Tuesday, October 13, 2009

The Necessary Expenses Of Being A Landlord

By Layla Vanderbilt

You are a landlord. You've already paid up to buy the property that you now are trying to profit from. This might have run you a pretty penny and it's unlikely that you'll want to have to spend more anytime soon. However, while you may have heard people speak of having to spend money to make money, being a landlord is a career in which that adage holds true. There are some aspects of your property and the management thereof that, if you spend some money now, will help you to bring in the big bucks later on.

Believe it or not, landscaping matters. Everyone loves having a beautiful lawn, but no one wants to actually mow it, do they? Get a few gardeners and some sprinklers and let them go to work to make your property beautiful and verdant. It'll do a lot for making renting from you more appealing. If people wanted to do their own annoying mowing, they'd be buying their own houses, now wouldn't they? Take advantage of their laziness to make your property look like a better deal.

2. Advertising: In order to lease your property to someone a prerequisite is that they should be aware that the property is to be had on rent. You must certainly put an mark in your yard indicating that your property is available for the purpose of leasing, it may be that this place is not very busy and hence a very few people would come across this information, in this scenario you need to put in some extra efforts, you can effectively utilize the power of Internet which is widespread and cheaper than Newspapers when it comes to publishing advertisements. Explore the web to find some suitable places where you can put up the details of you property.

It's the little things that make a big difference in the minds of potential customers. People like to feel like they're renting from a professional instead of someone who barely knows how to keep things running. Whether you're new to the business or an old hand, you'll want a business phone number and a PO Box. It can be highly destructive to the tenant-landlord relationship if they know where you're living at and that the phone you're using is just your regular mobile phone.

4. Lease Agreement: You must spend the amount that is needed to prepare a legally sound and accurate lease contract. Even though you may purchase a legal agreement from an office supply but such an agreement would be very common and would not include the legal clauses that would protect you in worst cases. Each state has different set of laws and if you are not aware of them then it is always a better option to look for a place from where you could prepare a sound legal contract.

Finally, your property is gorgeous, people have heard about you and you've acquired tenants. From this point onward DO NOT be shy about collecting rent. If someone is late or shows signs of non-payment, don't be afraid to spur him into action with a Three Days to Pay or Quit Notice sitting in his mailbox. It'll scare him enough that he won't be late again. Stay strict and they will pay up. But, if someone still doesn't and you find yourself having to evict them, since you've kept up front about it you'll begin the process exactly on time, preventing you from losing potentially costly days.

In the worst case situation, if you have to evict a person from your property, by keeping to the above you'll have the process ticking in accurate order like clockwork. Remember, the sooner you get a non-profitable tenant out, the sooner you can get a profitable one in to replace him. There's no need to be rude about it, but you should be firm and unyielding, if respectful and professional. Invest in all these things, and you'll come out ahead in the game.

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