Questions for you Landlords (1 Viewer)

Craigj

I'm need about TREE FITTY
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I'm thinking of buying a new house and renting my old one. Are there any books or websites to educate myself. Any tips from you landlords. What is a reasonable profit margin to expect.
 
I'm thinking of buying a new house and renting my old one. Are there any books or websites to educate myself. Any tips from you landlords. What is a reasonable profit margin to expect.



The biggest problems for landlords is the tennent. If you have good tennents then you are a happy landlord. With that said.

1) Be strict from day one and let them know you run this like a business. Document everything in the lease agreement and go over it with the renter. Rent is due on the first and late on the 2nd. $50 late fee and then $25/day everyday after the 2nd. If they have a problem making payments on time they will go find another landlord to take advantage of.

2) Buy a Home Warranty for your Home. It will cost about $350 - $400. Tell the tennent if they have items not working they should call the Home Warranty company and they will have to pay the service call. After that the Warranty company fixes the problems and you don;t have to deal with it. When the tennent knows they will have to pay for the service call, they are less likely to call for every drippy faucet and burnt out light bulb.

3) Include lawn maintenance into the lease. This gives you a reason to show up at the home on occaision to "do yard work" and complete a visual inspection of the care being taken with the home. Also, tennents never maintain the property as a homeowner would and as it gets worse, value goes down and the tennent appreciation of the property starts dwindling also. People tend to take better care of things that look nice.

4) No need to hire a property management company unless you want to throw your money away. Whenever something happens they will call you to fix it anyway. You still get billed for all repairs,etc. The property management companies hold no liability for anything the tennent does. They list the property for lease, handle the paperwork, collect the rent and take their fee, and will help with evictions when the tennent they put in the home does not pay.

As for how much to charge check the going rates in your neighborhood on a local realtors website or community board. If the rent does not cover your mortgage, taxes, insurance and some extra money for repairs then its not a good rental property. You would be subsidizing your tennents living expenses.

Good luck.
 
fwtex got a question on #2, i understand you can tell them to pay the service call; but does that hold up in a court of law? I thought the owner was responsible for all repair costs? just curious, I might be having tenants down the road.
 
Very interested in this topic. Will be placing our first home for rent sometime in February. Close on our next home this Friday. I'm interested in credit/background checks. Should I just look up some site for these checks?
 
Thanks FWtex great advice. I especially like number 3 since I also have my own lawn service. Do I include my services in the rent or charge my regular fee like any other customer. I had no idea there were home warranties I will look into it. After the mortgage, taxes, insurance. I'm looking to make around $250 a month. Is that enough?
 
The biggest problems for landlords is the tennent. If you have good tennents then you are a happy landlord. With that said.



2) Buy a Home Warranty for your Home. It will cost about $350 - $400. Tell the tennent if they have items not working they should call the Home Warranty company and they will have to pay the service call. After that the Warranty company fixes the problems and you don;t have to deal with it. When the tennent knows they will have to pay for the service call, they are less likely to call for every drippy faucet and burnt out light bulb.


Good luck.


Thats interesting. I am going to look into that. I do some property managing ( I hate it btw)
I had a tennant last year that constantly complained about the drainage in the tub. I finally have a plumber come out and it is draining slow b/c she has stuffed it with hair and baby wipes.
 
Thanks FWtex great advice. I especially like number 3 since I also have my own lawn service. Do I include my services in the rent or charge my regular fee like any other customer. I had no idea there were home warranties I will look into it. After the mortgage, taxes, insurance. I'm looking to make around $250 a month. Is that enough?

I would tack it onto the rent and offer it as a free service. Making $250/month is great! Look into seeing how fast you would pay the mortgage off if you threw that money back into paying off the principle. If you don;t need the money now a note free rental later may be a godsend.
 
I would tack it onto the rent and offer it as a free service. Making $250/month is great! Look into seeing how fast you would pay the mortgage off if you threw that money back into paying off the principle. If you don;t need the money now a note free rental later may be a godsend.


But be sure to put some of that money away for the inevitable repairs required when a tenant vacates the property. Unless you have savings elsewhere you're willing to use.
 

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