Profiting As A Landlord: The Necessity Of Spending To Make Money
Landlords generally buy property with the intent of getting money out of it, so putting money in may seem like a self-defeating thing. But as the old saying goes, you have to spend money to make it, and there are some short term costs you should give in to, so as to save yourself greater costs later in the future. Here are some of the major ones.
1. Landscaping: It is worth spending money on landscaping. The expenses would include costs for the property water bill and the landscaper. Even though your tenant would be greatly excited with a well kept yard, but the reality is that he would hardly put in any efforts to maintain it. You could act in a wise manner and install the reasonably priced sprinklers and leave it up to the gardeners to take care of it.
So now that you’ve got a lovely lawn and the upkeep is in competent hands, you need to consider advertising! If you don’t present your property to prospective tenants, they’ll never come- how can they, if they don’t know you’re there? The first and most obvious thing to do is to place a sign in the front of the property that states you are now leasing, but then you must branch out from there, especially if your area sees little traffic. Now, I’m not going to tell you to invest in newspaper ads and such- those are costly and besides, the print media sees fewer and fewer readers anymore. Instead, turn to the Internet, where certain sites offer FREE advertising. Try putting your ad up on Craigslist, to start with. You’ll get tons of views and not have to spend a penny.
3. Property Management Company Image: People would dislike signing a lease contract with someone that is not interested in finding out how they are going on at the rented place. Taking an alternate phone number and a P.O. Box could be a cheap alternative. You do not want to let your tenants be aware of the place where you are residing and that your phone is your cell.
Once you find someone suitable to lease from your property, you’ll want to have a good, solid lease that’s fully compliant with any state laws. Don’t just pick up a generic one from some office supply place, really take the time (and necessary money) to obtain a reliable leasing agreement. Make SURE that you know the state laws, and be certain that whoever you turn to to get your agreement made does too. Time and money spent now can save potentially thousands later on.
Don’t be too sympathetic or slow with tenants who try to get away with making their payments off schedule. The very first time he’s late, hit him with a certified 3-Day Notice. He’ll sit up and pay attention and start giving you the money he owes on time.
Hence by spending some money in landscaping, advertising, improving you image, lease contract and being prompt in sending late notices to the tenants you are sure to save a lot of money in the future.
Layla Vanderbilt is the webmaster for a leading property management solution review website which connects people with the leading property management tools.
