll be more likely to take care of your property as if it were their own.

5.Neglecting to Enforce the Lease

Investopedia.com suggests you don’t put anything in your lease that you don’t plan to stick to and enforce. For instance, if you decree that your tenant may have a dog that weighs less than 50 lbs. and you arrive to find a mastiff residing on your property, enforce the penalty outlined in the lease. If you rent the property to two adults and find that there are four grown people living in your home, enforce the penalty.

Being a landlord is a job, not a hobby. If you don’t have the time or energy to commit to being someone’s landlord, don’t invest in rental property. If you take the job seriously, you’re less likely to end up with a disaster of a situation on your hands.

Victoria Baines is a blogger who is also becoming a landlord. Want to be a landlord? Get the information needed at www.buytolet.net.